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‘Atmospheric River’ May Put a Dent in California Drought
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on February 6th, 2014
Climate Central: At long last, a series of Pacific storm systems is producing sorely needed rain and mountain snowfall in California, which has been suffering from one of its worst droughts in at least 500 years. The storms, which began Thursday and are forecast to last through the weekend, are likely to have their greatest impact in Central and Northern California, including the agricultural powerhouse region that is the San Joaquin Valley. Parts of Central California may receive as much as 4 inches of rain through...
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Let it Snow, Let it Snow: U.S. Sets Benchmark
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on December 17th, 2013
Climate Central: Bitter cold and snow and ice storms have been the mantra for December across much of the U.S. And in fact, the country has seen a larger snowpack this month than at any point in the past decade.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 53 percent of the lower 48 states had some snow cover on Dec. 15. That topped all readings on that date since such records began in 2003.
The expansive snow cover stands in stark contrast to some of the milder early winters of...
Sea Level and Risk of Flooding Rising Rapidly in Mid-Atlantic
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on December 12th, 2013
Climate Central: During the 20th century, sea levels along the highly populated U.S. Mid-Atlantic coastline between New York and Virginia rose faster than in any other century during the past 4,300 years, according to a new study. And as those sea levels continue to increase as a result of global warming and local land elevation changes, the risks of coastal flooding will dramatically escalate.
The study, by geoscientists at Rutgers and Tufts Universities and published in the new journal "Earth's Future,' took...
Study Rebuts IPCC, Calls For More Severe Emissions Cuts
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on December 3rd, 2013
Climate Central: The globally agreed upon political goal of limiting global warming to 3.6°F (2°C) above preindustrial levels would bring "potentially disastrous impacts,' and a far more ambitious plan to slash emissions of global warming gases is needed, according to a new study by an interdisciplinary group of scientists and economists.
The study, published Tuesday in PLOS One, amounts to a rebuttal of a key finding from a recent U.N. climate report, that laid out a cumulative "carbon budget' for the world to...
Typhoon Haiyan Deadly Surge Noted in Warsaw Talks
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on November 11th, 2013
Climate Central: The devastation and mounting humanitarian crisis in the Philippines in the wake of Super Typhoon Haiyan is becoming more apparent with each passing hour, with the final death toll possibly climbing as high as 20,000 or more, making it the deadliest and most expensive natural disaster in that storm-prone country's history.
While Haiyan's winds have garnered most of the headlines, reports from the hardest-hit areas now indicate that it was likely the massive storm surge that caused the most damage...
Super Typhoon Haiyan: A Hint of What’s to Come?
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on November 9th, 2013
Climate Central: Super Typhoon Haiyan was one of the most intense tropical cyclones at landfall on record when it struck the Philippines on Nov. 7. Its maximum sustained winds at landfall were pegged at 195 mph with gusts above 220 mph. Some meteorologists even proclaimed it to be the strongest tropical cyclone at landfall in recorded history.
Haiyan's strength and the duration of its Category 5 intensity -- the storm remained at peak Category 5 intensity for an incredible 48 straight hours -- raises the question...
Obama Administration Takes Action on Climate ‘Resilience’
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on November 1st, 2013
Climate Central: President Obama issued an Executive Order on Friday establishing a new task force that will work to make U.S. communities more resilient to change-related impacts, such as heavy precipitation events, more frequent coastal flooding, and more severe and longer lasting heat waves.
The Executive Order enshrines the climate change buzzword of the post-Hurricane Sandy era -- "resilience' -- into the language of the federal bureaucracy by directing agencies to work with state, local, and tribal leaders...
Alaska Roasts During October, Reigniting Wildfire
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on October 31st, 2013
Climate Central: Now is the time of year when Alaska's snowpack starts to build and temperatures plunge as the days become shorter and shorter. But this year, October has turned out to be more like September, with rainstorms instead of snowstorms, and some of the mildest temperatures on record for the month, particularly across interior Alaska.
While the warm weather pattern, which has been dominated by a high pressure area in the upper atmosphere, is beginning to change with colder and snowier conditions arriving...
Flood-Ravaged Boulder, Colo., Sets Annual Rainfall Record
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on September 16th, 2013
Climate Central: As the largest U.S. rescue airlift since Hurricane Katrina continued along the northern Front Range of Colorado, more rainfall in the flood-weary city of Boulder pushed it to a new milestone on Monday, with 2013 going into the record books as the city’s wettest year — with three and a half months still remaining. With 30.12 inches of rain and counting, more than half of which fell since Sept. 9, the city has already eclipsed its previous mark of 29.93 inches, set in 1995. Boulder's average yearly...
Colorado’s “Biblical” Flood in Line with Climate Trends
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on September 14th, 2013
Climate Central: The Boulder, Colo. area is reeling after being inundated by record rainfall, with more than half a year's worth of rain falling over the past three days. During those three days, 24-hour rainfall totals of between 8 and 10 inches across much of the Boulder area were enough to qualify this storm as a 1 in 1,000 year event, meaning that it has a 0.1 percent chance of occurring in a given year.
At least three people have been confirmed dead so far, and thousands have been evacuated from their homes...