I wrote a story in my Sunday business column about a tarot card reader who is operating at Plaza Shopping Center. It came as no surprise when I received some comments from folks wondering who would trust information given by a tarot card reader.

I say it's probably the same people who would trust information given by a weatherman.

Forecasters were clearly wrong in their prediction for snow this week, but they were right about frigid temperatures. According to FoxNews, it was -15 degrees in Boston on Thursday morning and 9 degrees in Nashville.

CNN reported that 75 percent of the continental U.S. had temperatures below freezing Thursday morning and 20 percent had temperatures below zero. It was the coldest wind chill in Chicago at -55 degrees since 1985, ABC News reported.

With such soul-chilling weather, it's easy to ask, "What's all this fuss about global warming?" 

President Trump even tweeted, and I apologize for his language, "What the hell is going on with Global Warming? Please come back fast, we need you!"

Run-on sentence aside, the president raises a question many people are asking. I saw several explanations online but perhaps the best was provided by NASA.

The crucial thing to remember is there's a difference between weather and climate. Weather is what's taking place outside today. Climate is what happens long term.

Global warming skeptics who are forced to wear a tobaggon and gloves one month a year are quick to use this as "proof" global warming does not exist. But as scientists from dozens of countries have pointed out, the hottest five years on record for our planet have all occurred since 2014.

Another key point to remember, NASA says, is the term global warming. It's not called U.S. warming or France warming. It refers to the gradual temperature rise the entire planet is experiencing.

As a story on CNN reports, there was a record-breaking heat wave in Australia last week as most of America was bracing for this week's freezing lows. And as far as temperatures go around these parts, weather forecasters are predicting it will warm up fast and we could approach temperatures of 60 degrees by Monday.

That may be comfy for February, but we can't confuse the temperature on one day, or one week, with the overall threat of global warming, which scientists say could make Earth inhabitable for humans. That forecast seems bad.

Kelly Clarkson, Dean Martin and dozens of other singers are right when they croon, "Baby It's Cold Outside." Wednesday was cold.

But despite what anyone may tweet, a little cold weather doesn't mean we should dismiss what climate scientists have repeatedly stressed. The world is getting warmer and we should take every step available to change that trend.

Standard editor James Clark can be reached at 473-2191.