I have to say it because it's a huge elephant in the room....the Mid Atlantic

[pepperbear]

since December 1, not one single daylight period that has cracked below 40 degrees, not one single flake of snow, and now it's approaching the middle of February and flowers are up, lawns need mowing, tons of bugs are hovering around outdoor lights at night, and that's even when it's chilly WHICH IS THE MOST IT EVER GETS AT NIGHT...CHILLY. Forecasts show no end in sight. It's almost as if the continent had shifted and Virginia is now where Florida used to be. And I know other regions are having a similar or more bizarre experiences.

I don't have enough scientific knowhow to understand what it all means, but frankly, it is cause for concern.

[WheelWalker]

1. Sure glad we're not having any of that there "climate change", aren't you?

We might be screwn if we were.

[shraby]

2. Live along the Lake Michigan lakeshore where there is usually more snow than anyone wants

to deal with and ice piled up along the lakeshore edge. This year, almost nothing in the way of snow, and no ice either. Really really weird, and the tem. is hovering between 30 and 40 degrees most days.
Boggles the mind. I've never ever seen a winter like this in my 69 years.

[Joe the Revelator]

3. La Nina plus a negative...

....Artic Osilation equals a strange winter.

[starroute]

14. Last I checked, the La Nina had ended

The jet stream has stopped fencing off the arctic air, which is why Europe is now in the deep freeze.

But at the same time -- apparently because of circulation patterns in the Indian Ocean and the Pacific -- *all* the frigid air is being dumped on Europe and we're still getting mild weather.

I don't pretend to understand this stuff, but what it seems to amount to is that things are still weird, only for different reasons.

[lakerboy]

4. It's strange

I read it somewhere, probably our local newspaper, that Midland, TX has seen more snow this year than Chicago. Very bizarre.

[baldguy]

5. No snow = no spring run-off & drought in the summer.

Corn & wheat prices - the food prices - will be going up.

American people suffer. Republicans rejoice.

[prairierose]

6. The last 2 days have been cold here in the Black Hills but...

most of this winter had been about 40 degrees and tomorrow we are supposed to be heading back to that same temp. We also got a dusting of snow along with some ugly freezing rain for about the second time this winter.

I keep wondering if we are going to have a rainy spring again or not.

[Journeyman]

7. Perhaps the Fukushima 'quake was far more powerful than we were originally told. . .

and you are, in fact, now in Florida.

[renie408]

8. No shit. We are in upstate SC, so it's not like it gets super cold here...

but we haven't even bothered with winter coats this year. I think we had MAYBE a day or two in the 40's. This won't mean anything to a lot of people, but a couple of times a year we deworm our horses for tapeworms in our deworming rotation. Traditionally you do it in the spring after the last frost and in the late fall after the first hard freeze. We had not had a hard freeze by mid-DECEMBER, so I just had to go ahead and do it anyway. I know this year is going to be a bitch for flies, ticks and every other creepy crawly. Ugh.

[pkz]

9. I am a NorthCentral WV Master Gardener

vegetation bioclock is totally out of whack. I have pear trees with fat buds!
Bugs will be like a plague this summer, we need the freezing in the winter to kill the larvae, hasn't happened yet.

[HillWilliam]

20. Central NC here

My forsythia has popped random blooms since December. It usually puts on a spectacular show in late March. (It's my baby I rescued from a scrappy, scrubby collection of sticks four years ago... Now it's a monster.)

I have a 70x90' kitchen garden plot I usually open in March when it's warm enough to turn over again. Guess I can start churning it this weekend (could have done any time in January).

My worry is we're back in "abnormally dry" conditions during winter. Come summer, it will be full-on drought and I'll likely get screwed out of a decent yield for the second summer in a row. We eat out of that garden, putting up for winter. My partner and I usually spend late summer and fall between the garden and the kitchen, picking and canning. Doesn't look as if this coming season will keep us much busy at all.

[The Genealogist]

10. We've had a warm winter

January was the 12th warmest out of 125 Januaries since records have been kept in Springfield, MO. However, winter seems to be showing itself a little more now. Starting today, and for several days down the line, we have normal and (mostly) below normal temperatures in the forecast. If this pattern keeps up, I think it will be a pretty typical February when the records are totaled at the end of the month.

[theophilus]

11. Summer is coming.

And that is what is worrying me. Last summer was a challenge. The huge stagnant hot air masses just sit there. If they are over our area things can get very sad for our natural world and for our business. Electric bills go up and up. If the power goes out some will perish. Will this year without a winter be followed by a summer from hell? We'll find out. Summer is coming.

[bluerum]

12. We have had about 8 inches of snow so far where I live in MA.

8 inches all winter so far. 8 inches is a mediocre snowfall - usually just barely enough to break out the snow blower.

[RainDog]

13. in contrast - Europe is getting more snow than usual

these things seem worrisome, most of all, b/c we don't have a legislature that is willing to deal with these sorts of issues.

[DonRedwood]

15. Portland Oregon is windy, warmish and dry...mildest winter i remember

[jsmirman]

16. I'm in DC - I thought we were getting snow tomorrow

no?

[NotThisTime]

17. Vermont checking in, WARM and not one single snow storm where we live

yeh, a couple of flakes, an inch if we are lucky, it's all been rain and ice.... not a damn storm to be had unless you are up in the mountains and even there it's not great.

[arcane1]

18. Interesting observation of family and old friends in Virginia and thereabouts on Facebook:

This year, they are all talking about how unusually nice it is outside, how their garden is blooming in freakin' January, how they love the clear roads and sleeping with the windows cracked. Not one WORD about this being an unusual climate-related phenomenon.

Contrast with the past year or two, when they had an equally unusual snow storm here and there: everyone was quick to say "Haha! Al Gore is an asshole" because this snow storm disproved all the climate change idiots.

It's amazing what the human brain can do to itself.

[badtoworse]

19. Check out eastern Europe; they've been freezing their asses off this winter.