US faces coldest Christmas in years as Arctic storm raises 'bomb cyclone' alarm
A deep freeze enveloping most of the United States early on Friday combined with a massive winter storm to leave two-thirds of the nation under extreme weather alerts, confounding travel plans for millions of Americans.
By Thursday evening, most states from Washington to Florida were under wind-chill alerts, blizzard warnings or other winter weather advisories, the National Weather Service (NWS) reported.
The warnings affect more than 200 million people, about 60 per cent of the US population.
It's just weather of course, but an unusually warm Christmas would be climate change, increase taxes, ban fossil fuels, ban fracking, drive electric, we're all doomed, evil oil, glue ourselves to paintings, hysterical screeching Christmas.
Freeze or screeching. Not much of a choice really.
9 comments:
Wonder how they’re explaining this one away.
James - I don't know, but it's bound to be our fault.
We should start the year on, say, 1st October and move Christmas to 23 September. Then all the travelling could be at a time of year when weather disruption for us is unlikely. Since nobody believes (or, as far as I know, has ever believed) that December 25th is actually Jesus' birthday there should be no religious opposition. Someone might object that the nativity yarns in Matthew and Luke imply a winter birthday but those stories are so obviously rather stupid Greek/gentile intrusions into a tale about a Jewish milieu that we can happily reject such piffle.
Our new version of the year is particularly convenient for epidemiologists because the flu season should fall in just one year instead of being spread across two. Of course you might still want some sort of festivity around the solstice - I suggest moving Guy Fawkes night to fill the bill. Finish the rationalisation by fixing the date of Easter and there we are. All perfectly reasonable and a demonstration of what fools the Jacobins were with their fatuous rationalisation of the calendar.
Global warming is a malevolently clever entity, though. It's currently menacing Australia. Have you noticed how it's always really hot at Christmas over there?
dearieme - I'd go with that, although I'd prefer to get rid of Christmas altogether, it has become much too frantic. A pleasing side-effect could be that it screws up Neil Ferguson's epidemiological model in some way - assuming he notices of course. Fireworks at the solstice would work well.
Sam - I'm always astonished that more isn't made of such obvious global warming every time Christmas comes round in Australia. Direct proof and even the BBC doesn't make much of it.
We could go back to the old way, Start of Year 25th March Lady Day. Much the same benefits re weather
Australia may be experiencing its customary heat wave, but it certainly has not crossed the Tasman Sea to New Zealand. We have lower than normal summer temperatures at the moment.
djc - and with the weight of tradition.
John - quick, tell the BBC. Or maybe it isn't worth it.
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