jethro

Nothing's efficient if it's a finite resource. I live in the Mendips, you live in the North York Moors - both areas with high sensitivity to polluted ground water, both areas already in the target areas for fracking. Would you support fracking in your local area?

More joy to be heard about fracking......is it just me or is this a completely bonkers idea? We're supposed to be diminishing our reliance on fossil fuels and reducing our emissions. How can this possibly help?????? "We are today consulting on a generous new tax regime for shale so that Britain is not left behind as gas prices tumble on the other side of the Atlantic," said Osborne. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/oct/08/george-osborne-shale-gas-tax

Not necessarily, see here for more info: http://forum.netweather.tv/topic/74399-arctic-ice-discussion-the-refreeze-2012-2013/

A bleeding miracle?

I haven't seen anyone claim that growth in the Antarctic ice negates the loss of the Arctic. I've seen people interested in the growth in Antarctica; record growth IS interesting. I think because your focus is so fixed upon the Arctic you're mis-interpreting other people and their interest in the opposite end of the globe. Attention to ice loss in the Arctic is understandable during the melt season, attention to ice growth during the winter is also understandable, particularly when the melt season has been so disastrous. However, there is more than enough room in this debate to discuss what is happening in the SH, global warming is precisely that, global. To be fair GW, you do discuss the SH and Antarctic ice but usually only to focus attention upon what is melting/calving down there. There is more to the story than a warming/melting peninsula, there's an entire continent to learn more about and record ice growth is part of that learning. You fixate upon record melt in the Arctic, others may fixate upon record growth in Antartica - both are part of this debate, both are important. It could be argued that your idea that people are attempting to deflect attention away from the Arctic by focussing upon record growth in the SH, is an attempt to deflect attention away from that record ice growth. It's a claim which can be cut both ways. My own personal opinion is that it's a needless claim from either side, record ice loss in one hemisphere is important, record ice growth in the other hemisphere is important too. We're all grown ups here, surely it should be possible to discuss both without personalising the debate and inferring claims/counter claims that no one is actually making.

It would be more helpful if you explained; people learn through explanation and instruction. How about helping people to understand the subject so that we may all learn a little more, I'm sure many would find it useful.

I'd like it to snow a little bit (just 4 inches or so but freeze solid afterwards) about a week before Christmas to get the festive spirit going. Then I'd like it to really snow, come down thick and fast starting roughly 11 ish on Christmas eve so that by the time Midnight Mass ends it's about 6 inches deep, then it can carry on snowing as much as it likes overnight. Stay cold, snowy and frosty for the next 2 - 3 weeks. Then it can begger off until it makes my Christmas perfect the following year. Not too much to ask, is it?

You seem to be alone in all those thoughts, can't say that I've seen anyone here claiming that Antarctic ice will negate the loss of Arctic ice. All I've seen are folk saying the Antarctic ice is growing and to be fair, it is, record breakingly so. How about giving the antagonism a break eh, you never know, you may end up convincing more people to swing to your favoured side of this debate if you stop with the condescending tone - wasps and honey.....

Sorry Chio, just thought a thank you was due.

Gibby, can I just say thank you for your daily analysis. It's so clear and concise, even a model numpty like me can understand what the weather has in store for us, without your reports every morning I'd be lost. You're a star!

Isn't it something to do with the NAO? More snow cover encourages a negative phase? Or have I got that completely wrong?

Another to add to the list: "Scientists have uncovered evidence for another natural cycle that, like El Niño and La Niña, shifts Pacific Ocean winds and currents and rearranges rainfall and weather patterns around the globe. The newly detected cycle recurs every 100 years, less frequently than the two-to-seven year El Niño-Southern Oscillation. But its existence, if confirmed, offers another fundamental cog to understand the ocean-atmosphere machinery that regulates worldwide rain, droughts, wildfires, floods, landslides, fisheries, and storms." http://www.whoi.edu/...nus/feature/pco

Thought some here may find this interesting: "Scientists have uncovered evidence for another natural cycle that, like El Niño and La Niña, shifts Pacific Ocean winds and currents and rearranges rainfall and weather patterns around the globe. The newly detected cycle recurs every 100 years, less frequently than the two-to-seven year El Niño-Southern Oscillation. But its existence, if confirmed, offers another fundamental cog to understand the ocean-atmosphere machinery that regulates worldwide rain, droughts, wildfires, floods, landslides, fisheries, and storms." http://www.whoi.edu/oceanus/feature/pco

A new study from Woods Hole documenting the discovery of a hitherto unknown natural cycle in the Pacific: "Scientists have uncovered evidence for another natural cycle that, like El Niño and La Niña, shifts Pacific Ocean winds and currents and rearranges rainfall and weather patterns around the globe. The newly detected cycle recurs every 100 years, less frequently than the two-to-seven year El Niño-Southern Oscillation. But its existence, if confirmed, offers another fundamental cog to understand the ocean-atmosphere machinery that regulates worldwide rain, droughts, wildfires, floods, landslides, fisheries, and storms." http://www.whoi.edu/oceanus/feature/pco

I speculate that whatever change may happen, more ice or less ice, warmer or colder, some bright spark will deem that mankind wrought the change. I also speculate that the current high level of ice will not prevent some from trying to see disaster, where none currently exists.

Why? And why should attention be focussed upon melting?

Apart from the bits they scratch into a pulp and trample into the ground. Beautiful to look at, deadly in a garden, should be shot on sight.........

Surely from a longer term perspective the mixing and the loss of ocean heat to the atmosphere has got to be a good thing.

We had a similar problem with the front door; despite the house being really well insulated, double glazed and always warm, the original '20's stained glass door and side panels always ran with condensation in the winter. Getting it double glazed would have ruined it so instead installed a thick, heavy curtain which is pulled as soon as it's dark, the difference it made was amazing, absolutely no condensation and a much, much warmer hallway. There's no need to replace your curtains, just add thermal lining to your existing ones. Steve Banes Fabrics, Christchurch Street in Frome, about £6 a metre.

Ring barking is far more likely to be Deer damage. If they are partial to Rhododendrons, round the Squigs up and ship them down to Poole, the council down there are loosing the battle against the Rhodo's taking over the heaths, they'll be glad of the help.

There's loads of food around for squirrels. They're hopeless jumpers, often over estimate how good they are, miss a tree and fall, we notice the ones in the road because the surface is hard enough to kill them.

Even grumpy old woman here could get excited about this.....2 mins 9 secs....all I can say is WOW!!!! Also about the epic winter of '63 http://www.paraffinwinter.org.uk/63winter.html http://www.thamesweb.co.uk/windsor/windsorhistory/freeze63.html

If they'd stop diverting Maize into making bio fuels they'd be more for the pigs.

I still haven't found Johnny Depp in my Christmas stocking, either wishing doesn't work or Santa's deaf...

The laden berries thing is specific to Rowan trees, or Dogberry which is the old English name for it. There are lots of weather lore sayings here, specific for snow and winter: http://www.farmersalmanac.com/weather/2011/01/10/snow-lore-101/ And: http://www.naturealmanac.com/archive/predicting_winter/predicting_winter.html Alternatively, there was a thread here which has lots more in it: http://forum.netweather.tv/topic/71221-predicting-winter-weather-lore/