Do you remember it being colder

[Howboutthemdawgs]

“back in the day”? I have the conversation from time to time with buddies my age and we speak of our teens, 15-16, when we really were starting out hunting a lot. That would be mid 90’s. Couple of us hunted South Georgia. 5-6 counties north of Florida. And we swear it use to get very cold. We would bundle up in battery heated socks, coveralls (old liberty’s were a staple!), flip open mittens so we could get to the trigger and stocking caps. I don’t think I wore my heaviest stuff but once this year 450 miles north of there. Talked to an old timer the other day who still hunts down there and said he rarely wore a jacket in November. Stupidly I remember as a teen walking across a frozen lake in our neighborhood in metro atlanta. That hasn’t happened in decades I bet since. We now have armadillos in ky. Is that natural migration or weather related? Ticks are out of control and never remember them being that bad even in turkey season in the south.
Hopefully it will ebb back. I like cold.

*This isn’t necessarily a global warming argument it’s just an observation.

 

[jsasker007]

I remember the winters having more snow than what we've had the past 5-10 years. Remember some really warm winters with early spring too though. Things just used to be harder/more difficult years ago because we were not as spoiled with technology back then. Winter clothes are warmer now. Fish houses and deer stands are much better than they used to be. The boots I have now are good to -50 degrees where as the boots I had when I was a kid were slightly warmer than my tennis shoes. My circulation isn't as good now so that helps to offset the gains in technology so even with better gear I'm still feeling a chill most of the time.

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

I remember the winters having more snow than what we've had the past 5-10 years. Remember some really warm winters with early spring too though. Things just used to be harder/more difficult years ago because we were not as spoiled with technology back then. Winter clothes are warmer now. Fish houses and deer stands are much better than they used to be. The boots I have now are good to -50 degrees where as the boots I had when I was a kid were slightly warmer than my tennis shoes. My circulation isn't as good now so that helps to offset the gains in technology so even with better gear I'm still feeling a chill most of the time.

We bring up the clothes aspect too. The stuff we had back then was laughable. Walmart boots don’t fight the cold!

 

[bwoods11]

Last winter in Minnesota was brutal! Deer and other wildlife died off. This year it has been walk in the park.. it was 45 degrees yesterday and not much snow at all !

 

[Catscratch]

I remember it being colder, drier, hotter, and wetter. It seems everything is cyclic.

To me the biggest change from my youth is timing. I used to duck hunt lakes during Thanksgiving due to everything else being frozen. We still get the cold but Thankgiving has been t-shirt weather. It comes later during Jan/Feb. Same with spring storms. Used to be able to count on March rains, now I count on June rains. Sept used to be wet, now it's Oct.

 

[Tree Spud]

Back about 10 years ago we had a winter where it got down in the -20s F, that was actual air temp not the woke wind chill version used today.

One day it was -27 F ... you could go out in the driveway with a glass of water and throw it into the air. the water droplets would freeze mid air.

 

[356]

Lots to consider here. As for ticks, much of the problem is the lack of wildfires that set them back every few years. Last year we had a brutally cold spell here in NW Missouri. This year, our coldest day so far was -11, but the -38 windchill didn’t cause me to think, “hey, it’s warmer this year than last.”

As a high school student in California in the mid-1970s I recall watching a presentation on climate cycles, and that a warming cycle would allow northern states (and nations) to produce more crops—which would help with global hunger. The experts back then noted how animal movements would change with the cycle. Sounds like that 1970s presentation was pretty accurate.

As for observational reflections, the ups and downs seem about normal for my 23 years in the state:

 

[jsasker007]

Lots to consider here. As for ticks, much of the problem is the lack of wildfires that set them back every few years. Last year we had a brutally cold spell here in NW Missouri. This year, our coldest day so far was -11, but the -38 windchill didn’t cause me to think, “hey, it’s warmer this year than last.”

As a high school student in California in the mid-1970s I recall watching a presentation on climate cycles, and that a warming cycle would allow northern states (and nations) to produce more crops—which would help with global hunger. The experts back then noted how animal movements would change with the cycle. Sounds like that 1970s presentation was pretty accurate.

As for observational reflections, the ups and downs seem about normal for my 23 years in the state:
View attachment 62074

There you have. NICE AND STEADY

 

[Telemark]

I don't think it used to be colder. I remember a few specific years it was really cold, but I can't say every winter was very cold growing up in Ohio. I do remember I had inferior clothing back then that made me notice the cold when on stand. Sitting still in 30 degrees is far worse than skiing in 0 degrees.

 

[SwampCat]

Yes - it used to be colder here. We used to look forward to cold weather freezing all the shallow water and absolutely putting the hammer down on a bunch of big old northern mallards for a couple four or five day stretches every year. That is now an every three year event instead of twice a year. There are supposedly 18,000,000 less ducks in the fall flight this year than 13 years ago - 1/3 less. But I promise, in my area, 90% less mallards came to my area this year than ten years ago. We are getting like Georgia - we kill any duck that comes in range - we used to not even shoot wood ducks, spooners, or ringnecks

I dont know if you ever watch the Life Below Zero shows of folks living in Alaska, and they may be paid to say what they are saying - probably are - but they talk all the time about less snow and ice affecting their long-established hunting and food gathering.

