In Need of Snow
Jim likes snow, but Minnesota hasn't been
getting its share this winter.
I like snow. Sure, it's cold, and it can be sloppy,
treacherously slippery, deep enough to impede most ground transportation, and
heavy enough to break tree limbs or to collapse buildings. But otherwise,
what's not to like? It falls gently out of a blank sky, swirling in the wind's
least eddies, and blows into gracefully curved drifts. It transforms the brown
landscape. When the sun comes out, it is dazzlingly white, with sparkling
facets. It prolongs the dusk and brightens the night. It allows us to create
snow angels, snow sculpture, snow forts and snowballs, and to enjoy skiing,
sledding, and snowshoeing.
It's snowing here today, cheering me, as it always does. Here in the Twin Cities area, the historical average annual snowfall is about four feet, and we'd typically have seen about half of that by now. But this year we've seen very little snow. A total of less than six inches had fallen before today, and we had only two or three inches on the ground. The weather has been both warmer and drier than usual, we've seen some rain in place of snow, and the small amounts of snow that fell in November and December quickly disappeared.
Many parts of the country have had major problems from winter storms this season, and I don't wish that on anyone. I don't really need storms dumping a foot of snow or more in a day, and freezing rain holds no attraction for me. Minnesota has often been protected from ice storms by virtue of temperatures that stayed well below freezing most of the winter. Unfortunately, the climate trends seem to be removing that protection, and also taking away our traditional snow.
Maybe you can help us out by reducing carbon emissions.
It's snowing here today, cheering me, as it always does. Here in the Twin Cities area, the historical average annual snowfall is about four feet, and we'd typically have seen about half of that by now. But this year we've seen very little snow. A total of less than six inches had fallen before today, and we had only two or three inches on the ground. The weather has been both warmer and drier than usual, we've seen some rain in place of snow, and the small amounts of snow that fell in November and December quickly disappeared.
Many parts of the country have had major problems from winter storms this season, and I don't wish that on anyone. I don't really need storms dumping a foot of snow or more in a day, and freezing rain holds no attraction for me. Minnesota has often been protected from ice storms by virtue of temperatures that stayed well below freezing most of the winter. Unfortunately, the climate trends seem to be removing that protection, and also taking away our traditional snow.
Maybe you can help us out by reducing carbon emissions.
Posted: Sun - January 21, 2007 at 10:10 AM by email
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Published On: Feb 25, 2007 07:18 PM
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Published On: Feb 25, 2007 07:18 PM