It is widely reported that spring snow cover is declining due to global warming. Turns out that the decline is pretty small and that it all occurred between 1981 and 1988 – during a particularly strong ENSO period. Also, the lowest spring extent occurred in 1968, right at the start of the Rutgers records.
Once again, no need to look further than ENSO to explain recent climate.
Hmmmm……… for once I’ll have to say that I don’t see much of a visual correlation with anything in your plot.
There isn’t much of a trend, and it all occurred from 1981-1988. What else is there?
It’s weather!!!!!!!!
This is from the Science Daily News website: University of Montana researcher Scott Mills and his students have noticed an exceptional number of white snowshoe hares on brown earth. He contends that climate change and the color mismatch are causing much more hare mortality.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090224220347.htm
Pity the poor bunnies. The gist of it as I recall is that the hares turn white in the winter and back to brown for the summer. Because the change in fur color is triggered by the change in hours of sunlight the rodents are no longer perfectly in sinc with their environment because of climate change. As white fur is not good for hiding in a greener world the hapless hares will be eaten by keen eyed linx. The linx will have a gobblefest at the hare’s expense and then starve when all the hares are gone. It is climate change template. Professor Scott Mills gets funding for his field of research and a platoon of undergrads to do the work.