In article ,
Malcolm writes:
| In article , Robert E A
| Harvey writes
| There are rumours among meterological types that it might be a cold
| hard winter (latitude of north atlantic wave, seawater temperature
| differentials, Canadian jetstream direction, etc.) and I wondered if
| anyone on the group had any views?
|
| It's certainly a good year for berries round here, which is one of the
| oldest of old men's tales. But I've noticed that we no longer get
| seagulls inland when storms occur, so maybe the old wisdom is dented?
|
| ANyone got twinges in thier corns, early/late plant dormancy, earliest
| frosts, insects hibernating or any other suggestions about what lies
| ahead?
|
| Yes. Meteorologists are no better at predicting the type of winter we
| are going to have than the berry crop, gulls, insects, or anything else
| that is merely reacting to what's been before and not what is to come.

That's a LITTLE unfair - but only a little. The Met. Office has
refused to comment, saying that prediction that far ahead is too
hard. The circumstance under which it could be predicted pretty
reliably is if the North Atlantic Conveyor started failing. Then,
it wouldn't just be the next winter, but the summer after, and
the winter after that, and ....


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.