Brrr

It’s absolutely crazy cold and schools are closed all over the state. Here at the House of Pho, the kids were briefly happy, but now are a wee bit stir crazy.

As for myself, a planned trip to Columbus for a PTA Advocacy Day is now off. That’s a little disappointing as Jim Betts and Bill Phillis are scheduled to speak about the Amendment with No Name on the record and in front of a somewhat skeptical audience. Sorry to have to miss that.

Normally I get extremely testy during these cold snaps. In this case I’m pretty OK with things. For one thing, we actually need these deep freezes to kill things that are trying to winter over. Last winter was very mild with no cold spells anything like this. Last spring we were plagued by swarms of baby-stealing mosquitoes. I can live with the tradeoff.

Also, this still isn’t all that bad. Temps are in the aughts, which is snot-freezing, face-breaking cold. But the Ohio I grew up in was perfectly capable of highs in negative numbers for a few days running.

What’s more, the end is in sight. Past winters would have seen the first of these in late December to early January, with two or three to follow.

And let’s have no squawking about how global warming must not be true because look how cold it is outside. First, global warming means an increase in average ambient temperature of a few degrees. That doesn’t mean the temperature doesn’t fluctuate downwards. Second, snaps like these happen because the arctic air mass dips down to where we are. That generally has to do with where the Jetstream is flowing. Nothing I've read suggests that warmer average temperatures prevent the Jetstream for shifting south.

Finally, make note of the fact that this has still been a mild winter in a line of mild winters. I.e., see above.

So, I'll be here tomorrow, trying to keep the little ones entertained and counting the hours till Wednesday, when highs are supposed to reach a balmy 17 degrees. Break out the sunscreen.