Why is it so COLD?

This summer has really stunk weather wise in the UP. It has been cold. Really cold. There were three hard freezes in June. By the time people could get a garden growing there wasn't time to harvest in many cases. We did have a couple of warm days but most of the summer has been cold. I guess the idea that the hot get hotter and the cold get colder may have some merit. Given that the temperature of Lake Superior right now (end of August) is running around 56 F or 13 C according to the Michigan Sea Grant Coastwatch program I expect that a cold winter will freeze the lake over. Which means a colder winter since heat from the lake puts heat into our atmosphere and moderates the temperature near the lake. Which also means it will take longer to warm up next year so maybe another cold summer.

It would be different if this was unusual. But it seems that the past few summers have been colder than normal. I'm looking for a graph that would show how we have been deviating from the norm. I'll add that when I find it.