Another point sails over your head. Your OP says "second coldest start to spring" and "no one as yet has told me of any area whose climate has changed". So I noted what's going on here in Carolina (which is in my profile thingy), where it hasn't been cold at all. That's number one.
Granted, two years does not a climate make, but neither does reading a temperature on the day that happens to be the vernal equinox. Or whatever that link is supposed to be-- there's no article with it. So basically you say "it's cold" and I say "not here it's not". And btw since you don't know me and we've never conversed before today, nor have I posted on this topic ..... how exactly do you decide what "crowds" I'm with?
So let's summarize the points we've proven in the thread so far:
(end list)
I live in the upstate of south carolina and have been wearing long johns since November and do you want me to post my heating bills? this cold lasted way longer then normal this year.
uh... no thanks. Your heating bills would have no meaning without context. I'm in the other Carolina and guess what-- I'm in long johns right now and have been since November also. That's what's called "normal" around here.
When I say we "didn't have a winter" I speak colloquially, not literally. Of course we had the season, just didn't have the cold. You know what the coldest temperature I recorded all winter was? Fifteen degrees. Roughly ten above a normal year. And last year was similar. Nor have we got any lasting snow since two winters ago. Plenty of rain, way too much rain, but virtually no snow because it wasn't cold enough. That's not a normal winter.
Now if we're talking about a slow start to Spring I don't have a scientific basis but subjectively I'd agree. The thing is, anomalies like this serve confirm, not deny, the science that demagogues (with the help of Big Tobacco money pulling the puppet strings of course) love to deny. So in that way they're actually shooting their own point in the foot.