02.15.21 Polar VorTexas

I had a post all lined up and ready to publish today...but like everything else in Central Texas, it has been canceled due to weather.  Since Saturday afternoon, we have been in an historic series of winter storms, the likes of which Austin has truly never seen.

I have lived in Austin for 35 years, in this house for almost 24, and I hope that this is truly a once in a lifetime photo...6 inches of snow.

I don't like winter. I have never liked winter...and when people ask how I can live in Texas when we have 100+ degree days regularly from June to September, I answer simply...

You don't have to shovel heat to get down the driveway.

This was the 7 day forecast from the local CBS affiliate on Sunday night...the circled low of 1 degree is accompanied by the note "THIS IS NOT A TYPO".  I'm concerned they are going to be right, because the forecast low last night was 8, and when we woke up this morning...it was 9, that's degrees... Fareheit.

The good news, if you can call it that, is that the current mid-afternoon temperature is now 23, several degrees above the predicted high of 17 for today. 

I've actually seen people posting on social media that the current conditions in Texas...in which all 254 counties are under a severe winter storm warning...is proof that global warming doesn't exist. 

I am not a climate scientist, but a I am reasonably well read person, and as I understand it, our weather this week is a direct result of global climate change.

In June, 2020 the town of Verkhoyansk, in Siberia, recorded a temperature of 100.4 degrees Farenheit, a record breaking high.  It wasn't just Siberia, either - Alaska saw record high temperatures as well.  Abnormally warm weather at the north pole displaces the cold air (that usually lives up there) further south...in this case, way south, to the Texas Gulf Coast.

As of this writing, our power and water are on, we have plenty to eat...and the snow is mostly an incovenience.  But while we are personally ok, a lot of people are not.  Climate change isn't just about the weather, it's about social justice and economic sustainability.

I don't think it is a coincidence that this is happening while we are simultaneously dealing with a worldwide pandemic...we have ignored science at our own peril, and if we continue to do so, things will only get worse.

So please...

listen to the scientists and doctors, stay home and wear a mask.

If you have the means to do so...

upgrade your appliances and cars to the most energy efficient ones you can afford, support politicians and organizations who recognize that we must address climate change as an issue of survival.

Stay warm, stay safe and stay informed.

Until next time.