tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5337555368793819627.post8264009299962683895..comments2023-06-07T09:04:36.390-04:00Comments on More Grumbine Science: Were the 70s cold?Robert Grumbinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10783453972811796911noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5337555368793819627.post-84140878389023589372011-01-26T01:01:17.931-05:002011-01-26T01:01:17.931-05:00http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8547224522...http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=8547224522119252436#<br />There's a lot of random images and clips being shuffled in this video but the point behind it talks about why the 70's were colder than most other times.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5337555368793819627.post-45482996733207323022010-10-11T19:34:58.267-04:002010-10-11T19:34:58.267-04:00Steve, yea-mon:
Even though I expect Steve was wri...Steve, yea-mon:<br />Even though I expect Steve was writing at least partly tongue-in-cheek, I think the points are good. We remember things against our own experiences. That includes our own height at the time. (I remember a certain snow as being more than head-height on me. Well, between the snow itself, the fact there was already snow on the ground, and the fact that I was less than 1 m tall at the time ....)<br /><br />How well-adapted our area is to certain types of weather is also a factor in what is considered memorable. Even if we didn't think much of an event, the many people around us can make something remembered.Robert Grumbinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10783453972811796911noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5337555368793819627.post-83200076129272789122010-08-29T02:27:56.518-04:002010-08-29T02:27:56.518-04:00I'm sure how people build to the local climate...I'm sure how people build to the local climate also plays a role, in addition to any first experience of an extreme. <br /><br />E.g. In Northern Ireland our average summer temps are around 20 degrees C - one consequence of this is that we don't have air conditioning. Winters can be a little bit cold, but not snowy. Our homes tend to be built with central heating. You can see that with this set-up we are going to remember unusual heat more than unusual cold - as we can just crank up the heating with the cold, and we also lack the memorable visuals of heavy snowfall.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5337555368793819627.post-71855695428626668822010-08-28T14:49:49.783-04:002010-08-28T14:49:49.783-04:00Hmmph. Well, I grew up in the upper Midwest durin...Hmmph. Well, I grew up in the upper Midwest during the time span, and I can tell you from personal observation that snows in the early '60s were mcuh deeper than in the early '70s.<br /><br />Well, OK, I was a lot shorter in the early '60s, but should that be enough to discount my persoanl experience? :)<br /><br />Regarding cold and heat, I would submit that we see the same effect: People will recall their initial experience with an extreme as more notable than it in fact was. Of course in my case the snow really was neck-deep ~1961. :)Steve Bloomhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12943109973917998380noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5337555368793819627.post-60406696417584989092010-08-28T12:29:43.069-04:002010-08-28T12:29:43.069-04:00Interesting thoughts Alastair and yea-mon.
You...Interesting thoughts Alastair and yea-mon.<br /><br />You're both right, of course; and I illustrated the behavior myself. People tend to remember events, not long-term averages. And people put more reliability on things <b>as they remember them</b> than on what research reference would show to have been the case. <br /><br />What we remember is weather, but what we're (sometimes) trying to think about is climate.Robert Grumbinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10783453972811796911noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5337555368793819627.post-19616528814213628852010-08-28T03:40:22.592-04:002010-08-28T03:40:22.592-04:00I've always had the impression that the 70s we...I've always had the impression that the 70s were pretty hot in the UK, mainly due to the 1976 Drought. Being told that you have to wait until they switch the water on to drink on a scorching day is a memory that's stayed with me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5337555368793819627.post-29788325862969842762010-08-26T18:03:37.226-04:002010-08-26T18:03:37.226-04:00Bob,
I am not sure that your argument would hold ...Bob,<br /><br />I am not sure that your argument would hold water with the general public. I suspect that when they think of cold years they are remembering the winters, and when they think of hot years they are thinking of summers.<br /><br />I don't have time to do the sums myself at present, but if no one gets there first I may have a go in a few days time.Alastairhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15152292130415788120noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5337555368793819627.post-64459205065173833482010-08-25T22:05:14.865-04:002010-08-25T22:05:14.865-04:00Thanks RAB.
I hadn't seen that site before. ...Thanks RAB.<br /><br />I hadn't seen that site before. The official recording stations for Chicago were Midway (from 1920s through about 1981) and O'Hare (since then), so splicing the two together on an eyeball basis ... <br /><br />Darn. Averaged over the year, even those ferociously cold winters I remember were not enough to bring down the annual averages in the mid-1970s.Robert Grumbinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10783453972811796911noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5337555368793819627.post-6370012987660142062010-08-25T16:49:57.934-04:002010-08-25T16:49:57.934-04:00It's hard to find Chicago data that covers con...It's hard to find Chicago data that covers continuously from well before the 70s, but <a href="http://is.gd/eDyBX" rel="nofollow">here's a good one near by</a>rabhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10075982588165305088noreply@blogger.com