On Tuesday this week, the high temperature in Ballyhaise, County Cavan, clocked in at 16 degrees Fahrenheit.  As Head forecaster Gerald Fleming told the Irish Times, "That's the lowest daily maximum ever recorded in Ireland, which makes it the coldest day ever recorded in Ireland."This new low did not shock the Irish.  They have been getting used to sub-freezing temperatures.  This is the coldest December on record in Ireland and throughout much of Northern Europe.  It is likely the snowiest as well.  The weather has thoroughly disrupted European travel and is starting to damage the economy.Not all winters are like this.  I saw no snow the year I lived in Ireland in the early 1990s, and in the early 1980s, during the winter I spent in France-Nancy to be precise-the temperature never dropped below freezing, even at night.For old time's sake, I have been tracking the weather reports out of Europe.  Yet in all that I have read in the...(Read Full Post)