"The snow is general..."

[libertango]

"They say," said Mary Jane, "we haven't had snow like it for thirty years; and I read this morning in the newspapers that the snow is general all over Ireland."

James Joyce
"The Dead"

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It's been snowing the last few hours. Slowly, very slowly, like watching an hourglass in slow motion. The flakes big, fat, and fluffy.

Gjallarhorn is playing on our stereo now, which seems very appropriate. Seattle is getting more Nordic all the time lately.

Like akirlu says, it's climate change, not "global warming." This is the third sustained snow I can remember this season. I suspect it won't be the last. I also suspect we'll be seeing even more snow next season, and the one after that.

(Like actors speaking of being "between jobs," I've become very self-conscious when using "last.")

Comments

[holyoutlaw.livejournal.com]

I think "global warming" is the more accurate term for two reasons. First, "climate change" is the psychologically neutral spin term created by people resistant to the policies that addressing global warming would entail.

Second, we're dealing with a very large and complex system. Local effects might be cooler or warmer, but globally, the temperature is increasing. The effects of the medieval warming period were not global, for instance.

What were November's temperatures compared to an average November? Since so much of the wet came from the Pineapple Express, I bet they were warmer than average.