 

[jsasker007]

Deer hunting back in the 1980's I think we wore 2x the number of layers of clothing that we need now due to warmer designs. Still have my original hunting orange coat that I got when I was 16. 38 years ago but when you think about how many hours you actually have it on it's not really a lot of time being worn. About 2 years worth of wearing that coat if I went out everyday of the season.

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

Yes - it used to be colder here. We used to look forward to cold weather freezing all the shallow water and absolutely putting the hammer down on a bunch of big old northern mallards for a couple four or five day stretches every year. That is now an every three year event instead of twice a year. There are supposedly 18,000,000 less ducks in the fall flight this year than 13 years ago - 1/3 less. But I promise, in my area, 90% less mallards came to my area this year than ten years ago. We are getting like Georgia - we kill any duck that comes in range - we used to not even shoot wood ducks, spooners, or ringnecks

I dont know if you ever watch the Life Below Zero shows of folks living in Alaska, and they may be paid to say what they are saying - probably are - but they talk all the time about less snow and ice affecting their long-established hunting and food gathering.

The duck situation is one I go back to. This could be a thread amongst itself but for quick conversation I couldn’t agree with you more. The migration is stopping short of recent/recorded norms in the last few year's. With the exceptions of brief periods, the southern portions of flyways are not seeing but a small percentage of what they use to. Is it that numbers are way down, which is its own issue, and/or is it just not getting cold enough to make them move?
I was in a club with a long time highly regarded waterfowl enthusiast. He documents every hunt. When he moved from the Maryland shore to Georgia he was routinely killing mallards and other “big ducks” in the piedmont region of Georgia. Now it’s just hoping to get some woodies at best.

 

[Natty Bumppo]

I remember it being colder, drier, hotter, and wetter. It seems everything is cyclic.

To me the biggest change from my youth is timing. I used to duck hunt lakes during Thanksgiving due to everything else being frozen. We still get the cold but Thankgiving has been t-shirt weather. It comes later during Jan/Feb. Same with spring storms. Used to be able to count on March rains, now I count on June rains. Sept used to be wet, now it's Oct.

I've observed the same thing here in NW Mass. October feels more like Sept. December feels like November. And March feels like February. I joke with my wife that I think the Earth is off by a month and needs a reset.

 

[matinc]

I remember the winters in michigan when we had actual banks of snow. Now a bank of snow is a foot high.

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

I remember the winters in michigan when we had actual banks of snow. Now a bank of snow is a foot high.

Good point. Growing up in the twin cities I had a snowmobile before I was 7. Dad and neighbors would sled every weekend. I just looked and it appears that the twin cities have zero inches of snow on the ground.

 

[T-Max]

I dont know if you ever watch the Life Below Zero shows of folks living in Alaska, and they may be paid to say what they are saying - probably are - but they talk all the time about less snow and ice affecting their long-established hunting and food gathering.

I wouldn’t have to go too far out on a limb to say I bet you aren’t getting on prime time with a show like that by contradicting the global warming narrative…


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[T-Max]

Good point. Growing up in the twin cities I had a snowmobile before I was 7. Dad and neighbors would sled every weekend. I just looked and it appears that the twin cities have zero inches of snow on the ground.

It all came to Kansas.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

It all came to Kansas.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I just saw @Catscratch doing a controlled burn…apparently not all of Kansas got it!

 

[4wanderingeyes]

Good point. Growing up in the twin cities I had a snowmobile before I was 7. Dad and neighbors would sled every weekend. I just looked and it appears that the twin cities have zero inches of snow on the ground.

In the north it has for sure been warmer and less snow this year than most previous years. But take this year away, last year we had record snow, the 2 previous years we had more days with -20 or colder since the early 70’s.

I grew up about 40 miles south of the twin cities, and I use to race snowmobiles in the 70’s, we didn’t always have snow and cold. I can also remember having a motorcycle hill climb event in February in Cannon Falls because it was so warm, and no snow in early 80’s.

 

[Native Hunter]

One of the things I did for electric power companies before I retired was load forecasts, which had a lot to do with temp probabilities. The following was the temp probabilities for South Central KY at the time I retired a little less than 2 years ago. Keep in mind that this is based on historical data:

There is a 3% probability of hitting -18 degrees Fahrenheit or colder
There is a 10% chance of hitting -12 or colder
There is a 20% chance of hitting -8 or colder
There is a 50% chance of hitting +1 or colder
There is a 99% chance of hitting +13 or colder

Since these numbers are based on historical data, they don't change much from one year to the next; however, they do change over time. I recall that several years ago the 3% probability was something like -28 rather than -18. This change over time reflects the warmer winters we are now experiencing. And, I saw -28 in this area two times in my career. One of those times was not that many years ago, but without looking, I don't recall exactly which year it was.

Yes, we are experiencing milder winters right now, but the big one can still hit at any time!