Global Warming Myth Busted: Snowstorm Shocks Houston, New Orleans, and Forces Florida to Deploy Plows!”

The claim that global warming has been “busted” because of a snowstorm in Houston, New Orleans, and Florida’s deployment of plows is misleading and doesn’t represent the full scope of climate science.

Here’s a breakdown of the key points:

### 1. **Snowstorms in Unlikely Places**
– **Houston and New Orleans** are cities known for their warm climates, and **Florida** is typically associated with tropical weather. However, snowstorms can, in rare circumstances, occur in these areas due to a variety of weather patterns, such as cold air masses from the north colliding with moisture from the Gulf of Mexico.
– These types of storms have occurred in the past, even before the widespread awareness of climate change, so their occurrence doesn’t disprove the reality of global warming.

### 2. **Global Warming vs. Weather**
– Global warming refers to the long-term increase in Earth’s average surface temperature due to human activities, primarily the burning of fossil fuels, which increases greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere.
– Weather events, like snowstorms or cold snaps, are short-term fluctuations and do not directly reflect the long-term trends associated with global warming. In fact, climate change can sometimes contribute to extreme weather in unexpected ways. For instance, warming temperatures can increase the amount of moisture in the atmosphere, which may result in more intense storms, even in regions that don’t typically experience heavy snowfall.

### 3. **The “Global Warming Myth”**
– The idea that global warming has been “busted” by an unexpected snowstorm is a common misconception or talking point used to undermine scientific consensus. A single snowstorm in Houston or New Orleans doesn’t provide evidence that global warming isn’t happening.
– In reality, global warming refers to a **global average temperature increase**, not the absence of snow or cold weather. In fact, the overall global temperature has been rising, as evidenced by long-term trends in the global climate data.

### 4. **Fluctuations and Extreme Weather**
– Extreme cold weather events can occur even in the context of a warming world. The warming of the Arctic, for example, can disrupt typical weather patterns, leading to colder weather in certain regions (such as the northeastern U.S. and parts of Europe) or more severe storms.
– Climate change is expected to increase the intensity and unpredictability of extreme weather events, including snowstorms in places where they are rare.

### 5. **The Role of Local Climate**
– Local weather events, like snowstorms in Houston or New Orleans, are influenced by regional and seasonal variations. Factors such as ocean temperatures, wind patterns, and even El Niño/La Niña cycles can play a significant role in these weather events.
– Florida’s deployment of plows in response to snow and ice is unusual, but it is a reflection of the region’s lack of infrastructure for dealing with cold weather, not an indication that global warming is “debunked.”

### 6. **Conclusion**
– While snowstorms in regions unaccustomed to snow may seem to contradict the concept of global warming, they don’t disprove it. Climate change refers to long-term global patterns, not every weather event.
– The occurrence of cold weather or snow in places like Houston or New Orleans is part of the complexity of climate systems and does not negate the overwhelming evidence of rising global temperatures, melting ice, and shifting weather patterns globally.