Östergötland Sweden: image buscainmobiliarias.com
Here in the Östergötland region of Sweden, we have about minus 10 degrees Celsius today and the snow is thick on the ground. Folkbladet reports that winter has not come so early in over 50 years. It was back in 1965 when the winter came almost as early as this year. Looking out over the current postcard like winter landscape the doomsday scenarios painted at Cancun yesterday seem not only surreal but also lacking common sense.
Free translation:
Winter came early to Norrköping this year. In fact, it has not been this early in 50 years. An unusual weather condition is to blame for the sudden start of
winter 2010.
Until this year 1965 was the earliest winter in common memory. Then the ground was covered with snow on November 14th. In 2010 we recorded the first “snow chaos” on 10th November. And since then the blanket has only become thicker and thicker. “We now have nearly 30 cm of snow”, said Jon Ekwall at SMHI (Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute).In 1965 we had “only” 7cm of snow on November 29th with a temperature of minus 8 degrees. Today it is minus 10 degrees.
The reason for the winter coming so hard and so early has not yet been analysed deeply. Meteorologists do not see any impending doom or any link to climate change either.
“We do not really know why we get this weather situation. It is only chance, “said Linnea Rehn, meteorologist at SMHI. “We have a weather situation that allows it to be colder than usual. Normally, there is a pressure over Iceland and a low pressure over the Azores, and this pressure difference means that you get a gentle western breeze blowing in”, Linnea explains further. “But at the moment the pressure difference is not as large as usual leading to the cold winds blowing down from the north into Sweden”. And Linnea adds that today’s temperature is much lower than normal. The average temperature is 8-9 degree below zero instead of being around zero.And so a new record is set in the common memory.
The k2p blog 