#erratic weather

One week; four seasons

After three days with no need for supplemental heat, the wood stove is back in operation.

After 72 hours of true spring weather, temperatures lingered in he 50s overnight Saturday, then staged a steady decline all day Sunday and Sunday night, dropping hour by hour and bottoming out near 20 Monday morning.

Nature’s verdict regarding winter: Not dead yet. A snow flurry Sunday evening added an exclamation point.

The cliche about Michigan weather is no truer than this time of year, when it’s possible to get the winds of November, spring rain, winter snow and summer’s heat in the same week.

Climate change

This was the view - or lack thereof - from a second-story window of our house Sunday afternoon as a snow squall, riding 30-mph winds, roared through our backyard.

It left a flimsy calling card on our lawn, which disappeared about three minutes later when the sun came out.

Meanwhile, the forecast for this neck of the woods calls for high temperatures in the 60s starting Wednesday and reaching 70 by next Sunday.

Top climate scientist James Hansen tells the story of his involvement in the science of and debate over global climate change. In doing so he outlines the overwhelming evidence that change is happening and why that makes him deeply worried about the…