AGW -- Cold Outside

Back in August (I think) the Met office over in the UK once again forecast a warmish winter. They've since, as of a day or two ago, changed their minds and now say it is going to be very cold, perhaps the coldest it has been in a century or so. Of course, they didn't make this prediction until it actually got cold. Personally, I've been watching weather extremes from around the world for over a year now, and I was fully expecting it to be a damn cold winter over most of the world. Indeed, I delayed writing my next Alternate View columns a month (it's going to be my reply to some e-mails and letters I got about an earlier "anti-global warming" column) because I wanted to refer to the expected extra cold weather.

I don't know why the forecasters couldn't do this themselves. I mean, one early indication was the coming of snow for the first time in decades to many places, particularly in the Southern hemisphere (Buenos Aires comes to mind). And sunspot activity has been extremely low for a couple of years now. To someone not wedded to his preconceptions and climate models, the obvious is much easier to see. (I think The Farmer's Almanac was much closer to the mark --but then, they rely on experience.)

Anyway, it's cold outside here as well, but right now sunshiny and very pretty. I need to take the Christmas lights down outside, and chop some firewood, and do a bit more of this and that. But I still feel optimistic about everything, chores and all.