And It Wouldn’t Be Cold It You Didn’t Drive an SUV. Eat Your Bugs!

He’s Not Only a Marshall; He’s Also a Shepherd:

Warming Climate And Cold Days Explained
Forbes | January 14, 2024 | Marshall Shepherd

The Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins played in brutally cold conditions Saturday night. The Buffalo Bills game against the Pittsburgh Steelers was postponed until at least Monday due lake effect snow. I am writing this piece on a particularly chilly Sunday morning in Georgia. Scrolling through social media on cold or snowy days, it is common to see comments like, “well so much for global warming” or “Ha, I have 10 inches of climate change in my yard.” When I see such statements, a blaring science literacy siren with accompanying flashing lights comes to mind. I have written on this topic before, but another quick refresher on warming climate and cold days is always needed.

The “Captain Obvious” point to make is that we are in the midst of winter. We will always have winter even as our climate continues to warm.

The current cold snap associated with the aforemetioned NFL game and my current discomfort is associated with extremely cold air oozing into the United States.

While not settled science yet, there are studies which suggest that climate warming is causing more Polar Vortex disruptions and that jet streams are becoming more “wavy.”

The Fifth National Climate Assessment reports, “….Arctic air, while still cold in absolute terms, is warmer than it used to be four decades ago.” Record high temperature days outpace record cold days, and the number of extreme cold days is declining.

In summary, yes we have cold days, and yes climate warming is happening too. Bundle up today.

Except they proclaimed that snow was a thing of the past.