… more than a tad unusual lately, here in Arkansas, as I’m sure it seems to people in a lot of other places.
But, the weather for the next week is…, well…, ah…, it’s Winter!
It’s winter like winter was when I was a kid growing up in Nebraska. It’s cold – and it’s staying cold.
And it’s doing it in a lot of places other than Arkansas.
Something called the Arctic Oscillation has gone into a deep negative phase, where atmospheric pressure in the Arctic is relatively high, while pressure is low in the middle latitudes. In the negative phase, frigid winter weather extends further into the middle of North America than usual.
Hopefully, this thing will moderate soon – but I’m not counting on it.
How’s the weather where you are?
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi Mike. This is all so fascinating to me, though sorry you’re so cold. Weather in Vancouver is fairly typical… rain, rain, rain. We had a green Christmas this year. Quite a change from the snowstorm we had last year. We go from one extreme to the other. Hope you warm up soon.
Davina´s last blog ..Mother Nature Waits for Nobody
Davina – Unfortunately, after I finished this post, I watched most recent video forecast for the US South on Accuweather.com. We’re supposed to get two more blasts of reinforcing cold air, lasting at least through week after next. There may be frost all the way down to Tampa, Florida.
Thanks for this! I’ve just finished, but not published yet, a post on the weather here. It’s been unusually cold — colder than I can remember for many years. The TV weather says this cold from the north will be with us for a couple of weeks at least. I say brrr!
As for the little icons I asked about, I guess that makes more sense than tooltips if you (a) have multiple instances open and (b) can tell what the icons are. I usually can’t — they’re too small.
Do with t´s last blog ..Comment on Snowstorm! by Mama Zen
Dot – you’re welcome. This post started out going in one direction and ended up in an entirely different place. Rather than continuing on with what I had originally intended, I stopped “cold” since what I had was enough by itself.
Perhaps I’ll get around to another post on what I had originally intended…, but then, again, maybe not.
New England always has “weird” weather so we try to be prepared for anything. I just got a new umbrella for Christmas and hope it doesn’t soon suffer the fate of all my other umbrellas with the broken “skeleton” and the spokes sticking out any time soon.

teeni´s last blog ..Search Terms of the Rich and Famous
It’s mild here in Northern California! But then again, we tend to have powerful earthquakes…
Hi Mike,
I watched the weather channel and saw how that cold front was moving south, but fortunately it’s further east so Oregon isn’t being affected by it. We had snow, then 40 degrees +/-, the snow melted and now we’re in the normal range – cold nights and 30-40F during the sunny days.
Stay warm!
Barbara Swafford´s last blog ..The Power Of A Post
Teeni – The weather didn’t seem that weird to me when we lived in Connecticut. Of course, that was the first place I ever drove on ice and snow, having learned to drive in the Houston, Texas area. It was also the first place I ever saw an ice storm — ended up with glazed ice on the roads. Of course, of the three years we “lived” in New England, I was gone half the time on the submarine.
Barbara – Unfortunately, it’s one cold front after another, right now, each one reinforcing the cold. We have 1 day in the next 7 where it’s predicted to get above freezing — all of the way up to 37°. Thursday night is predicted to get down to 4°.
vered – we only lived in California for 6 months when I was stationed at Vallejo for training. Never saw any earthquakes, but we DID see snow, which, of course, was really unusual.
Very unusual here too. Strange things have been happening the last two years. I have commented on it earlier in your posts.
Rummuser´s last blog ..Aplogies For The Break In Transmission!
Looks like I’m the only representative for South East Asia.
Here in Malaysia, the weather is hot/humid all year round, with slightly more rain these days. I love snow, probably because we never had it here. Grateful I had a white Christmas in 2008 in Korea. No matter what the weather is, I hope everyone here have a good day. Nice meeting you and best wishes!
@wchingya
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Ramana – I remember. I fear this may be the new “normal.”
Ching Ya – Thanks for commenting. While we do have more seasonal weather differences here than Malaysia does, this winter’s extreme is quite rare.
I took the opportunity to visit your blog. While I don’t do much social networking, I’ve been on StumbleUpon for over 5 years. My user name there is skedaddle. Other than, I’m on facebook, but just connect with family and close friends.
Best wishes for the new year and new decade!!!!.
I remember my first winter in Ohio. It was like springtime. Didn’t even have to wear a winter jacket.
The following winter was definitely winter.
Weather’s cyclical in more ways than just the four seasons. Cold winters, harsh winters, not so bad winters, etc. It’s cold here now. I bet the polar bears are happy.

dcr´s last blog ..Updated Blogs O’Plenty
I’m sitting in the living room and my hands are like ice. It’s cold! Brrrr
Rose´s last blog ..Blog Post Ideas
This arctic cold has been pretty miserable here. It’s supposed to warm up this week. We might even get above freezing.