Weather today: High = 21 Low = 12
Sunny and gorgeous
So much for that expected cold front and beginning of winter. It looks like that extra push of tropical air is holding due to the high pressure ridge. The papers got it wrong, the accuweather got it wrong, and even my own forecast was wrong -- which caused so shortage of embarassment after I sounded the alarm about the end to this gorgeous weather.
In fact today was so nice and relaxed you'd be forgiven for thinking it was April. People were outside in droves, jackets were off, outdoor sales were up and running, and markets on the streets galore.
It was a perfect day for another last-season motorcycle ride around the countryside, and I enjoyed some great times on that. In fact, this unseasonably awesome weather is making everyone so happy and relaxed ... combined with another good weekend of socializing, this is probably the happiest I've been in years.
Interestingly enough, another friend just got married this weekend. That makes for a whopping 5 weddings I've attended in 2010, including being the best man. A record for sure, and if I ever get married myself, I'll know exactly how things are supposed to run.
It's a real mystery what's causing this unseasonably warm weather. I'm enjoying every day of it, and each time there is an apparent cold front to bring in winter, it doesn't happen. This is strange, because the newspapers clearly reported a chillier than normal winter this year, and they backed it up with La Nina and Arctic Oscillation patterns. For many parts of the world it surely is turning out that way, as it seems that nearly everywhere is getting hammered with storms.
Meanwhile we're basking in this great warmth, and the farmers in rural Shanghai are already gunning for a 2nd growing season. Based on all the activity I saw in the countryside today, they've hedged their bets from the near-perfect conditions in November, and are expecting it to go on. That once bleak and deserted countryside I passed by countless times a couple years ago in the winter is now hopping with activity and there are families out galore.
Global warming can't be all bad.
The only nagging question is how to possibly make an accurate weather forecast or come up with some kinds of predictions for what the winter will be like. Perhaps the unthinkable could happen and this pattern would last well into December, maybe even January, and there would only be a couple weeks of cold.
Clearly the farmers are betting this way, and I may as well do the same, forget about parking the motorcycle, and just ride year-round like I always have.
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