There are a lot of memes this past
week about experiencing all four seasons in one day. The weather around the Midwest and the Northeast
cannot decide if it is still Winter or Spring.
On Friday evening February 23rd, the temperature hit a high
of 48 degrees. That evening, the weather
changed becoming cold, blustery, and it snowed.
We had like 3 inches in short order.
The next day, we did not get above freezing. The nest day it all melted. By Tuesday, we had a high of 61 degrees. On Wednesday, it was 70. We drove down to Lake Michigan in our summer
car with the top down and had dinner in the car overlooking the beautiful
lake. We really could not believe that driving
around in shirtsleeves on February 27.
On that very same Wednesday evening, a cold front came through. Severe weather was predicted including hail and possible tornadoes. Tornadoes in February? Yes. We were watching Armenia, My Home on Milwaukee’s PBS station. It was interrupted twice with both tornado watches and warnings. In the middle of the second interruption, the warning sirens went off at our local fire station. We should have probably gone to the basement… but we didn’t.
On Wednesday, the temperature never broke 30 and it was downright cold especially in the morning when I drove to school for my 8 am class.
Though it was a mere 55 degrees today, Saturday, March 2nd, I decided to go for another drive. The sun was shining and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. I put on a jacket, took out my summer car, put the top down, and set out. I grabbed a cup of coffee from Starbucks, lit up a cigar, put on some Armenian music and cruised around town. It was perfect. I drove down to the lake again, stopped by the gravesite of an old friend, and jumped on the highway and drove up to Waukegan and back. I may have been over the speed limit… several times… by large margins.
I loved the weather today. What’s not to like? It was beautiful. Though none of the trees have budded, the first flowers, daffodils, have already sprouted about two inches. No matter what the groundhog prognosticated, it is clear that we are having an early spring. The Canadian geese are already back and honking up a storm at North Park. I even saw a few moths flying around our porch light.
As much as I am enjoying this early spring weather. I worry about these wild swings in weather. It seems like what us quality management types would refer to as a system out of control. It certainly is a system that can’t decide if it is Winter or Spring. I haven’t done any calculations, but I am certain these wild swings in temperatures would qualify for what we call special cause variation.
Some scientists are concerned about the planet being near a tipping point. By that they mean, where the changes stop being gradual, abruptly leap to a new state. The warning is that the new state will not favor agriculture and hence mankind. I am not sure whether to buy into these ominous forecasts because the weather is a very complex thing to model. But the changes we have experienced in the past week and very mild winter make those forecasts more plausible.
All this being said, I am still sharing a few photos from my most pleasant excursion today on this lovely Spring day.
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