America’s Wacky Weather

When someone thinks of the different seasons and the weather they bring, a unique set of ideals exists for each one. Spring, for instance, usually means the budding of flowers and other first signs of life. Summer means non-stop, intense heat and days spent at the beach. Autumn means a change in lifestyles—such wearing sweaters, scarves, and boots—as the temperature begins to dip and the leaves fall. Winter means having high chances of snow and below-average temperatures. In most parts of North America, this is usually the case, but recently things have begun to change.

In years past, we have seen it all. Unexpected—and often unexplained—weather has become typical, but these extremes only seem to occur more and more. Williamsburg, VA, is a prime example of a city that experiences weather variants on a daily basis. But this is normal for the area. The problem lies with the season-to-season temperature and precipitation changes. It used to be abnormal to have snow storms large enough to keep kids out of school and adults away from work for days at a time, late and early “starts” to the seasons, and bad weather-induced accidents powerful enough to kill, but this too has become normal.

Even more recently, states throughout the country experienced record temperature highs this past winter and all 50 were at least warmer than average. But, the strangest weather irregularity was yet to come. On Christmas Day 2015, thousands of city records in the East Coast were shattered as temperatures rose well into 60^o-80^o range, which hadn’t occurred in some areas since the 19^th century. It was also the wettest winter in the western states, while an immense amount of air pressure existed in the South. To find more, go here: https://weather.com/news/climate/news/record-warmest-winter-us-2015-2016 or here: https://weather.com/news/weather/news/weird-facts-december-2015-warmth.

Somehow, as the winter progressed, temperatures plummeted into the negatives as winter storms Jonas and Kayla wreaked havoc in the country. The apparent late start for the season didn’t even seem to account for these sudden, short-lived occurrences that were accompanied by large amounts of snow, ice, winds, and flooding that made everyone question what had just happened. The temperatures steadily increased afterwards but have barely risen above 30^o compared to the highs around 60^o, making it seem as if Spring never truly arrived. In fact, it snowed in early April.

Despite beliefs that Global Warming is a key factor in these significant jumps, the climate phenomenon El Niño is believed to be behind it all, according to various weather-related websites across the Internet.  Traditional views on the different seasons, and the weather they’re usually associated with, are this close to being thrown out the window. The patterns are changing! For more, check out: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/19/opinion/a-new-dark-age-looms.html?_r=0.