Global warming makes me buy "snow tires"

I'm not kidding, despite the title of this blog post. This year I really am strongly leaning toward getting snow tires for my 2011 Mini Cooper S, and part of the reason is global warming. 

Yes, the world is getting warmer. But this doesn't mean that winter weather everywhere is going to be milder. Actually, it's going to be weirder. 

Does it seem as though your weather has become increasingly “stuck” lately? Day after day of cold, rain, heat, or blue skies may not be a figment of your imagination. While various oceanic and atmospheric patterns such as El Niño, La Niña, and the North Atlantic Oscillation have been blamed for the spate of unusual weather recently, there’s now a new culprit in the wind: Arctic amplification. Directly related to sea-ice loss and earlier snowmelt in the Far North, it is affecting the jet stream around the Northern Hemisphere, with potentially far-reaching effects on the weather.

...There have been many examples of “stuck” weather patterns during the past few years. Deep troughs in the jet stream hung over the U.S. east coast and Western Europe during the winters of 2009/2010 and 2010/2011, bringing a seemingly endless string of snow storms and teeth-chattering cold. In the early winter of 2011/2012, in contrast, these same areas were under ridges, or northward bulges of the jet stream, which brought unusually warm and snowless conditions over much of North America.

...While it’s difficult to point the finger at Arctic amplification in causing any of these weather events, they are the types of phenomena that are expected to occur more frequently as the world continues to warm and the Arctic continues to lose its ice. Further research may find ways to predict which regions will experience which conditions. But in the meantime, it’s increasingly likely that the weather you have today will stick around awhile. 

So likely the Pacific Northwest is going to see more weather extremes as the jet stream gets stuck in a certain pattern. This includes lasting cold in the winter, as well as snow.

I've owned several sets of snow tires over the years. Actually, they're better termed "winter tires" nowadays, because they're made out of materials which remain pliable under 45 degrees F., making for much safer handling in cold weather even when it isn't snowy or icy. 

(See here, here, and here for benefits of winter tires.)

Last year I put Bridgestone Blizzaks on our Hybrid Highlander SUV, which previously had all season tires. Even though the Highlander is all wheel drive, usually we couldn't get up our fairly steep driveway when it snowed. But with the Blizzaks, no problem. 

The Tire Rack is a quality online source of tires and wheels. That's where I bought a steel-wheel Blizzaks package for the Highlander. The tires arrived by UPS all mounted and balanced. Les Schwab then put them on the car at no cost, because we bought our all season Toyos for the Highlander there.

I'm leaning toward the Bridgetone Blizzak LM-60 Performance Winter Tire, which Tire Rack recommends for the Mini Cooper.

Maybe our Oregon winters will be milder than usual, thanks to global warming. There's a good chance, though, that we'll see some unusual cold and/or snow spells. If that happens, I'll be glad I have the Blizzaks on the Mini, since my wife will be using the winter-tire equipped Highlander to get around.

And now that I've learned more about the benefits of winter tires in our normal cold weather, getting Blizzaks for both cars seems like the thing to do even if we have a normal winter.

Comments

[tucson]

Think of all the energy use, resource depletion, factory discharge, environmental damage and the contribution to global warming caused by the production and disposal of tires.

[Jscheppke]

Mr. Hines, to echo tucson's comment, I enjoy reading your blog, but I sometimes marvel at what a huge consumer you are (you appear to own three expensive late-model cars, including an SUV). Consumerism, even consuming electric and hybrid cars and iPhones, is maladaptive and is driving our species to extinction. You should think more deeply about how your lifestyle contributes to that, if you want to present yourself in this blog as someone concerned about the planet.

[Brian Hines]

Hmmmm. "Three expensive late-model cars." Well, we have a 2006 Highlander Hybrid with 60,000 miles on it. The Highlander is the least expensive mid-sized hybrid SUV. (Actually, I think it's the only mid-sized hybrid SUV.)

Also, a 2011 Mini Cooper that gets 30 mpg, and a leased 2012 Chevy Volt that is getting about 230 gas mpg at the moment -- plus the electric "gas," which is equivalent to about 140 mpg, the way I figure it.

We travel little by car. And pretty rarely by any means, compared to other retired couples we know who regularly jet off to Europe, go on cruises, and such. In our neighborhood quite a few people have motor homes of one form or another, which are gigantic gas guzzlers.

So, no, I don't think our lifestyle is at all outrageously wasteful. We've weatherized our home, use low voltage lights mostly, and recycle pretty obsessively. Sure, we'd use less resources if we had a small apartment in a big city, instead of living six miles out of town on a small acreage.

But we've been here for 22 years, have reclaimed the land from poison oak and blackberries, and have planted countless (almost) trees which are growing nicely, sucking up carbon dioxide. Everybody does what they can. We feel good about what we're doing to protect and preserve the environment.