Sunday, September 24, 2017

Strange Times Ahead

We are having a strange fall.  Today, in upstate New York, it got up to 88F (31 Celsius).  Meanwhile, out west, for some people, it is snowing.

Every winter for the past few winters, here in the Binghamton area, we have said "this is the most incredible winter ever!"  Winters with lots of snow. Winters with record low snow amounts.  Or, this past winter, a winter that started with an incredible snowstorm, ended with an incredible snowstorm, with not much of anything in between.


It is so hard to think of winter right now, but it will come, just as surely as the New York asters are blooming. 
The asters speak to us.  This is what they say:

Soon, the growing season will be over and snow will blanket the ground. 

Or, will it?

Take these pictures of the Susquehanna River in Binghamton, taken on March 4, as just one example.  Look carefully.  There is something there you should see, but you don't.
Here's another view of the river.

Give up?

No ice.  Not this winter.
No, it's no ice, as in THE RIVER NEVER FROZE.

I've lived here over 30 years, and I'm certain that has never happened before.

And it wasn't just us.  Nearby, the annual crappie ice fishing derby was cancelled for this year.  It's not the first time in recent years.

Our spring wasn't quite like the winter of 2011-2012, when the forsythias and Bradford Pears were blooming by the third week of March.

And the summer was rainy.  By the last week of August, I was wearing a jacket in the morning.

And then summer returned.  We may hit a record high tomorrow.

Then what?  I'm almost afraid to ask.

Climate change isn't for sissies. 

7 comments:

  1. YOU'RE almost afraid to ask? I live in HOUSTON. If anything freezes here, it's the roads - and that means APOCALYPSE!! No doubt. We've already had FLOODING OF BIBLICAL PROPORTIONS here this year.

    Beautiful photos, Alana.

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  2. Here in Grand Island, we just had lots of rain but no disaster, fortunately, unlike in other places, where there was flooding, horrific winds, and fire! This winter.... who knows? Ice is scary when your main form of transportation is called "left" and "right."

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  3. Weather here in Michigan is just as crazy. I was done gardening by 9 am cause it was just to hot with high humidity. Everything I cleaned up is popping up like it was spring again.

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  4. If only we would care more for climate. But then our vision is so myopic. It has been raining a lot this year where I live and though it's a welcome respite from the heat and good for agriculture and hydroelectric generation, I'm still worried.

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  5. Never seen snow. Here it's just freezing cold for humans during winter, but not cold enough o make some ice or snow.

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  6. It was 90 degrees yesterday in Queens, NY. At the end of September the daytime normal is mid-70's.

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  7. We're having a more normal weather pattern. It got pleasant last week, but this week it's supposed to be hot. But that's kinda normal for us, though. May you have a "boring" winter.

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