Weather Patterns
Mary Lu Wells
Allegany County Master Gardener
A serious but often
overlooked result of climate change is the shifting of weather patterns. It’s
the patterns that determine the day to day weather. Let’s look at one: the path
of the Jet Stream and how it determines events like the polar vortex.
We only discovered its existence when we began to fly cross
country at 30,000 feet. Have you ever wondered why the flight to California
takes 8 hours while coming home takes only 7? The J.S. flows west to east and
like a boat caught in the river’s current, it moves your plane along with it. I
wonder how long it would have taken ol’ Ben to figure it out?!
This Gulf Stream in the sky travels around the earth at
about 50 degrees N. Latitude (think hoola hoop). This “hoop” undulates like the
flight of a Gold Finch - every 3000 miles a high point, then a low. Areas on
the ground or sea below an upswing have warm air drawn in. Those below a down
swing are colder (last year’s Polar Vortex.) This also explains why places
6,000 miles apart (New York and Moscow) have similar weather in a given year.
NY and California at 3000 miles usually have opposite weather.
As global warming increases, these ups and downs increase
bringing colder and hotter weather.
America’s original wealth rested in her soil - the rich farm
land of the Midwest. The bread basket of the world. As our climate warms, this
belt will shift North onto the Canadian Shield. I have driven 1,000 miles
through this area and I tell you, you won’t be growing much of anything there
no matter how favorable the climate.
So, let’s hope our agronomists can genetically alter our
corn, soybeans, wheat to handle the change in climate. Patterns and the “new
normal” weather they produce.
