I've seen about half of Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth." While it's fascinating and scary, it's also pretty repetitive and a little boring. Someday I plan on watching the other half that's resting comfortably on my DVR.
So yes, I believe in global warming and understand that exceptionally cold and weird winters also play into the equation. Like everyone else, I contribute to the problem, and while I own a Prius, I hardly carpool or take public transportation. And finally, I'm no meteorologist.
I'm just a guy watching the weirdest Milwaukee winter unfold since -- well, since as long as I can remember.
Admittedly, I've found myself overanalyzing the weather lately, looking for signs that the world is falling apart. It's hard not to, as our local TV "news" acts as if nothing else matters. And while it doesn't deserve nearly the nightly coverage it gets, two days this month stick out in my head:
Jan. 7, 2008 -- High of 63 degrees. Remember that day? It felt like May, not the beginning of the year. In fact, the next earliest day for a record temperature like that is Feb. 11, when one year, it hit a remarkable 68 degrees. The last time it got to 62 degrees in January was 1944.
Jan. 29, 2008 -- A temperature swing of 48 degrees. When I woke up yesterday, it felt like a spring morning. When I went to bed, it felt like the North Pole. Driving back from a seminar in Madison at about 4 p.m., I was pelted with hail that came down with the force of torrential rain. Wind gusts of up to 50 miles per hour and wind chills waaaay below zero. It might've been the single weirdest weather day I can remember.
What's going on here? We've had an entire ecosystem worth of weather this winter. Big storms, huge warm ups, tornados, tons of rain and bitter cold. Is it just me or does this seem even more extreme than usual for a Milwaukee winter?
Please tell me if I just have a short memory or something seems fishy. Whether it's global climate change or just a nasty weather streak, stop this roller coaster, I want to get off.
Andy is the president, publisher and founder of OnMilwaukee. He returned to Milwaukee in 1996 after living on the East Coast for nine years, where he wrote for The Dallas Morning News Washington Bureau and worked in the White House Office of Communications. He was also Associate Editor of The GW Hatchet, his college newspaper at The George Washington University.
Before launching OnMilwaukee.com in 1998 at age 23, he worked in public relations for two Milwaukee firms, most of the time daydreaming about starting his own publication.
Hobbies include running when he finds the time, fixing the rust on his '75 MGB, mowing the lawn at his cottage in the Northwoods, and making an annual pilgrimage to Phoenix for Brewers Spring Training.
