Something to talk about

January 30, 2012

Used to be, people around here always had weather to talk about. But this winter, nobody's complaining much, we're just curious and wary about what these 40-plus-degree days in January mean. Proof of global warming? How soon will Braintree and Allston have beachfront property?

One thing we're not grousing about is heating costs. Last fall, there were dire predictions of a tough winter with high bills due to the price of oil last fall. This article says the average household spends more than $2,000 for heat each winter. The warm weather should take the edge off that annual pain.

This report from the Blue Hills weather observatory says that temperatures have been 5 degrees higher than average all winter. But this almanac forecast says don't get too comfortable yet, as February will average five degrees colder than what we've historically seen.

In the absence of Winter Storm Alerts (called French Toast Alerts by some), people are starting to look toward the effects of this weather on things like insect populations. Warm winters mean an explosion in mosquitoes and ticks, right?

There is some evidence that long-term warmer weather will allow insects from other regions to move into New England. Some diseases that affect trees spread more easily in warm years – and the northward creep of a variety of pests could trigger food producers to use more chemicals on their crops. Sadly, along with the Asian Longhorn Beetle that has killed trees in central Mass. and prompted officials to cut down many more trees to blunt its effect, there's now an apple borer destroying our historically significant regional crop (think Johnny Appleseed). Even your boxwood hedge is in danger from a new, weather-dependent blight.

Unfortunately, ticks are not kept at bay by snow. Some get more active after the first frost, and we should be on guard during these warm, spring-like days, because they're not all hibernating, says this anti-tick source. The weather has some effect on ticks, but we may not see the results for another 18 months, says this source. Apparently those sturdy, hardy moose up north are vulnerable to the tiny bugs, and more may be killed off a year after a boom in winter ticks due to the life cycle of the parasites.

Another trade-off for bearable winters is voracious mosquitoes. Are we really ready for a higher incidence of West Nile Fever and encephalitis? Also, they're predicting that global warming will allow malaria to thrive in the Southern states by 2050. So much for retiring there to avoid Massachusetts winters!