Dave Sabol

I’m not sure if it’s just me or not, but I can’t take a winter without snow. I guess from my perspective if we are going to be forced to deal with shorter days and the cold the snow might as well come along as a package deal. One of my hobbies (passions) is the weather. I spend countless hours per week checking the weather at Accuweather.com and reading the blog postings (Community Blog, Henry Margusity, Elliot Abrams and Joe Bastardi) by many of their best meterorologists. I’m not sure exactly what it is about the weather that has always captivated my attention but I do remember that my interest in the weather started around when I was 8 years old around the same time that the Weather Channel was first broadcast in 1982. It was around that same time that I became a fan of Jim Cantore, someone to this day that I still respect and admire.

From that point forward I gained a much greater respect for the nuances and intricacies of the weather, learned the terminology and fundamentals of the science and even went so far as to track hurricanes on my own. I’m not sure why I never pursued a career in meteorology, but I do think that my love of the weather guided my love of history and geography, two subjects that I enjoyed as a student and I was eventually fortunate enough to teach as well. Regardless, lets just say that I have more than a passing fascination with the weather.

Needless to say at the onset of the winter I was pretty excited to see and hear that most of the best thought that the 2006-2007 winter was going to be one to be reckoned with. Granted I am not a masochist and don’t necessarily love what the weather can do to a morning or evening commute between Allentown and Philadelphia, but there is something pretty remarkable about a good old fashioned winter storm that gets me excited. However, as December and January came and went without nary a flake of snow, any hopes that I had of seeing the white stuff this winter season began to diminish significantly. It wasn’t just the lack of snow that had me concerned but also the warmth that we experienced through January. I don’t remember what the departure from normal or average high temperatures were, but I do know that it was well outside of what I consider seasonal.

As the end of January drew near, I started hearing some of my “sources” start to suggest that we would experience a turning point in February and perhaps a return to what we consider a normal winter at least from the perspective of snow and cold. Now, I am not one to criticize especially when my criticism lie outside of my area of expertise, but lets just say I was skeptical. I guess you could say that the prognostications of the past weren’t even close to the reality of what had happened and when one’s credibility takes such a huge hit, it’s easy to understand why folks have a tough time believing. They weren’t getting it all wrong, but they were really having a tough time nailing down what was happening in the Mid-Atlantic and New England.

Oddly enough, I had no sooner departed for Hong Kong that the weather decided to change, at least partially. The temperatures finally began to drop as the jet stream moved into a more seasonal flow and started to allow some of that cold air that had been damned up in Canada escape into the U.S. Then finally snow flakes began to fly. Nothing substantial, but when you go from the prospects of no snow to even a trace amount, it’s exciting. Then finally this week they locked onto something. We had the makings of a great winter storm and it was really a matter of time to see how it played out. Suffice it to say, it wasn’t a big snowstorm like they initially thought, but they finally predicted a snowfall.

When all was said and done, I think we may have picked up somewhere between ^1/2 to 1.0 inch, and for the evening all was right in the world. Hopefully, this is the start (albeit a late on) to what will be a relatively normal winter. Sadly, I think this may be the beginning of the end of winters, at least if we (the human race) don’t get our acts together and start making some substantive changes in the way we are treating our home.

I just hope the message gets out and people really take a good hard look at their actions and how it could ultimately affect the earth in the future. The sad part is, since the really impact won’t be felt for years to come many people don’t consider it to be their problem. As for me, I want my son and grandchildren to be able to enjoy all that the world has to offer. We (my family) have always been pretty environmentally concerned and if anything the recent news is just reinforcing the actions we are already doing.

For now however, I am going to keep watching the weather and hoping for that one big snow storm. I know it’s out there somewhere, it’s just a matter of time. Oh yeah, while I am thinking about it since yesterday was officially Groundhog Day - a minor holiday in most parts of the country but something more in Pennsylvania - I don’t believe Punxatawney Phil this year. He is saying that we are in for a early spring. Normally, I say why not believe the crazy groundhog - he’s as accurate as any other source of long-range forecasting - but considering that his predication came just the day before the mercury dipped to a balmy 30°, and the forecast for the next few days doesn’t show the temperatures getting above 20°, I say he missed the boat on this winter. I guess nobody has a perfect track record!