I spent the last week in Georgia. First, I visited with our partners at Farmers’ Almanac TV. What a professional group. Season 2 is now airing around the country on Public Television Stations…. check your local listings for times. The balance of the week was spent at Live Oak Plantation in Adel. It was first-rate accommodations. While I have done many interviews in Atlanta over the years, this was my first drive through Southern Georgia. Temperatures in the 50s made me long for spring in Maine. What a lovely part of the country! While I was traveling, Maine received snow and enjoyed wind chill temps of -27 degrees. Shivery is Not Dead! It was a little late arriving, but not certainly dead.

One of the hot topics on our forum is Global Warming. Unusual warmth last winter and again this year have sparked discussion of Global Warming and its impact on our weather. Our poll is not scientific but does give a sense of what is being discussed. With 19,154 votes tabulated, the results:

8,363 (44%) - Yes, how else do you explain this unusual weather.

7,814 (41%) - No, this is a sign of an impending Ice Age.

2,477 (15%) - Not sure, but is looks like many of our habits are hurting the atmosphere

I have been willing to blame this winter on El Nino, but when you look back 10 years, most of the warmest temperature in recordable history have occurred. Global Warming stirs great emotion because if we are headed in that direction, the long-term consequences will be devastation. I invite you to go our forum under Global Warming and read what our visitors are saying.

If you feel that we are hurting the atmosphere (and the majority do), then here are some suggestions regarding the reduction of carbon dioxides. This was sent to me but I am not sure of the source.

• Replace one regular light bulb with a compact fluorescent bulb and save 150 pounds of carbon dioxide a year.
• Drive less - walk, bike or carpool.
• Recycle more - save 2400 pounds of carbon dioxide by recycling 1/2 of your household waste each year.
• Adjust your thermostats - down 2 degrees in winter and up 2 degrees in the summer can save 2,000 pounds of carbon dioxide
• Plant a tree - my favorite. Trees are our friends. Plant a couple each year and we help the planet. I am told a tree absorbs 1 ton of carbon dioxide in its lifetime.
• Check your tires - improve mileage and reduce carbons.
• Turn off electronic devises when not using them and save tons of carbon dioxide each year.

The above are simple steps, and now is a great time to start! Glad to be back in Maine, I just love to wake up to 0 degrees weather.

Enjoy your day!!

Technorati Tags Farmers’ Almanac TV, Global Warming

by pgeiger
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Q. There are so many weather sayings/folklore. Which ones do you feel are the most accurate?

A. While many weather sayings are rhymes that have been handed down generation after generation, most are based on observations made by farmers and people who looked at nature for clues to forthcoming weather. Here at the Farmers’ Almanac, we think that the following are more often true than not: large halo around the Moon indicates cirrus cloud forming, and approaching rain or snow; smoke that curls downward and lingers means an approaching storm; a veering wind (to the north) is a sign of fair weather, and a backing wind (to the south) means rain, and rain is most frequent at the turn of the tide, if the air is humid.

Technorati Tags Weather Lore

by pgeiger
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The talk of the last couple weeks has been the warm winter… at least in the East. I was in Las Vegas last week and left with a temperature of 35 degrees and landed in Maine to 59 degrees at 7 p.m. What is happening? There has been considerable discussion on our forum about this unusual winter. We are also conducting a poll on our home page. If you have not had an opportunity, weigh in on Global Warming.

Here is a question from earlier today.

Hello from New Hampshire, I was just wondering if you feel global warming is effecting your forecasts? Thanks! Ron

I think the El Niño is impacting weather this winter. It is different from Global Warming. If it was Warming, it would be warm everywhere and all the time. Our friends in Denver might argue that this is not Global Warming. El Niño sends warm Pacific winds across the country vs. the normal winter jet stream that goes into Canada and drives frigid temps down. There is ample cold in Canada, the jet stream is just not heading north. We do our predictions two years in advance. No way to know or adjust for El Niño. That said, it could change any moment. Most El Niño years have a warm start and snowy finish. Our predictions call for most of this winter’s snows to be in February and early March.

I am sure you remember two winters ago, when we had a record cold January and so much snow, there wasn’t any room for it all. If it was true warming, it would be warm every winter. While I do think we are doing things to our planet that give all of us concern, for this winter, at least, I am leaning toward the El Niño.

It is a great question, Ron … One we are thinking about every day.

Technorati Tags Global Warming, El Niño

by pgeiger
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