A new paper from Paul Smith’s College researchers raises the specter of an Adirondack Park without the winter weather that has long shaped the region’s culture and economy.
More info and a link to the study here.
Join Adirondack Explorer reporter Zachary Matson and Curt Stager for an online Q&A session from 7-7:30 pm on Thursday, Oct. 27. Bring your questions or send ahead to ask@adirondackexplorer.org.
Free to attend. RSVP to receive Zoom event info.
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Anyone who grew up in the adirondacks in the 70’s or earlier knows that the winter is completely different now adays. no longer is January and February dropping below -20 for weeks at a time, it almost never got above freezing during those months and snow banks along roads would often reach 8 feet plus. we did not drive on pavement but rather compressed snow and sand due to the extreme cold and snow amounts. When road graders often plowed Newcomb’s main road through town. waking up for days with -25 to -30 F. coming in with cloths crusted with thick ice and spend 30 minutes by wood stove warming up and drying cloths. wandering on snow shoes in 4 to 6 feet of snow in the woods behind the house. Tree’s freezing and cracking like gun shots when it was -30 or below. Digging out wood piles and dragging in on sleds, refilling the wood box could take finger numb hours.
Those brutally cold and snowy winters are long only memories in older peoples memories and part of a much harder life that was.
Sounds just like Minot, ND back in the 70s. I am back in NY so I wonder if Minit has also changed, Nathan.
The 1980 AND the 1932 winter olympics in Lake Placid were both threatened by lack of snow in the late winters of those years. With the exception of a few years in the early 70’s in that area not a lot of snow was quite common. Lots of cold though.
70’s and early 80’s Newcomb, north hudson we almost always had significant snow, but the biggiest thing was for January and february was that it rarely ever got up to freezing, so that snow stayed all winter and built up to many feet. Now it snows and the “new normal ” is it mostly melts off in a week. The results are no build up of snow and bare ground most of the winter.
The last ice age was +/- 20K years ago when the Adirondacks were covered with a mile thick sheet of ice. Fortunately we have been getting warmer each year for awhile. I imagine January now days would be shorts and tank top weather to someone from that era.
Are you able to show a correlation or a direct causal effect of man made pollutants on the weather?
Considering your data set , in terms of time frame compared to the age of the planet, do you question the veracity of the data?
Do you think resources such as government funding, education, philosophy and education of our environment might be better spent on short term goals vs long term goals?
In other words, not throwing trash out the window, not polluting the air around others with Cannabis, loud music , staying on the marked trails, not speeding , not looking at the Adirondacks to get drunk, snowmobiles and other motorized craft-short term goals. Do you feel these attributes need more attention or should all focus be placed on theoretical data?
Thank you.
Great questions to bring up at the presentation!
Hard data collected by thousands of studies indicate that the current climate change (1970’s-to present) is a result of mostly humans burning fossil fuels which releases CO2, methane,etc., which is warming earth’s climate and causing more severe weather (hurricanes, tornadoes, droughts, and floods. If you don’t believe this by now you’re living in La La Land. Instead of putting one’s head in a hole like an ostrich, we all have to get serious to address this problem before irreversible climate trends effect take effect that will threaten all life on earth.
TSM,
At this stage of the game, it really isn’t necessary to keep re-analyzing the same data just because a few outliers don’t accept the results. They won’t accept any results – just leave them behind. Our time, effort, and resources should be aimed at rectification and infrastructure remediation to meet any upcoming challenges.