The Middlebury Campus

Issue date: 1/10/07 Section: Features

Media Credit: Ilhan Kim Protected by his umbrella, Alex Wellman '07 kicks back with a tasty beverage, basking in the heat of the winter. [Click to enlarge]

Crocuses are blooming in New Jersey. People are waterskiing in Minnesota. This past Saturday, students were wearing shorts here in Vermont. It's still only the beginning of winter, but things are certainly heating up.

This winter across the country, people are shedding coats and mittens to bask in balmy, record-setting temperatures. In fact, in many places it's almost as though winter has not yet arrived. According to the Associated Press, New York City experienced a November and December without snow for the first time since 1877.

Vermont has been no exception to this phenomenon. Already this year, there have been several days with record-high temperatures and for many Vermonters, this winter stands out as one of the warmest ever. "I've been living here my whole life," said Celey Schumer '09 of St. Albans, Vermont, "and I really can't remember a winter like this one - one with so little snow, or with temperatures that hadn't dropped below ten degrees."

Don Mitchell, lecturer in English & Film and Media Culture as well as a part-time farmer, has lived through 32 winters in Vermont and echoes Schumer's sentiments. For Mitchell, "This is certainly the mildest 'winter' [he's experienced] by far. By far."

So what's the cause? The warm spell could be due to a number of factors, insist meteorologists. El Niño, the cyclical warming of ocean waters in the Pacific Ocean, can cause warmer weather, particularly in the Northeast. Or perhaps it's the jet stream, a high-altitude air current which essentially acts as a buffer to warm Southern air, which CNN reports is running much farther North than usual over the East Coast this year.

Many meteorologists insist that short-term fluctuations in the weather are normal. After all, winter is not yet over. Some forecasters predict that the arctic air masses are likely to sweep through later in January, perhaps prolonging the winter into the spring months.

Continued...

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