Will We Have a Winter this Year??

The weather has been odd to say the least this winter.
Above average temperatures....below average to non-existent snow.
Plays havoc with fragile economies as snow contractors, retailers of snow removal stuff and winter sports suffer.
Isn't good for the earth as we need the cold to kill off bugs, weeds and disease and a blanket of snow is a good protector.

Here in SE MIchigan, we've not needed to use a shovel once...I saw a flying insect [like a big mosquito] last week and this morning I saw a dandelion in bloom.

NOAA claims Winter is returning, and even perhaps wintry precipitation

And the 15-day forecast does seem to show a downward trend to more seasonal weather.

What is your winter experience, weather-wise?
Is this a midwest US phenomena?
And weather gurus has a reason for this in plain English

I can remember up and down extremes....longish periods of little to snow snow...but this year seems more...unusual...



UPDATE
Europe and US Be Aware - Winter Is Returning...

Same over here in the south of England, It's been quite warm all winter, no need for hat and gloves, we didn't get any snow this year not even a bit of frost.

Haha, we'll see!
Im in SW Michigan and it's been pretty nice here. It was 50 and sunny on Friday. The lake finally froze about a week ago and I'm actually surprised that it's still frozen. I had heard that after New Years we were supposed to get a HUGE drop in temperature but I sure haven't seen it. After the last few winters, I'm just fine with how this one is going.

Here in eastern Wa. we had a record warm day this week..52 degrees..

no snow at all so far..

reply to post by DontTreadOnMe


Same here in Toronto. I have family here and was hoping for them to see the usual winter - cold and snow, cause we don't get that in South Africa. I had to drive up to Barrie and Orillia yesterday for them to see snow on the ground. All I can do now is show them photos of previous years. What a let down.

You are so right in saying the companies who survive on this are suffering. The ski slope guys can make all the damn snow they want but when it hits 7 Deg Celsius here.... they're losing the battle. At least if it was cold the man made snow would stay. Old Man Winter must still be on vacation!

It's been the same for me in the south of England too, I only throw on a zip-up hoody whilst walking to work at 5pm now, whereas last year I would have had to put on a coat. It has snowed here but only for about 5 minutes, then it stopped and never settled.

Here in Northwest Florida it has been mild, especially compared to last winter ! Having said that, we have had mild to warm winters before. There have been winters where we have run the air conditioner.....yuck! My part of Florida is not like central or south Florida as we do have change of seasons. I can say this milder winter has helped my electric bill ( electric heating...).

We got 30 inches in a one night storm in massachusetts in October. 13 people died and we lost power for a week. We haven't had a flake since. It was over 50 degrees yesterday!

I'm a fan of winter, but after last winter, this is pretty nice.

No snow so far here in Illinois and temp's in the low 50's the next three days.

Farmer's Almanac says snow is coming middle of January.

As a person who suffers from SAD, this winter has been the best winter I've ever had. I'm in NW Ohio. It was 53 degrees here the other day. Today, the sun is out bright and beautiful and it's wonderful! All the herbs in my garden still going alive and green, which is unbelievable. If it weren't for the leaves being gone from the trees, just looking out the window, it's hard to tell it's winter. Everything is still green.

I keep thinking in the back of my mind that winter is just delayed and that it's going to be snowing in June/July or some strange thing.

reply to post by DontTreadOnMe


It's wild. Yesterday was almost 60 degrees (I'm in central Jersey).
You see people in T-shirts and shorts jogging, riding bikes and kids playing.
Then the very next day it's 20 degrees outside, no body in sight.
The night before the 60 degree weather, it snowed.
Oh and I look at my phone, it is almost 60 again...
The weather is acting strange...But I'm not worried, I think it's just a warm winter...can't complain right?

Same case here in Utah.

I heard the weatherman say the other day that ....

Last years (2010-2011) winter we were 130% above our average precipitation.

This years (2011-2012) winter we are currently sitting at only about 25%.

Yesterday (7th) we had our first real snowfall and got about 1-2 inches on the valley floors.

I def agree its some odd weather. I am a full "believer" that our governments want to manipulate the weather.

So perhaps since we got all our precipitation last year ..... this year will be light..... but who knows ....we always get pounded with snow in March.

It's been very warm this year. We normally get snow where I am at a few times this month. There has been nothing, hardly any rain either. I think it's gonna be a horrid year for tornadoes, worse than last year.

If memory serves me, there was a story concerning a discovery of a large methane release a few weeks ago.
www.independent.co.uk...
Perhaps this has been going on longer than believed and is causing a climate shift? I do know it's a La Nina year though and they are normally warmer than average.

reply to post by DontTreadOnMe


I have to agree with you. I'm in Indiana and it is unseasonably nice right now. I can't say I'm not loving it, but it is strange! We have had 3 snows this year and none of them have lasted for very long. It is really odd! Perhaps the Grinch became confused in his old age and instead of stealing Christmas he stole winter?

reply to post by DontTreadOnMe


I live in SE Michigan as well. All I have to say is: "Where's my snowstorm!?" It's January and yesterday it was 52 degrees. What the deuce?

Not snowed here since 22nd December 2010 ....... over a year now. No sign of anything in the next couple of weeks either.

reply to post by DontTreadOnMe


Saskatchewan, Canada here. One big dump (6 inches) of snow in one day last week, then it melted away. Above seasonal weather, I have not seen a winter like this in my 32 years.

very warm, no snow in connecticut. I think it is the jetstream mostly.

I'm very surprised, I had read this would be a "la nina" winter, and very bad like '08 snowmageddon storm that paralyzed NYC

it's safe to say january will not set records like last year, but february still could

Here in Des Moines Iowa....yes we are absolutely loving this weather. Normally at this time in January....it is BITTER COLD!! But this year just 2 days ago, it felt like a summer day in the 60's!! and the 7 day forecast ...just more of the same.

I hope you all know that you have my husband and I to thank....we bought a snow blower last fall so we wouldn't have to shovel this winter...that's why it's not snowing anywhere.

Near Cancun Mexico, here. I know, we never get snow, there are just two seasons in the tropics, rainy and dry.

Usually the winter is the dry season, summer is the rainy season. Last year it didn't rain all summer, didn't start raining until the end of September. Now here it is January and still raining almost every day. In the seven years I've been here, I could definitely say from Nov to May it would not rain even once. There would not be a cloud in the sky for months on end. This year it's like it 's all backwards.