“Where has winter gone?” Many people of Michigan have been asking this question. There was barely any snow this year, and the little snow we did get melted in the next few days. This weird weather is definitely not the norm in Michigan, with the average temperature in winter being 32.2 degrees Fahrenheit, 5.4 degrees above average. This was the third warmest winter on record, according to www.wzzm13.com. Compared to last year, this year was 7.4 degrees warmer.

Roxanne Shannon, a freshman, says that she does not like cold weather in the first place. She says that the disorganized patterns of the weather add to her dislike of cold temperatures, with her not knowing whether to dress in coats and sweaters or shorts. This winter has been more difficult than she would like. The lack of snow this year didn’t disappoint her, though. She was not planning any outside winter activities in the first place!  

Shannon believes – and hopes – that this year’s winter will end sometime in early April, so she can start to wear her summer clothes again. Punxsutawney Phil said we’re going to have a few more weeks of winter, but according to www.wxyz.com, this week’s temperatures are high in the 60’s, reaching 70. So spring might actually start by April!

Sophomore Jennifer Scott says this year was horrible. She is a big fan of snowmobiling, and with the grass still showing, she can’t snowmobile! Mother Nature has definitely ruined her plans this winter. Scott says the weather needs to stay one way or the other.

Some good has come from this not-so-normal weather. Scott says that because the weather was so warm, she doesn’t have to wear a coat! Scott is still disappointed that she didn’t get to go snowmobiling this winter, though. “We live in the North, we deserve snow!”

Junior Cody McGregor exclaims that “Mother Nature needs to make up its mind!” Even as McGregor says this, he likes the above-average temperature that came along with the winter. He likes it because there is less snow. As with Shannon, this winter has not ruined any of his plans. He does not particularly like winter in the first place!

McGregor says that the only good thing that has come out of this winter is that there has been less snow. He has also said that it has not been ideal because “We have not had any snow days. If there is going to be bad snowstorms, let them be bad enough to give us a snow day!” McGregor thinks that, because of this faulty winter, spring will start sometime this March. He hopes it will start by March 20 – the sooner the better!

But why has this weather been so different and unlike the winters we are used to?

Shannon and McGregor both said that the cause of this crummy weather was because of global warming. McGregor adds on to this theory, saying that he believes the air pressure might have changed, causing the weird shift in air currents and temperatures.

Scott disagrees with this global warming statement. She does not believe that the global temperature can be altered by humans. She believes that this winter was caused by natural alterations in the winds and pressure, although it may be unusual for Michigan.

The actual truth for this abnormal weather lies in the middle of many factors. Most weather experts say that no one factor can be blamed, but global warming is not one of the reasons.

Many have heard of El Nino and La Nina. www.elnino.noaa.gov defines La Niña to be “associated with cooler than normal water temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific Ocean, unlike El Niño which is associated with warmer than normal water.” La Niña was blamed for the cold air jets that moved way above Michigan. La Niña is also responsible for creating dry weather, which created the tornado spell we got not too long ago.

Arctic oscillation is one factor out of many blamed for the warm winter. nsidc.org describes it to be “opposing atmospheric pressure patterns in northern middle and high latitudes.” It goes on to say that this oscillation has a “negative” and “positive” phase, in which the negative phase exhibits relatively high pressure over the polar region, and low pressure near the mid latitudes. The positive phase is the same, just reversed. While in the positive phase, cold winter air stays within the Polar Regions, and does not move into the middle of North America, which explains this year’s warm weather.

This year, as it turns out, was in the positive phase. Arctic oscillation has been in the positive phase a lot since the 1970s, says nsidc.org, causing the rise in temperatures in the United States and Northern Eurasia.

Some people were happy with this winter, while others weren’t. But weather cannot be changed; the only thing we can do is predict what it might turn out to be. Whether its a crummy, rainy day or a beautiful, sunny afternoon, we have to make the most of it and adapt to what it brings us. Maybe next year will be different, who can say?