Snow in the South
A dusting yesterday in Austin. Houston a dusting to a half inch. Beaumont got 2 inches! It’s 7am Mountain time as I write this and FoxNews just showed a live shot of snow falling in New Orleans! It looked like it might be sticking on the grass.
Mississippi still under a Winter Storm Warning. Jackson now expecting 1-3 inches this afternoon/evening.
Snow in Houston, Mississippi Winter Storm Warning!
Just think how cold it would be if there WASN’T Global Warming :-)
Houston saw snow falling this afternoon although I don’t think it piled up or anything. Houston sees snow every third or fourth year or so. Almost never before Christmas!
Meanwhile, much of central and southern Mississippi is under a Winter Storm Warning for snow that’s expected to stick! Most unusual for this early in the year. My hometown in Oregon is bracing for a VERY cold weekend and the cold snap is expected to last into next week. Places like Portland could stay below freezing for several days!
There was a most excellent guest article on the Opinion page today of the Arizona Star. I just tried to go to the link and it requires registration. Here’s the link, but if you are like me, you will skip it. Registration is annoying, although I understand why they do it.
Here’s a FREE story from Congress. U.S. Senate Commitee on Environment and Public Works is releasing a new report with 650 scientists disputing the U.N. Report that Global Warming is occuring or man made. Yet the Main Stream Media is taking only one side, and I’m afraid it’s the wrong side that may end up costing us a huge amount of money for no good reason.
UPDATE: AZStar link does work the few visits. After that just register, or clear your cookies!
UPDATE: Houston snow ties the record for earliest snowfall on record! From this article, “Since 1895, records indicate, snow has fallen this early just once — on Dec. 10, 1944.”
UPDATE: Forecast for Jackson, Mississippi:
Thursday: Rain, possibly mixed with snow, becoming all snow after 9am. High near 40. North northwest wind between 15 and 20 mph, with gusts as high as 30 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New snow accumulation of 3 to 5 inches possible.
Climate Change Conference this Spring
If we don’t freeze first! Actually, it’s been quite pleasant this Fall in Southeastern Arizona with temperatures running a bit above normal. However the Great Lakes region especially, and the eastern half of the U.S. generally, has been MUCH below normal, with temps. most of November closer to what they should be in January. Januaryesk hard freezes have been felt as far south as northern Florida already this Fall!
Meanwhile, a conference I would love to attend is being planned. The 2009 International Conference on Climate Change. Here’s an excerpt from an article in the Boston Globe:
“Scientists urge caution on global warming,” the story was headlined; it opened by noting “a growing accumulation of global cooling science and other findings that could signal that the science behind global warming may still be too shaky to warrant cap-and-trade legislation.”Coverage of such skepticism is increasing. The Cleveland Plain Dealer’s Michael Scott reported last week that meteorologists at each of Cleveland’s TV stations dissent from the alarmists’ scenario. In the Canadian province of Alberta, the Edmonton Journal found, 68 percent of climate scientists and engineers do not believe “the debate on the scientific causes of recent climate change is settled.”
Sounds like fun times! I wonder if ABCBSNBC will be covering the conference?
Meanwhile, glaciers are starting to grow again! If the predictions of much colder weather ahead in the next two decades is true, then they are just getting warmed up, so to speak :-)
Early November Blizzard
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Good thing there is Global Warming. Just think how bad it could have been if it had been colder!
A record November blizzard buried the Dakota’s with anywhere from several inches to several feet of snow! Accompanied by winds 35-50+ mph, the drifts were 3-12 feet in many areas! The Weather Channel has more on the record snowfall. Many locations had the most snow ever for a storm in November. Keep in mind, this was November 6th! Not late November, but less than a week into November.
Hmmmm. Could the Earth be cooling? Someone tell President-Elect Obama and the UN. No need for carbon offset programs and high taxes on CO2 emissions. No. We need to ENCOURAGE CO2 emissions to warm this place up. It’s getting cold out there!
Digging Out from all this Global Warming!
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Yeah, it’s been really warm here in Arizona. Near record highs the past few days. The jet stream is way north in the western U.S., but has dived way south in the east. All-time record lows for the month of October were set in several Florida towns. Some saw the earliest freeze EVER on record. Meanwhile it was record snowfall in New England. Some places in upstate NY saw two FEET of snow, although for most it was an inch or 5.
But it wasn’t just New England. There was a really funny story linked from The Drudge Report yesterday. Seems Parliament was debating Global Warming while London was receiving the first October snowfall since 1922! Sweet irony.
Parts of Europe had record October snows with the highlands of the U.K. getting 2-4 feet drifts!
Yep. Warming up around the ol’ planet. Best learn to swim for when the oceans overtake your living room. In the meantime, please pay the world government a CO2 tax so we can punish the developed countries and redistribute it to benefit, well, the U.N.! Especially those that administrate the program…
Alaska Glaciers Grow
One cool summer after a cold winter does not mean that Global Warming is officially over. However, combined with all of the evidence I have outlined over the past two years on this blog I’d say probably. After all, that’s what the measurements say!
I found another article this morning that supports the claim. It’s very well written and not spun one way or the other politically. It’s just straight science! Thank You! Here’s the link.
Basically, the scientist in the article is saying that a lot of cold and snow last winter combined with a really cool summer this summer has caused glaciers in Alaska to grow since last year. He rightly points out that glaciers shrink and grow over decades.
What the article doesn’t predict is which way they are likely to go from here. I’ve been saying all along that now that the Pacific Decadal Oscillation has switched to a cold phase (after 30 years in a warm phase), and now that the Sun has become much quieter, we can expect an extended cold snap. Especially in Alaska where it’s already begun!
