More ‘Global Warming’ in Store For North-East This Weekend
The ‘Global Warming’ that has caused record-breaking blizzards on the East Coast will deliver yet another punch this weekend. According to bloomberg.com, another major winter storm could drop as much as 13 inches of new snow on New York by Saturday evening.
Alarmists have insisted that such heavy snows are the result of global warming or “climate change” (as if the climate were not expected to change naturally). As one commenter put it:
“As the oceans grow warmer, there is more moisture taken into the atmosphere. The resulting weather temperature extremes generate energy causing more violent storms.”
I believe the commenter is referring to the alarmists’ claim that global warming will cause more numerous and more violent hurricanes. If so, that claim has been pretty much debunked. The most likely cause of these bigger snowstorms is the localized increase of ocean temperatures off the West Coast known as “El Nino.” El Nino and the accompanying La Nina are the result of naturally occurring cycles in ocean temperatures over a limited area. For a fascinating article on the topic, read here.
But, for those who believe heavier snowfall is the result of climate change or global warming, I invite you to watch this video.
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February 25th, 2010 at 12:30 pm
I don’t know who these unnamed “alarmists” are who you claim are saying that LOCAL weather events are indicative of GLOBAL climate trends. The lower 48 states represent 1.5 percent of the Earth’s surface.
January 2000 to December 2009 was the warmest decade on record. Throughout the last three decades, the surface temperature record shows an upward trend of about 0.2°C (0.36°F) per decade.
March 1st, 2010 at 6:12 pm
Richard,
Hmmm, yeah. There have been so many people yelling “Weather isn’t climate!” that I lost track.
It’s interesting that Dr. Phil Jones, former head of the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia, said there has been no statistically significant warming since 1995, and that the warming we have seen is not exceptional when compared with other recent periods of warming (1860-1880, 1910-1940 and 1975-1998).
Dr. Jones also said that global temperatures since 2002 have fallen (-0.12C per decade). That’s more than half of the rise in temperatures you claim (without a source, I might add) for the last decade. Granted, the period of time in question is not long enough to be statistically significant yet. But when we look at the aggregate period from 1995 (which is significant), coupled with the current decline, the best prediction one can make is that the trend is downward, not upward. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8511670.stm)
On a side note, here’s a few more quotes from people who originally said that global warming would mean less snowfall:
“According to Dr. David Viner, a senior research scientist at the climatic research unit (CRU) of the University of East Anglia, within a few years winter snowfall will become “a very rare and exciting event”. “Children just aren’t going to know what snow is,” he said.”
(http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/snowfalls-are-now-just-a-thing-of-the-past-724017.html)
Decline in Snowpack Is Blamed On Warming Using data collected over the past 50 years, the scientists confirmed that the mountains are getting more rain and less snow (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/31/AR2008013101868.html)
Many Ski Resorts Heading Downhill as a Result of Global Warming (http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=363&ArticleID=4313&l=en)
“DENVER — A study of two Rocky Mountain ski resorts says climate change will mean shorter seasons and less snow on lower slopes…. The study by two Colorado researchers says Aspen Mountain in Colorado and Park City in Utah will see dramatic changes even with a reduction in carbon emissions, which fuel climate change …. . Skiing at Aspen, with an average temperature 8.6 degrees higher than now, will be marginal.” (http://www.aspendailynews.com/section/home/131044)
Global Warming Poses Threat to Ski Resorts in the Alps Climatologists say the warming trend will become dramatic by 2020
(http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/16/world/europe/16austria.html)
H/T: Anthony Watts (http://wattsupwiththat.com/2010/02/23/theres-no-business-like-snow-business/)