Its 61F today in Chicago and its going to push 70 tomorrow.  According to my phone it will drop down to normal seasonal temperatures by the end of the week but according to my phone that downward trend has been expected for each of the last three weeks and it hasn’t happened.  My phone hasn’t identified the structural change yet.

That got me thinking about some indices of global warming that weather forecasters might want to start tracking.

  1. The flipflop index:  How late in the season will I still be putting on flipflops to take out the recycling?  Current value:  Dec 2 and counting.  
  2. The Giro index:  How many times will I have to go back into the crawl space to get the kids bike helmets out because there is yet another day of bike-friendly temperatures?  Current value:  3.
  3. The Christmas/tennis index:  How many days will I play tennis outside in view of christmas trees for sale in the neighboring lot?  Current value: 1 as of tomorrow morning.
  4. Tulip index:  How many times will we have to buy another supply of tulip bulbs and not plant them because I threw away the last pile thinking that Winter had finally put a stop to that cycle of self-deception?  Current value:  I learned my lesson last year.

Any others?  These data will be updated as the season (supposedly) progresses.

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