Paul Beckwith – Jan 1, 2023
I coined the phrase “weather whiplashing” many years ago to describe the wrenching changes that often occur now due to abrupt climate system change.
The recent weather in North America is a perfect example of this phenomena. Shortly before Christmas, there were warm temperatures and rainfall, followed by a flash freeze, high winds, and heavy snowfall, leading to blizzard conditions in many places. Buffalo, NY and the Fort Erie region were particularly hit hard by the cold front picking up moisture from the warmer than normal Great Lakes causing heavy lake effect snowfalls on the eastern shoreline regions of the lakes. The long duration high winds pushed lake water eastward, causing a seiche whereby water levels on western shorelines dropped 7 feet, and the water piling up on eastern shorelines raised water levels over 10 feet, which combined with 30 foot plus waves to damage coastal properties.
A week later, there was a massive melt of this snow, as temperatures went well over freezing and caused rapid melt and flooding.
Welcome to the turbocharged weather wilding phenomena that is directly caused by abrupt climate system change.
Transition Studies 