It's almost 50 degrees right now in Detroit in the beginning of January...

[MrScorpio]

We haven't had one snow this entire winter yet over a dusting.

This is not normal.

Or perhaps, this is the NEW normal and we should get used to it?

Prepare to tell your grandchildren that you remember what snow was.

[RandySF]

1. Winter of 2001-02 was warm.

I remember standing outside in December with just a t-shirt on.

[roguevalley]

38. we had warm weather until December. Cold now. -48 was the high in fairbanks yesterday.

it is not normal.

[Purveyor]

2. Sitting here in Jackson and my thermometer is reading 48. I really missed not having a white

christmas but now that the holidays are over...I'm loving this (and so does my heating budget).

I suspect we will pay dearly for this sooner or later but for now, I'm going out and scratch around in the garden a bit.

[Tuesday Afternoon]

3. aren't TPTB blaming it on La Nina?

I think so, yes.

[chrisa]

33. I <3 La Nina

That's the one that causes it to be warmer, right?

We've gotten minimal snow this year, and warm days. Sometimes it feels like early March. I'm loving it so far.

[limpyhobbler]

4. It's spooky but kind of nice in a way. Saving money on driveway salt.

Must stink for the part-time snowplow guys.

Ohio feeling like a tropical resort.
Neighbors are bar-b-q-ing!

Wonder if a kid born today will remember winter the way we do?
Oops we screwed up the planet, sorry 'bout that.

[Sheepshank]

36. body shop guys are bemoaning loss of revenues, as are ski operators

...however, the auto insurance companies are grinning from ear to ear.

Utah sunny and 50's for a couple of weeks now. Driest December I ever ever remember.

[Swede]

5. It rained here in Saskatchewan yesterday.

I cannot remember rain in January. Usually it's -30.

[JBoy]

26. And grassfires in Alberta. In January.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/canada/high-winds-fan-flames-of-alberta-wildfires-136722358.html

[Denninmi]

6. Yup.

When I walked the dog this morning before work, I found violas and Hellebores blooming in my garden. Freaky.

None of the inland lakes here in Oakland County have any ice on them. A few very small ponds have skims of ice, but that will all melt today.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

7. Have you noticed this....

Last winter, when most of the country was buried in snow, the climate-change deniers were gleeful. "Look!" they said, "See all this snow? This is proof there's no such thing as global warming!"

This year...?

Crickets.

It's even warm enough for actual crickets.

I know weather and climate are not the same, but you'd think some of these dingbats would mention that there's no snow, considering what a big stink they made when there was snow.

[salvorhardin]

8. Don't make the same mistake the denialists do

Weather is not climate.

Looks like your daily temps so far have been mostly above average but they're nowhere near the record highs or lows.

[Motown_Johnny]

9. tell me about it, I do snow removal in the winter and this is costing me money

This is not normal, but.........




The last couple years it has seemed to snow like crazy for a couple of months and then not snow at all for a couple of months. This year we seem to be having the drought first. I hope it breaks fairly soon and snows 4 days a week for 10 weeks (not likely).


Oh well, gonna be taking down customer's Christmas lights starting Monday. Having good weather for that is kinda nice, for a change.

[Denninmi]

10. Well, for your sake, I hope it snows in YOUR corner of Metro Detroit.

As long as it stays away from central Oakland, I selfishly don't care what happens to the rest of you.

Or, you can come plow my path to work for me if you want - one big swoop through the Bloomfields to Troy will do it. TIA.

[Motown_Johnny]

11. thanks for the offer

but almost all our work is in the Grosse Pointes


I also do the People Mover stations downtown (personally) and when the Auto Show is getting started I usually am having a tough couple of weeks. 2 years ago I was so busy that I didn't even get to the show myself and I try to go every year.



As long as my heating bill stays low and if Spring starts early I won't be able to complain.

[Denninmi]

27. Well, the NE corner of Wayne can have as much as you want.

I'll gladly donate all of mine to you.

Here's hoping you get dumped on by the foot for the rest of the winter.

[hfojvt]

12. not normal? Bunk

Here are the RECORD high temperatures for this date for Detroit.

http://detroit.justweather.com/almanac/

62 degrees in 1946
58 degrees in 1998


I get tired of the hype sometimes. People squawking about "above normal" for temperatures that happen 3 years out of every ten.

Global warming is not proven by two or three warm days just as it is not refudiated by two or three cold days.

As for getting used to 50 degree weather in January, I think most people can handle that. I used to joke with my economics classes in the late 1980s. I would come into class on a day when the high temperature was -5 and say "You know, on some days I think global warming is a good idea."

[JDPriestly]

14. 50 degree weather in Detroit as a regular thing might not be a problem.

But if it is a symptom of global warming, then 50 degrees in Detroit means what kind of temperature in Dallas, Texas or in a country on the equator?

