Last Valentines Day was the coldest on record at Amherst, Massachusetts at -10F (-23C)
This year has already broken last year’s record cold at -12F
Meanwhile, climate experts say that the North Pole is melting, due to people in Massachusetts using fossil fuels to avoid freezing to death from overheated Arctic air.
-14F here in western NH this morning. Brrrr.
Really? Santa’s home? Why not blame the demise of Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox on CAGW? Or were they victims of their own deforestation? Let’s have the DOJ investigate.
National Geographic, or National Enquirer?
I hear the Tooth Fairy’s solar powered home is not doing that well this winter either. He’s had to chop down the entire forest behind his development, just to keep from freezing to death.
Right on gator69
Thanks, Steven, for using your keen analytical ability to see through and report to the public the modern Wizard of Oz’s smoke screen.
Can you also help the public forgive those who deceived us for seventy years (1946-2016) about the source of energy that destroyed Hiroshima in a sincere effort to save themselves and society from worldwide nuclear annihilation as described in the last paragraph of Aston’s Noble Lecture on 12 Dec 1922?
That would be an even greater service to humanity.
Steven G,
How can I do a plot like that? Is it possible with the last version? I can’t seem to figure it out. It’s a very cool way to plot the data.
Thanks in advance.
Boston made it to -9 F last night, the coldest temperature for any month since 1957.
The temperatures keep on going down year after year, and yet the years get ‘hotter’ and ‘hotter’ inside NOAA and their graphs keep changing year after year. When will someone in charge notice this?
I conjecture that the few remaining subscribers to the once-great magazine, National Geographic, do, in fact, still believe in Santa Claus.
During my trip out east the coldest temp I read on my truck thermometer on Valentines day was was -16 deg. F early in the morning near the Mohawk valley along the New York Throughway I-90. No bad weather going out except some rather bad back roads in Ohio as I worked my way NE from Findlay to get to I-90. Sub zero temps the whole day while I was awake going across OH, PA, and half way across NY. Spent my 10 hour break at the DeWiitt service area just east of Syracuse. Was -10 deg F when I got rolling at from there at 02:15 on Monday going east.
During that kind of weather you just don’t turn the diesel off and leave it idle all night as you sleep. You also don’t set the trailer air brakes only those on the tractor. Your brakes shoes can freeze to the drums or the valve that controls the air can freeze due to moisture in the air system.
Delivered the cans 1 hour early in Ayre, MA on Monday and then headed towards Old Town, Maine (About 12 N of Bangor, ME). That’s when I found out that it was a good thing I hustled because instead of picking up Tuesday morning as I was told I was to pick up at 14:00 on Monday. So I was loaded with 14 Canoes, 41 River Kayaks, and 3 ocean Kayaks, at Old Town Canoe company then ran the 21 mi south in I-95 to a rest area to take my 10 hour break. Woke up at 01:45 Tuesday morning to snow coming down and a snow covered truck in a rest area just south of Bangor Maine Tuesday morning. I sat for 1 1/2 hours longer than I had to because I wasn’t sure I should even try. I was 1,173 road miles from home and was willing to wait until the afternoon to go IF conditions would improve so I could make it at least 500 mi during my 14 hour duty and 11 hour driving shift to ensure that I would only need to take one more 10 hour break before I got home instead of two. Delivery time for the load to the Galion sporting goods warehouse in Lebanon, IN was not a problem because the time and date had not been set up yet.
So there I sat listening to the National Weather Service (NWS) on the radio and looking at radar and the accuweather forecast on my smart phone. Then the NWS started talking about a wind warning along my route with gusts up to 60 mph. Now those 58 vessels I had in my trailer were only 4,850 lbs. so it was like I was pulling an empty trailer and a light trailer is not what you want to be pulling in windy weather. Combine an empty or very light trailer with slick roads and winds and your just asking for an accident. The wind warning went in effect at 15:00 so I decided it was time to hit the road so I could be parked before that kicked in. Within 45 minutes I had to pull over to clean 1/4″ of ice off my windshield, lights, and from the spring hangers for the trailer airlines.
Took off again and finally hit good roads and just rain down close to the NH border. Then it was just a matter of dealing with the idiots on I-495 during the Boston rush hour traffic and once on I-90 West I looked at my clock and figured I would make it far enough to get within range of home after a break. In western MA I saw 50 deg. F on my truck thermometer! From there the temp gradually dropped as I went further west on I-90 and the rain got harder and harder. NWS radio was giving flood warnings for places in NY between Albany and Syracuse but they dropped the ball on a pretty strong snow storm that hit just west of Syracuse. The first I heard of it was when I tuned back to NWS radio when the rain started turning to snow. 11 to 13 inches they were saying for some areas and they hadn’t mentioned a thing about it when I had last tuned in while passing through Albany!
Once I knew I had gotten far enough to make it home after my break I pulled into the first rest area just west of Rochester. It was a mess with trucks plowed in and the few open spaces full of snow. I just put the interlock on so I had both axles pulling and eased on through. Had 38 minutes left on my 14 hours. Next parking area was just west of Rochester and the crews there had done much better but when the snow starts flying the babies all run for parking areas so it was nearly full. When I parked the truck I had 8 minutes left on my 14 hour limit. I had gone exactly 550 mi. that day.
At 01:15 this morning the alarm went off and by 02:00 was rolling. Uneventful drive home though a few flurries around Cleveland. The last of the ice did not fall off my truck until was 40 miles from home. Took care of the paperwork, dropped the trailer, fueled, put in DEF, topped off my windshield washer fluid and restocked it in my side tool box. (I used nearly 4 gallons of the stuff on this trip), greased the fifth wheel and parked the truck and came home stopping off to buy my exfiance a dozen roses along the way since I wasn’t home for Valentines day.
All in all the nearly 2,400 mi trip went pretty well considering the very cold temps, snow, winds, freezing rain, and morons.