Politically, I would say, PLEASE don’t throw a bunch of money at a Global Warming problem that is no problem at all. This is all natural, cyclical, stuff. Rather, PLEASE plan on helping to feed people and keep them warm as the planet cools!
The Old Farmer’s Almanac – No Warming Here
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The 2009 Edition is out. I had the fun task of interviewing one of the editors. Turns out the Almanac’s famous weather prediction for this Winter is colder for much of the nation. Indeed some of the country is expected to be MUCH colder!
In addition, in this edition, the meteorologist for the Almanac says that we (the whole planet) are in for a LONG TERM cooling period! Why? For the exact reasons I’ve been outlining here. The Sun has already entered a less active period. Solar scientists look at solar cycles and see the Sun being quiet for the next few decades. Historically that has meant colder weather!
Another thing that was really cool (punny) about my interview with The Old Farmer’s Almanac, they are talking about ocean currents too. Specifically, the Pacific Decadal Oscillation! If you have been reading this blog (hi Mom) then you know I have been talking about the Pacific Decadal Oscillation for over a year now. The Old Farmer’s Almanac says it has now flipped to a cold phase. This will contribute to colder, and drier, conditions along the west coast and will contribute to colder temperatures in not just Alaska, but much of the country for the next few decades!
There is a similar current in the Atlantic. I was not aware of the Atlantic Multi-Decadal Oscillation, but apparently there is one. It is currently (punny again!) in a warm phase. It’s why Dr. Grey and others have been talking about a 30 year period of high hurricane activity. I guess we are 10 years or so in. What The Old Farmer’s Almanac and others are saying is once the Atlantic Multi-Decadal Oscillation flips to a cold phase, it’s going to get REALLY cold! I’ve heard that one Russian scientist has a bet with a fellow scientist. The Russian says it will be much colder in 2018 than some other previous year (I really should Google this). The other scientist believes in Global warming, so he is expecting warmer.
A side note about the hurricanes. The hurricane activity a few years ago turned out to be quieter than originally predicted. The reason was El Nino. The Atlantic was warm, but because of El Nino in the Pacific, the upper level winds tore tropical systems apart before they could really get going. Now that we have the Pacific Decadal Oscillation flipping to a cold phase, say good bye to El Nino, for the most part. With the Atlantic warm and the Pacific cold, hurricanes are going to be a big problem for the next ten years or more. Look for global warming believers to try to say it’s because of global warming, even as the overall temperatures go down.
UPDATE: The bet by the Russian scientist is that the temps from 2012 and 2017 will be colder then temps between 1998 and 2003. Here’s a great article on why more scientists are bailing on the run away global warming.
Yet Again!
Tedious. Another evening ANOTHER AWESOME SUNSET!!! Arizona has every place I’ve been to beat by quite a long ways when it comes to sunset awesomeness! Better than Roswell. Better than Lubbock. Better than Odessa. Better than Oregon. (although Oregon has best lots of other stuff!) Even better than San Diego at the beach! It really boggles the mind.
Two things. First, I noticed that my camera adds some color to the sunsets. Usually it’s a nice effect, but I would rather capture the actual real colors. Maybe that’s the difference between a $199 camera and a $1,199 camera :-) I suppose even a $500 camera might do the trick. Great. Something else I need!
Next was catching the hummingbird in flight. They are sooooo cute! I stood just a few feet away and waited with my camera. A couple of times I didn’t have it raised to eye level. Even when I moved to raise the camera (s)he didn’t fly away every time. A couple of times, but not every time. After I got a few pictures and knew I had what I wanted the next time (s)he came around, I just watched. Standing three feet away looking at this tiny wonder while (s)he sipped away on some sugar water. Pretty remarkable. Did I mention the sunset going on the whole time wasn’t too shabby?!
There really is a God and He really is good!
Prediction
I had a scary thought earlier today. There are many indications that this Winter will be early and cold. Here’s AccuWeather’s prediction, plus the possibility the Pacific Decadal Oscillation may have flipped and a quiet Sun that already has us cooled off to 1930′s levels.
Combine that with high energy prices that will likely hold steady until Winter. If the Winter is early and colder than normal it may cause heating oil and gas prices to go up even more. Utilities are already asking for, and getting, rate increases.
We could end up with many angry Americans who are paying too much for energy, going broke and freezing. The outcry against everyone in government who stands in the way of domestic oil production, especially if they mention Global Warming, could be severe.
I hope I’m wrong about the first part because I don’t want anyone to suffer. However, it could have it’s benefits if it kills the Global Warming nonsense once and for all. Still, I don’t want to see anyone freeze to death or kids going hungry.
It’s sad that our leaders have led us to a place where this scenario is even possible.
Exposed!
For the lie it is. The debate on Global Warming is NOT over. Check this out from DailyTech.com. Seems that an organization representing 50,000 physicists disagrees with the UN’s IPCC report. Not only that, but this:
In an email to DailyTech, Monckton says, “I was dismayed to discover that the IPCC’s 2001 and 2007 reports did not devote chapters to the central ‘climate sensitivity’ question, and did not explain in proper, systematic detail the methods by which they evaluated it. When I began to investigate, it seemed that the IPCC was deliberately concealing and obscuring its method.”
The conclusion?
Monckton, who was the science advisor to Britain’s Thatcher administration, says natural variability is the cause of most of the Earth’s recent warming. “In the past 70 years the Sun was more active than at almost any other time in the past 11,400 years … Mars, Jupiter, Neptune’s largest moon, and Pluto warmed at the same time as Earth.”
Uh huh.
