apparently, this dip in the gulf stream is easily explained by a giant hurricane barreling through the bering strait. but that's actually the same mechanism i posted a few months back about the sun, just from a different angle.
the sun has come back a little. it might not be so bad. but there's a time lag involved, too.
but you have to understand that it's a really, really big hurricane and this shouldn't be taken as indicative of the weather for the rest of the winter.
it's reasonable to ask questions about factors producing such a strong hurricane. but it's not the same phenomenon that was responsible for the cold weather last year.
(well, it is the same mechanism, but not the same phenomenon)
again, this is the key graph. it's an exceedingly weak sunspot cycle. this doesn't disprove anthropogenic climate change (i'd argue both of these things are happening, and they're currently offsetting each other in the northern hemisphere), and i'm not arguing it's as simple as less sunspots equals lower temperatures, but the reality is there's research going back decades that ties these dips in the jetstream (*specifically*) to the oscillations in sun activity. it's actually well established. the media is ignoring this, and it's probably largely because nobody wants to go anywhere near the idea of presenting the sun as a cause of weather because they're afraid they'll be called quacks and "deniers". but, you don't need to argue against the greenhouse effect to understand that the sun is the dominant cause of weather on this planet. it's been set up as a binary choice, but it's a totally false binary.
there's no contradiction in suggesting that the hurricane strength may be caused by global warming, and arguing that the dips in the jet stream we've been seeing recently are caused by weak solar activity. effects can come from multiple causes.
the key plank in the argument is that this isn't a little bit of a weak cycle. it's not down a little, it's down a whole lot. it's one of the lowest we have on record.
i'm hoping the peak may help. but it's the peak. the truth is we could be in for some cold winters for a while.
i mean, insulating your house will help to keep the heat in.
but if you turn the heat down, the insulation is going to have less heat to trap.
it's kind of a worst case scenario, because it's not actually reversing any of the problems. it's just making it cold in the heart of the empire, and warping people's perceptions.
but, i mean, what's actually going on? are these jet stream dips due to melting ice? i think the science actually leans towards the sun, this time.