Yep, global warming is a scam, which is why it feels like late Spring in Florida, Poland, and numerous places around the world… in the middle of January!
“Fueled by billions of tons of greenhouse pollution, a surge of record warmth has flooded the United States, shattering records from southern California to North Dakota,” Think Progress writes.
“Temperatures have reached up to 40 degrees above early January averages in North Dakota,” according to the Weather Channel.
Some of the recent all-time record highs hit in the past week or so, which are more similar to temperatures in late April, are as follows:
- Minot, ND — 61 degrees
- Aberdeen, SD — 63 degrees
- Williston, ND — 58 degrees
More from the Weather Channel:
Daily record highs have been set in Des Moines, Iowa (65 degrees), Rapid City, S.D. (73 degrees), International Falls, Minn. (46 degrees), St. Louis, Mo. (66 degrees) and Fargo, N.D. (55 degrees), to name a few locations. Although the record warmth subsides on Friday for the Plains, the mild air mass will bully its way eastward. We’re talking temperatures in cities such as Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Chicago, St. Louis, Indianapolis, Detroit and Cincinnati enjoying highs on the order of 10-to-20 degrees above average. High temperatures around 5-to-15 degrees above average will make it all the way to the East Coast including New York City, Washington, D.C. and Charlotte, N.C.
Of the astonishing temperature facts go on — more from Think Progress:
“There has never been a 60 degree temperature recorded during the first week of January in Minnesota’s modern climate record.” Southwestern Minnesota reached the lower 60s.
In Southern California, decades-old records were snapped with 80- and even 90-degree weather, sending surfers to the beaches. Long Beach hit 88 degrees, UCLA hit 89 degrees, San Diego hit 83 degrees, and San Gabriel reached 91.
And, of course, this dramatic shift in temperatures comes with considerable consequences:
Although this heat is welcome to schoolchildren, this breakdown of normal seasons threatens serious economic disruption. The total lack of snowcover in the Dakotas means that wildland fires are much more likely. The seasonally cold air following this surge of heat will severely damage the winter crops that are usually protected by at least 3 inches of snow at this time of year.
Global warming is a problem. We need to green up NOW to keep it from getting completely out of control.
Sarasota beach via Bitchin’ Amy.
