Weathering The Weather

Check out this screenshot I took of the weather conditions in Des Moines on January 6, 2014:

Now, check out this screenshot I took of the weather conditions in Des Moines on August 30, 2013:

We love to talk about the weather in Iowa.  It starts virtually every conversation - it's crazy.  It's primarily because agriculture is our economic engine, and the weather has the biggest impact on agriculture.  (Well, that and government subsidies.)

But when you see weather extremes like this.....a 115 degree temperature change in a four month period, not to mention a 142 degree "wind chill to heat index" temperature change?  Even I think it's something worth discussing.

Here's what not to include in that conversation - that somehow the very cold temps mean global warming doesn't exist.  That's ignorant.  If anything, this is an argument that climate change (a more apt term to describe things) is in fact happening. Weather extremes support that, cold or hot.