January in the North Country is not for the faint of heart. For generations, people in this area made sure their firewood supply was plentiful and near at hand. Even as recently as our tenure (2001-present) we faced weeks on end of below freezing temperatures, often well below zero.
This winter started early with a pre Thanksgiving snowstorm and garden ending temps. We eventually thawed and got more seasonal as the Christmas season rolled around although calling the few patches of snow on the ground a White Christmas was wildly optimistic. The holiday was followed by several days above freezing with sleet and rain. Then more snow and now predictions of fifty degrees on this coming Saturday. We seem to be on the dividing line between warmth to the east and cold to the west.
In a forest and trees sense, we can loose sight of the harbingers of climate change and call a warm spell in January a traditional thaw. However, in the long run, I believe our traditional cold and snowy winters will give way to wild swings between extremes of cold and warmth which will disrupt millenia of adaptation of plants and animals in the area. I write this as snow showers continue, but the rains coming soon will wash the snow away and we can start another round of this vicious cycle.
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