Yes, every time we get a few spits of snow, I start to pine for the normal winters we had back in the good ole days. When one would wake up to temperatures in the teens and a fresh blanket of snow that would cover every brown thing in the woods and fields. Every tree and every blade of grass would lie under at least 6 or 7 inches of snow and power would be out all over the countryside. Those were the good ole days of Washington County, Virginia. The last few years have been a mockery. A few spits here and a few spits there just making us think we were getting snow. But I found a news from an article out of the Pittsburg Post Gazette.

"There are several reasons for the poor start, including the notorious El Nino weather system in the tropical Pacific, said Bob Reed, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service.

El Nino conditions create higher-than-normal ocean temperatures and affect the flow of the jet stream. Instead of frigid air zeroing in on the region from the arctic and Canada via the Great Lakes, the weather in Pennsylvania and other mid-Atlantic (thats us) and New England states has been influenced by drier and warmer Southwest and Gulf Coast conditions.

Mr. Reed said it appears the El Nino conditions are weakening. If so, it could mean a return to a "normal" winter. "But there can be wild swings back and forth in the weather," he said."(Laurence Walsh, 2007)

I have hope now. My pining for normal winters may come to an end. I don't care what people think of El Nino.