Winter is the perfect time to daydream about less frigid climes -- a beach in the Caribbean, maybe, or the Brazilian jungle. How about Moscow or Iceland? Normally, these might not be the best places to warm up at, but thanks to the recent bitter cold weather, both have projected highs that top the measly 10 degrees expected today in Hanover.
The projected temperatures for today, Jan. 22, include a high of 10, which according to www.weather.com is 19 degrees lower than the average temperature for Jan. 22, 29 degrees. The forecasted low of "12 degrees is also 20 degrees lower than the average low of 8 degrees.
The below-average temperatures are accompanied by fierce wind chill readings, and the National Weather Service issued a wind chill advisory that warned against possible wind chill factors of 20 to 30 degrees below zero early this morning.
While the cold weather might seem like a drastic departure from the norm, Lyndon State College Meteorology department chair Bruce Berryman said that the temperatures are actually a return to typical winter weather for the area after several unseasonably warm years.
"We just haven't had it for several years, so we are out of practice dealing with the cold," Berryman said.
He attributes the warmness of recent years to a combination of different factors. First, weather patterns simply haven't been moving cold weather to this part of the country in recent winters, according to Berryman.
"The jet stream, which acts as a big steering current for weather systems, has not been bringing cold weather in this direction," Berryman said.
The warmth is also part of what he identifies as a trend over the past 200 years toward warmer weather. Berryman attributes this pattern to global warming.
He also pointed out that until recently, this winter has been warm rather than cold. While this week's temperatures might seem severe, they are mild compared to the record low for Jan. 22 of "23 degrees.
"In terms of this winter, we have been warm until the past few weeks," Berryman said.
For those pining for warmth, he offers hope of a change in the current cold. "Soon we will go back to the El Nino weather," Berryman said.
Some are thrilled with the cold, though, since it has come with large amounts of snow. At the Dartmouth Skiway, director Doug Holler is more than pleased with the current weather.
"Snow is wonderful, we love snow," Holler said. "We would hope to get even more."
He noted, though, that although the current snowfall is "the best snow this early in a long time," weather forecasters have predicted that it will taper off later in the winter.
"El Nino forecasters said that we would get snow early and less snow later," Holler said. "For a seasonal average, what we have now is low."
According to weather.com, Holler doesn't have to start worrying yet -- snow showers and lows in the negative digits are predicted for the rest of this week.
