At a Glance

Donald Trump tweeted Tuesday that he hopes global warming "comes back fast."His tweet drew scorn from some members of Congress.

President Donald Trump tweeted Monday that he wants global warming to "come back fast" in response to the dangerous cold outbreak, showing once again a lack of understanding between weather and climate as global temperatures continue to rise.

"In the beautiful Midwest, windchill temperatures are reaching minus 60 degrees, the coldest ever recorded. In coming days, expected to get even colder. People can’t last outside even for minutes. What the hell is going on with Global Waming (sic)? Please come back fast, we need you!" Trump tweeted.

The comment highlights a lack of understanding about the difference between weather and climate.

NASA makes this distinction: "Weather is what conditions of the atmosphere are over a short period of time, and climate is how the atmosphere 'behaves' over relatively long periods of time."

Dr. Marshall Shepherd, director of the University of Georgia's atmospheric sciences program and former president of the American Meteorological Society, has said that "weather is your mood; climate is your personality," meaning a single weather event like a brutal cold snap cannot be linked to climate, but long-term trends are better indicators of a changing climate.

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The consensus of scientists is that individual weather events do not reflect the long-term trend of global warming. In fact, in 2018 and the last four years have been the four warmest years on record.

This isn't a one-off comment by the president on weather and global warming. Trump continues to deny the existence of climate change and often points to as evidence that climate change is a"hoax," as he has called it in the past.

In November, Trump denied his own administration's noting that global warming is only temporary.

"Is there climate change? Yeah. Will it go back like this?" Trump said, gesturing with up and down movements of his right hand, in an interview with in November. "I mean, will it change back? Probably, that's what I think. I believe ... man and women, we do have an impact, but I don't believe the impact is nearly what some say, and other scientists that dispute those findings very strongly."

The most recent assessment concludes that "there is no convincing alternative explanation" for the global warming we've observed, other than human causes. It also notes that only "steep reductions in greenhouse gas emissions can alter the upward trajectory of air and ocean temperatures and their related impacts."

(MORE: Trump Dismisses His Administration's Climate Report, Says the Earth Will Cool)

The president's tweet drew scorn from at least one member of Congress. Wisconsin Rep. Mark Pocan, a Democrat, called the president a "moron" for his lack of understanding of the distinction between a single weather event and global warming.

Northern Illinois University climate scientist Victor Gensini told the Associated Press the cold snap is "simply an extreme weather event" and doesn't represent the global trend toward a warming Earth.