Just as they predicted.........NOT!

Well, my fears have to come to fruition. So many winter forecasts called for the end of February to be cold and snowy. We are now in that time slot and we are looking highs in the mid 60's today(Feb17). We have seen a huge alteration in the jet stream pattern. We still have plenty of snow and winter certainly cannot have left us yet. Perhaps the groundhog knows more than he is given credit for!
The upcoming few weeks are perennially a battle between two seasons. Flips in the jet stream pattern can allow ever-changing cold shots and warm surges. When the two air masses clash, storms can result. If you are on the colder side of those storms, snow can easily pile up.
Keep your fingers crossed for us to be on that cold side!!!!!!! One thing you can always count on is this.............Mother Nature is in Charge!!!!!!!!!!!
Get your snow on!!!

Statism

As each day awakens, we see government exercising its desire to control us just a little bit more......... tugging one more freedom away from us. At this very moment, in committee of the Illinois General Assembly is proposed legislation called "Ski Slope Safety Act". In essence, "The Ski Slope Safety Act provides that every ski area operator shall ensure that all skiers and snowboarders are not permitted to enter the recreation area without protective helmets".
Our industry actively promotes the use of helmets. In 2002, the National Ski Areas Association launched the "Lids on Kids" interactive website (www.lidsonkids.org) in an effort to educate kids and parents about helmet use on the slopes. As a result of this and other education efforts by resorts, ski helmet use is now at 87% for kids age 9 and under; 75% for kids age 10-14; and 61% for kids ages 15-17. These figures are impressive, especially when compared to other mandated helmet sports.
Not only does this bill remove one more of our freedoms of choice, but it places the resorts in charge of enforcement.
You may ask what statism is and what does that have to do with wearing a helmet. One definition of statism is as follows...........
Under statism, government is no longer a policeman, but a gang of thugs with the legal power to initiate force in any manner they please against a legally disarmed citizen. This seems to be a rather harsh stance as I always thought it meant government wanting to make all of our decisions for us and removing freedoms one by one to meet it owns agenda.
Not only does this act require helmets on the slopes, but requires helmets upon entering the area as well as such activities as walking through the rental shop. Sounds like someone has a personal vendetta on the burner. Slips and falls at home are more common than incidents on the slopes..........so, do not be surprised if some day you may be requuired to wear a helmet the next time you step into the shower or tub............
TTYL

Humans Were Never Meant To Hibernate....right?

Humans were never meant to hibernate, has always been my mantra. However, most of us were forced to hibernate for a day this past week when Blizzard 2011 set in. In retrospect, I guess that really was not the case either. Inability to get vehicles moving pushed many of us to get out there and do some serious shoveling. There was lots of it, but it was dry powder, easy to shovel and all in all a good cardio workout.

Evidently my mantra is not embraced by all. We have had numerous groups of skiers, boarders and tubers cancel their outings for today and tomorrow. Reason given......... too cold! Today the temps are in the 20's and tomorrow we will see 30. Too cold????? Hmmmmmmmmm I guess some were meant to hibernate. Remember, hibernation is not a healthy alternative.........get out and embrace the remnants of the big snow........

Al Gore Probably Blames Winter Weather on Global Warming

Check out the following.......I would love to get Joe and Al together.........
This winter is on track to become the coldest for the nation as a whole since the late 70s. According to AccuWeather.com Chief Long Range Forecaster Joe Bastardi, three or four out of the next five winters could be just as cold, if not colder.
He is worried that next winter, for example, will be colder than this one.
While there are many different factors that are playing into Bastardi's forecast, one of the primary drivers is La Niña and the trends that have been observed in winters that follow the onset of a La Niña.
According to Bastardi, studies over the past 100 years or so show that after the first winter following the onset of a La Niña, the next several winters thereafter tend to be colder than normal in the U.S.
He says the first winter during a La Niña tends to be warm. The next winter that follows is usually less warm, and the winter after that is usually cold.
"There's a natural tendency for that to happen because of the large-scale factors," Bastardi commented. "What's interesting about what we're seeing here is that [the current La Niña] is starting so cold."
He adds, "If the past predicts the future, then the first year La Niña is warmer than the combination of the following two."
He said that with the exception of the winters of 1916-1917 and 1917-1918, the first year of every moderate or stronger La Niña available for study has featured a warmer-than-normal winter from the Plains eastward. This winter, it has been colder than normal.
Taking a look at one of the exceptions, the La Niña winter of 1916-1917, colder-than-normal conditions were observed across the northern part of the Plains and East (not the South). Bastardi said that never before have colder-than-normal conditions been observed across the South during a first-year La Niña winter, as has been the case this winter.
If this winter, which has been colder than normal across the eastern two-thirds of the country, is historically supposed to be the warmest of the next three winters for the U.S., according to Bastardi, we have some frigid times ahead.
Bastardi thinks that not only will the next few winters be colder than normal for much of the U.S., but that the long-term climate will turn colder over the next 20 to 30 years.
"What's interesting about what we're seeing here is that [the current La Niña] is starting so cold," said Bastardi, "and it's coinciding with bigger things that are pushing the overall weather patterns and climate in the Northern Hemisphere and, in fact, globally over the next 20 to 30 years that we have not really dealt with, nor can we really quantify."
"That ties into a lot of this arguing over climate change," he added.
Bastardi has pointed out that the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), which is a pattern of Pacific climate variability that shifts phases usually about every 20 to 30 years, has shifted into a "cold" or "negative" phase.
Over the past 30 years or so, according to Bastardi, the PDO has been "warm" or "positive."
This change to a cold PDO over the next 20 to 30 years, he says, will cause La Niñas to be stronger and longer than El Niños. Bastardi adds that when El Niños do kick in, if they try to come on strong like they did last year, they will get "beaten back" pretty quickly.
"When you have a cold PDO and lots of La Niñas, when El Niños do come on, you generally tend to have cold, snowy weather patterns across the U.S.," Bastardi said. "That's what we saw in the 1960s and 1970s."