And what would a significant rise in temperature in a country on the equator mean for the people there, for hunger, for increased immigration from hot spots to cooler ones?

The significance of anomalies in weather patterns should not be exaggerated, but the fact is that weather around the world has been acting particularly crazy in recent years -- just as the most highly qualified scientists who study our environment, our weather and our climate have warned us.

Time to leave the gas-guzzler in the garage unless you really need it.

The good news is that demand for heating oil and gas in the US should be low this year if things continue as they are -- and that hopefully means a decline in the quantities of fossil fuels we burn.

[SammyWinstonJack]

15. It was miserable in Texas last summer. Hottest I can remember in the 20 yrs I've lived here.

Little to no rain.
Drought conditions and temps over 100+ for 3 months.

I'm not looking foward to summer at all.

[kestrel91316]

22. Refuted is a word. Repudiated is a word. "Refudiated" is only a word in

Sarah Palin's feeble mind.

[Scout]

13. reminds me of about 10 years ago, in January, visiting Phoenix from Ann Arbor....

i called home to talk to hubby, and it was warmer in Ann Arbor in January than that it was in Phoenix!!!

remember the year when it was, like 10 below in December and then 60 or so in January??? there was like a 70 degree difference between the low in December and the high in January (something drastic like that).

[Zalatix]

16. Phoenix, AZ? Nothing is hotter than Phoenix. Hell is not hotter than Phoenix.

Seal and Heidi Klum and Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie dressed to the nines for a double date at the Grammy Awards are not hotter than Phoenix.



(just kidding, folks! but seriously, Phoenix is scary hot...)

[HockeyMom]

17. SW Florida might give you a run for your money

Not just with the heat factor, but with humidity you can cut with a knife, and non-existant winds. Miserable place, espeically from March through November.

[Zalatix]

24. I shall let others testify to that.

I for one will stay away from such pressure cookers!

[Scout]

19. it's not too bad in January! n/t

[closeupready]

18. Not EVERY warm winter is due to global warming.

yes, global warming is happening, in part, as a result of man's activities, but seasons fluctuate in their severity from year to year. This one is a warm one, but is it an extreme outlier? I don't particularly think so.

[Scairp]

20. We're too warm as well

It's been in the low 80's here in SoCal all week when it should be about 60-65 during the day. You hardly even need a jacket at night unless you're outside for awhile. Very weird. I always look forward to the cool months of the winter here because the heat does me in so easily, and now I have barely gotten that break. I hope it cools off again soon so I can be outside without getting overheated. I like working in the yard when it gets cool, and while 83 is hardly 98, it's still too hot for me in January.

[kestrel91316]

23. It's almost HOT. And really really dry. My face feels like it's gonna crack.

San Fernando Valley.

And where the hell is our rain???

[Scairp]

41. I know

We really need a lot more rain. Plus my allergies have acted up and have been giving me headaches.

[shanti]

30. yes

about 20 degrees higher here in sacramento too. it should be in the 40's, but it's in the 60's. missing the rain!!

[pkz]

21. daffodils up 5" in northcentral WV

bad bad sign folks

[kas125]

31. I live close to Chicago and my daffodils and hyacinths are coming up now, too.

I took this picture yesterday to show someone on facebook -

[justiceischeap]

25. 62 degrees outside DC. nt

[shanti]

28. not normal is right

It's pretty warm for January here in Nor Cal too. No rain for weeks, oranges AND orange blossoms on my tree (never saw that before), roses blooming, really weird weather. Also, it's 86 in LA. Even for LA that is warm for January!

[AtomicKitten]

29. It's 50-degrees in SF right now.

[chrisa]

32. This is due to a different weather pattern this yr. I think it's not cause for alarm.

The cold air from the north never came down. It occasionally tries to get down here, but gets quickly kicked out by the jet stream.

[Solly Mack]

34. 72 here. Higher tomorrow.

Woohoo!!!

[frazzled]

35. 54 in Chicago right now!

It's lovely, but we'll all have the flu in three days. That is my experience whenever it gets warm in January.

It's not unusual to have these freakish "thaws" in January, but ... we never had the freeze this year yet!

[hifiguy]

37. Same here in Minneapolis,

though we did have a bit of freezing rain and snow on New Year's Eve, which has now all melted. Today is pushing 50 here as well. Last year we got two feet of snow in one day in December and the Metrodome's roof caved in. Then it got colder than the hubs of hell. Two consecutive very odd winters here.

[Puglover]

40. I'm in South Minneapolis and LOVING this!

We'll probably get some cold and some good snow. But hey, if we can make it to 1/15, it's only about 8 weeks until it gets better and two of those weeks I'm on the beach.

[kwassa]

39. Outside of DC, we have some cherry trees beginning to blossom.

This is cruel and unusual.