[Culturechat] Another "Little Ice Age"?

[WesTexas@aol.com]

(Scientists believe that sudden inflows of cold water from polar areas, 
during period of ancient global warming, paradoxically caused very cold 
weather in Europe.  The primary reason appears to be a disruption of the Gulf 
Stream.   Without the warming effect of the Gulf Stream, most of Europe would 
have the same climate as Canada.  There is some current evidence of increased 
cold fresh water flows into the North Atlantic, and some scientists have been 
predicting a sudden change in Europe's and (Eastern) North America's 
weather--making it much colder--which makes the following articles pretty 
interesting.  This has occurred without human intervention in the past, but 
who knows if humans had anything to do with it this time.)--J. Brown

Heavy snow causes travel chaos in central Europe


LONDON, Jan 7 (Reuters) - Heavy snow brought road and rail chaos to parts of 
central Europe on Tuesday, forcing people in the Croatian capital Zagreb to 
abandon their cars and plough through thick snow on foot.

Overnight snowfalls in Hungary caused traffic jams across the country and 
sealed off several villages in the east.

The bad weather also forced the closure of border crossings with eastern 
neighbour Croatia, where heavy snow cut off the country's Adriatic coast from 
Zagreb, disrupted road and rail traffic and caused hour-long delays to 
flights.

People in Zagreb returning to work after a two-week holiday had to make their 
way on foot after public transport ground to a halt. The local weather bureau 
forecast more snow over the next three days.

In neighbouring Slovenia, high, snow-laden winds forced the closure of roads 
and, briefly, a border crossing with Italy.

Elsewhere in Europe, water levels receded in most southwestern and eastern 
parts of Germany, which had been hit by floods in the past few days.

"The situation has calmed down," said Gerhard Lux, metereologist at German 
met office DWD. "Water levels are falling, and it's not expected to get 
worse," he added.

The snow and cold prompted the cancellation of 13 flights to or from 
southwestern Stuttgart airport. More than 40 planes were delayed by up to two 
hours, the airport said.

In France, the river Seine in Paris swelled further, obliging drivers for a 
third day to steer clear of flooded roads that wind along the banks of the 
river in the centre of the French capital.

In Britain, train commuters faced long delays due to frozen rail points and 
snowfall was reported across the country. In the south, New Year floods from 
torrential rains on already water-logged ground gave way to freezing 
temperatures.

At least seven people were reported killed last week in flooding across 
Europe, which blocked roads and railways. Rivers also burst their banks in 
Austria, Belgium, Britain and Portugal.

(Jan. 24) -- Bitter cold gripped the eastern two-thirds of the U.S. Friday, 
choking northern harbors with ice, shutting down schools and setting more 
record low temperatures.  Across the South on Friday, temperatures fell to 
the teens and single digits, with an unfamiliar dip below the freezing mark 
as far south as interior South Florida.  Record lows for the date included 16 
degrees in North Myrtle Beach, S.C., well below the 26 degree mark set in 
1991.