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Thread: Long Cold Winter This Year

  1. #1
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    Long Cold Winter This Year

    We have a cooling trend. Chalk it up to reduced solar irradiance. One indication is the absence of sun-spots. The linked chart graciously provided by the Royal Observatory of Belgium shows the number of sunspots observed per month peaked in 2014 and now hover around zero.

    http://www.sidc.be/silso/dayssnplot

    Toronto (the Good) has a winter plan to shelter the homeless from extreme cold. Beginning December 15 prefabricated overnight shelters around the city will be able to accommodate singles, couples, families, and pets.

    There will also be 11 all-day respite centers with a combined capacity of 600 persons. The respite centers will open the doors when the outdoor temperatures drop below -15C (5F) with wind-chill, or -20C (-4F) with no wind.


    (Based on reporting in the Toronto Star.)

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    i am glad Toronto is doing this. We live in a cold climate and have already had a week of snow and cold temps and it is showing signs of being a rough winter.

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    Tomorrow I am bringing a 100 scarves I made to a homeless event.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Teacher Terry View Post
    Tomorrow I am bringing a 100 scarves I made to a homeless event.
    Nice!!!
    To give pleasure to a single heart by a single act is better than a thousand heads bowing in prayer." Mahatma Gandhi
    Be nice whenever possible. It's always possible. HH Dalai Lama
    In a world where you can be anything - be kind. Unknown

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    I see on KARE 11 TV news that the Minneapolis fire department put up a heated tent near the homeless encampment (a dense cluster of tents) at Hiawatha and Cedar avenues. One hot meal per day is available inside. There are tables and chairs and a straw floor.

    I understand from coverage in the St Paul Pioneer Press that there are year-round homeless shelters in the Twin Cities, but they are filled to capacity every night. There are different shelters for men or women, and homeless people are not permitted to bring their personal belongings inside with them for the night. So a number of tent encampments have "developed", so to speak.

    The second blizzard of the season is forecast to hit the Twin Cities tonight and continue into Saturday.

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    [QUOTE=dado potato;314623]We have a cooling trend. Chalk it up to reduced solar irradiance. One indication is the absence of sun-spots. The linked chart graciously provided by the Royal Observatory of Belgium shows the number of sunspots observed per month peaked in 2014 and now hover around zero.

    http://www.sidc.be/silso/dayssnplot

    Dado, I looked at the chart and am somewhat confused. I moved into my house in Sept/14. That winter we had massive amounts of snow that drifted everywhere and it seemed a long winter. A year later, with fewer sunspots, it was a very mild winter with little snow and frequent melting periods. Last winter was much longer with frequent snowfall and little melting. I wonder if the Great Lakes modify the weather to that extent?
    As Cicero said, “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.”

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    In our city, there are a sizable number of beds that go unfilled on really cold nights. It seems some homeless prefer their encampments to going to a shelter that has "rules".

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    Senior Member Teacher Terry's Avatar
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    Ours are full every night. We have also put up a heated tent but it’s still pretty cold in there.

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    razz

    I can't claim any expertise on lake effects. Further to your observation that the winter of 2017-2018 was long and cold, I see that Toronto broke a 60-year record on January 5, 2018 with a minimum temperature of -23C. Also, Toronto had a snowfall and -5C as late as 4/6/18.

    The link below is a lecture by Prof Valentina Zharkova on Solar Irradiance (SI). She predicts a Grand Solar Minimum 2020-2053, with less SI and reduction of the area of cloud cover, potentially bringing on a "mini ice age" similar to the Maunder Minimum. She leaves it to climatologists to work out predictions of how cold the winters will be, but she predicts that agriculture will be affected, with the worst global food shortages expected in the years 2028-2032.


    Her lecture and the Q/A run about 1:43, so I might suggest tea and scones.

    http://www.nextbigfuture.com/2018/11...r-minimum.html
    Last edited by dado potato; 11-30-18 at 12:50pm.

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    Quote Originally Posted by dado potato View Post
    razz

    I can't claim any expertise on lake effects. Further to your observation that the winter of 2017-2018 was long and cold, I see that Toronto broke a 60-year record on January 5, 2018 with a minimum temperature of -23C. Also, Toronto had a snowfall a -5C as late as 4/6/18.

    The link below is a lecture by Prof Valentina Zharkova on Solar Irradiance (SI). She predicts a Grand Solar Minimum 2020-2053, with less SI and reduction of the area of cloud cover, potentially bringing on a "mini ice age" similar to the Maunder Minimum. She leaves it to climatologists to work out predictions of how cold the winters will be, but she predicts that agriculture will be affected, with the worst global food shortages expected in the years 2028-2032.


    Her lecture and the Q/A run about 1:43, so I might suggest tea and scones.

    http://www.nextbigfuture.com/2018/11...r-minimum.html
    Thanks, Dado. I will make the time to listen as I find this research really interesting.
    As Cicero said, “Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.”

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