As Ice rapidly builds in Anarctica and historic cold sweeps the Northern Hemisphere, some scientists wonder if a new "Little Ice Age" is dawning

BALTIMORE, Maryland January 21, 2014 - In the "Little Ice Age," temperatures dropped so far in winter that they could not recover in summer.  There were no warm summers across a wide swatch of Northern Europe.  That may also have been true in North America, but this was a period of time beginning in the year 1350 and no temperature records were kept in North America, at least that survive.  The reason it is easier and easier to find reference to the LIA is because some of the key reasons for it are happening again.  The main one, a period of striking calm on the Sun that may not be done yet, was also a key factor in starting the LIA, which, despite debate, occurred between 1350 and 1850.

An article in the Digital Journal on Monday summarized NASA's findings about solar inactivity.  Find it here: http://digitaljournal.com/tech/science/op-ed-new-mini-ice-age-on-the-way-as-sun-goes-to-sleep/article/366556.  Now, NASA is the last place to go to find people talking about any kind of ice age.  With obama running the big show, all federal agencies are required to drink global warming kool-aid if they want to remain employed.  But scientists at NASA have to admit what they see.  Other scientists are reporting on the shocking build up in the amount, extant and thickness of the ice plate on the continent of Anarctica.  Forbes had a story on this back in September and they have recently updated it.  See: http://www.forbes.com/sites/jamestaylor/2012/09/19/antarctic-sea-ice-sets-another-record/.  Wikipedia has an entry on the LIA.

What brings all of this to mind, again, is the winter of 2013-2014.  Outside my window, now, a new snowstorm is starting with up to ten inches predicted along with single-digit temperatures.  If the wind come to - forecasters are iffy, here - it will be a full-fledged blizzard.

It is the calm sun that is generating most of the talk, together with the thickening polar ice.  I should add that the New York Times managed to find some real kool-aid drinkers who say that the thickening polar ice is because of glocal warming.  Record cold is also because of global warming.

I only know what I see and feel.  Right now, this is the coldest winter I can remember.  The only one that was close was the winter of 1976-1977, when the Chesapeake Bay froze over and cars drove out on the ice.  I remember ice skating for miles on Middle River and other bodies of water that haven't seen ice like that since, until now.

There is another article worth reading.  An MIT scientist who generally believes the planet is warming laid in to the numbscalls who tell the publiv that every thing that happens is because of global warming.  See http://newmexico.watchdog.org/15128/mit-scientist-disputes-man-made-global-warming-in-sandia-labs-presentation/.

Update:  It is now just after 4 pm on Tuesday and the snow in Baltimore has continued while the wind increases and the temperature plunges.  It is now 21 degrees Farenheit and forecasters here say that a foot of snow is now possible.  They also say more snow is possible on Thursday and again on Saturday.