What month is it?

2006 is ending the same way it began, with well above normal temperatures. After one of the warmest Januarys on record, December is also likely to be the one of the top ten warmest, as temperatures have averaged about eight degrees above normal. It has rained most of the day and there was a period of heavy rain just a couple of hours ago. It feels like it should be October 31st instead of December 31st. The rain is expected to change to snow later tonight, but if no measurable snow falls before midnight in La Crosse, December 2006 will tie with two other years as the least-snowy on record in that city.

Despite what they say, no forecaster can accurately predict the weather for the year to come. No one really knows what kind of weather 2007 will bring, but it stands to reason that this unseasonably mild winter weather can't last forever. The afternoon forecaster at the La Crosse weather service noted that some changes may take place in a week or so as some colder air will attempt to move south into the northern United States, but it is too far in the future to predict with much certainty. The proverbial other shoe will drop sooner or later, and I fear it will stomp loudly and forcefully. Our weather has been too tame for too long.