I’m so sick of the weatherbeasts here on the East Coast exclaiming over this “beautiful weather” and expressing chagrin when it actually feels like December (as it does today, however briefly).
You know what? This is not beautiful weather – it’s unnatural, creepy, and indicative of very frightening climate problems. It Is Not A Gift From Mother Nature!**
Look at it this way, you got somebody else’s beautiful weather. They are now shrouded in rain, clouds, snow…and you’re bitching? Enjoy it.
Wanna try convincing Californians that eternal sunshine is a problem?
Welcome to the New And Improved! Drought and Flood weather patterns - brought to you by fossil fuels!
I’m actually a SoCal escapee and I want the damn freezy-ass East Coast weather I was promised!
It is beautiful weather. It’s also not right that it’s this warm in December.
Indeed, it is quite warm here in England. 52F right now at 10pm.
Now I am glad not to have to spend on heating, since the mid-50s are always ideal; and I would not want the high snowdrifts apparently common before I was born * — but it does seem off.
Creepy and wrong often come wrapped in beautiful packages. As many lovers can ruefully attest.
I like sunsets. I think of us do. But they wouldn’t exist without air pollution.
A lot of poor people right now are thanking their lucky stars that the weather hasn’t been so harsh this year. I know this doesn’t help the environment any, but it does help society. And lord knows society needs all the help it can get.
I’m with the OP. Yesterday, my uncle complained about how bitter cold out it was. No, it’s December-- That’s normal. It’s supposed to be freezing out right now. Heck, even that was a bit warmer than it usually is this time of year.
It’s not without its compensations, of course: I had a couple of tomato sandwiches for supper today. But much as I love tomatoes, given a choice between them, and Florida and much of the East Coast remaining unsubmerged beneath the waves… I think I’ll take the option without the global warming, please.
While climate change continues to be a huge problem (and is certainly contributing to our current warmer temperatures), El Nino is also a major factor.
It’s not a “very frightening climate problem”, it’s El Nino.
It’s a net loss, especially for poor people, when when the same trends yield deep-freeze cold spells and unpredictable storms at other times. Or, for that matter, the heat waves which have killed thousands of people in recent years.
Anthropogenic global warning is a real and existential threat, and I also hate warm weather in December. But when you blame the latter for the former, you sound like the people who say there’s no global warming because it snowed in Minnesota yesterday. Let’s not reinforce that kind of thinking. This is an El Niño year, and that’s all there is to it.
Then why is it noticeably different than previous iterations?
ENSO itself is subject to the shifting climatic order.
I hate this “beautiful weather”. The ping-ponging temperatures of December’s weather has caused an asthma flare-up. I’ve had to increase the dose of Advair that I use, and may need oral steroids. I can’t carry 14# of cat sand up the stairs without huffing and puffing and that is not normal for me. 
Why not both? We’re not just breaking records because of El Nino; El Nino is a fairly common occurrence. What’s not common is 60-degree weather in Newark for an extended period of time this close to Christmas.
I don’t think it is. There have been weak ones, there have been strong ones. If they are all strong from here on out, then maybe you have a point. I remember riding my Christmas bicycle in shorts in 1979, it was just as warm as this year. Climate change is definitely real. That doesn’t mean your local weather observations are due to dramatic climate change.
Don’t get me wrong - I think climate change is real, that it is irreversible, and that it’s going to extinguish much of life on earth. It’s just not what is making this particular December disgustingly warm.
Climate change has happened from the very beginning and won’t end until it’s a dead rock without any atmosphere most likely. Any planet rich with life is going to effect the climate changes to various degrees just as much as how water itself on a planet can effect the climates.
Typical doesn’t avert bitching here. We complain about the heat in the summer and the cold in the winter.
If it helps at all, the weather in the PNW is absolutely normal; exactly what we’ve been getting for years with the exception of last year a being a bit warmer than usual.
Sandhill cranes flew over Thursday and today. As I recall Autumns past, that’s a good two weeks late. Maybe a month.
Creepy.