By Nancy Nabak, communication coordinator
Let’s have a snow day! While kids are out of school in Southeast Texas and parts of Louisiana with their first-ever blizzard warning, we are scoffing at the pittance we’ve gotten in Northeast Wisconsin. I haven’t even made a snow angel yet this year, one of my annual traditions. (One is never too old for snow angels.)
But we do have the cold. And there’s an excitement that builds when we know that a polar vortex or an Arctic front is moving in. Even though my house is warm and I work inside, the thought of the raw cold is somehow delicious to my imagination.
My mind wanders to the “What was it like?” zone. “What was it like to ride in a horse drawn carriage when it was this cold?” Or, “What was it like to live in a cave with no thermostat to adjust?” And then I want something from history to pop out and tell me a story. I want the carriage driver who had to sit on top in the elements tell me how real it was for him.
I also become blissful with the romantic thoughts of having to snuggle in and stay warm when the warnings come. I don’t know if it’s leftover from childhood and days of cancelled school, but I still get giddy when I know cold weather events are on their way. There’s probably a connection to endorphins being created during this anticipation.
When I was young, I used to crave ice storms so that I could go ice skating on my front sidewalk. For real. My siblings and I did this. At least until our dad saw us and we had to get the skates off before we ruined the blades. We took broom handles to willow tree branches – watching them lift as the frozen weight was shattered. And my mom put her fondue pot to work when we lost power – oatmeal for everyone!
A recent study published in IOPScience shows that the Great Lakes have lost an average of 14 winter days each decade between 1995-2023. Co-author Eric J. Anderson said, “We looked at a couple decades here of change that we see you’re losing a half a month of what we used to think about being the winter. That’s really important for the chemistry of the lake. It could be important for the biology of the lake.” The article went on to say it could have implications for the Great Lakes in terms of extended periods when algal blooms may occur, the duration of shipping seasons, effects on the food web and the $7 billion dollar fishing industry.
I’m not a scientist or an economist, but I can see the correlation between our natural resources and our economy. Bottom line, if we have a healthy environment, we will have a healthy economy, and the key word is a sustainable one.
I love my seasons. I’m saddened to hear of winter days becoming fewer. There’s magic in snow and cold and yes, even ice. We need to keep funding research to find answers. We need to do our part, and let’s face it – all of us could use a little help from (snow) angels.
Photo by Nancy Nabak