Odd, isn't it? The Daily Mail reports on one of the coldest Whitsun holidays since record keeping began in 1772 and they manage to avoid mentioning global warming – or cooling. If it was a hot spell, we know how they'd be spinning it: Proof Positive®.
We had already suffered the great washout over the weekend. And yesterday – to complete the misery – came the big chill.
Arctic winds swept across the country at speeds of up to 50mph in one of the coldest Whitsun Bank Holidays since records began in 1772.
Sleet lashed the Chilterns while hail battered cricket fans at Headingley. Beaches were deserted as rain continued to pour down across the country. The AA said thousands cut their long weekends short to battle appalling road conditions.
Across the East of England, more than 74,000 homes were left without electricity as high winds and heavy rain brought down power lines. Last night more than 4,000 homes were still without power.
How cold is it over there right now? Well, some places recorded temperatures much lower than the average – the average for January, that is. Readers might remember my posts from last week about the captain of the cruise ship saying that weather patterns were more like January than May. It seems to be happening in Merry Old England, as well, doesn't it?
(Note: In case you have no idea what Whitsun (also known as Whitsunday) is, it is the 50th day after Easter, also called the Pentecost.)
This is the problem with using the term “global warming;” people think it gets warmer all over the globe.
The British Isles are at about the same latitude as Maine, and would be just as cold if they weren’t warmed by the Gul Stream. The chill on Whitsun could indicate the fresh water flowing south from the Arctic ice cap is redirecting the Gulf Stream south. That is what has been predicted would result from a slight increase in average temperature worldwide.
Small amount of global warming, but potentially catastrophic climate changes.
Or it could be what is known as “weather” and have nothing much to do with anything other than that.