An odd prediction: global cooling

With all the talk about global warming lately, how do you feel about an organization that predicts that global cooling may be in our future instead?

Last year, this organization did very well with it's North American forecast, predicting above-normal snowfalls in the Northeast and drier weather elsewhere. As you will recall, Toronto and other cities broke snowfall records.

We're talking about the Old Farmer's Almanac, which has just published its latest edition. Founded in 1792, The Almanac is the oldest continuously published periodical in North America. It uses a complex formula for it's forecasts, based on sunspot cycles and other factors. The publication says that solar activity and marine temperatures indicate that, contrary to public opinion,  a cold climate may be in our future for maybe the next half-century.

If they're right again, we will need to stock up on oil and gas for more heating.  Is it possible that we'll have record demands on energy, while global temperatures go down instead of up?

It's an intriguing question. 

You can read more in the articles listed below.

USA Today story on the Almanac

Almanac: 2009 predictions for Canadian weather

How The Old Farmer's Almanac predicts the weather

The Almanac's article on the possibility of climate cooling.

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I'm back in in the province of Alberta for a few days and it's interesting to see how weather patterns appear to be similar to Southern Ontario this summer.

Everything looks green from the air, indicating crops and fields have good moisture. High, thick clouds gather in the afternoon and bring summer showers . I assume they're welcomed by most farmers and gardeners. Toronto has had the wettest June and July on record and continues to get an afternoon or evening drenching just about every day.

Of course we wonder if this is a new phase in the global warming trend, but we won't know for a few years until a trend is established. Last year, it was hot and dry in Southern Ontario. This year seems the opposite.

Just as the technical definition of a recession is two consecutive quarters of no real growth in the economy, we can't be sure whether this year's weather is truly related to climate change.
We'll ask the meteorologists when they're finished analyzing the data.

Meantime, we can carry sunscreen with an umbrella on the side.