RSS Feed
Author Archive
Heat wave sets more all-time temperature records
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on July 1st, 2012
Climate Central: With widespread power outages still plaguing a multistate swath from Indiana to Virginia after the severe "derecho' event on Friday night, the late June heat wave continues to make headlines. Numerous all-time high temperature records were set on Saturday, with additional records expected to be set during the first few days of July.
Climate Central Record Tracker map showing some of the record temperatures set or tied on June 30, 2012.
Atlanta set an all-time high temperature record on Saturday...
Greenland Ice Sheet Melt Nearing Critical ‘Tipping Point’
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on June 29th, 2012
Climate Central: The Greenland ice sheet is poised for another record melt this year, and is approaching a "tipping point" into a new and more dangerous melt regime in which the summer melt area covers the entire land mass, according to new findings from polar researchers.
The ice sheet is the focus of scientific research because its fate has huge implications for global sea levels, which are already rising as ice sheets melt and the ocean warms, exposing coastal locations to greater damage from storm surge-related...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Greenland Ice Sheet Melt Nearing Critical ‘Tipping Point’Scorching June heat wave puts 50 million in U.S. on alert
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on June 29th, 2012
Climate Central: A scorching heat wave that began in the High Plains is baking the Central Plains, and on Friday prompted warnings for the big cities of the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast. The combination of triple-digit heat and high humidity has prompted the National Weather Service (NWS) to issue heat warnings and advisories for at least 18 states from Kansas to New Jersey, south to Mississippi, putting at least 50 million people under some form of a heat alert.
Heat watches and warnings are in effect for major...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Scorching June heat wave puts 50 million in U.S. on alertHeat wave bakes the West and high plains, moves east
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on June 27th, 2012
Climate Central: A prolonged and historic heat wave is baking the West and migrating eastward, with temperatures from Texas to Chicago expected to approach or exceed 100°F during the next few days. Already, several all-time high temperature records have been set.
On June 25 and 26, Denver tied its all-time record high temperature for any month of the year when the thermometer at Denver International Airport hit 105°F. That was an all-time high temperature record for June as well, and marked five straight days...
Did global warming set stage for Duluth flooding?
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on June 23rd, 2012
Climate Central: As the people of Duluth, Minn. -- a community of about 86,000 tucked away at the southwest corner of Lake Superior -- try to recover from the record flooding of the past week, it's reasonable for them to ask whether global warming may have played a role in the floodwaters that so heavily damaged their city.
Given the unusual nature of the rainfall, and the prevalence of extreme weather in Minnesota and other states so far this year and during recent decades, the answer, according to the scientific...
Heat Wave Continues for One More Day in East
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on June 22nd, 2012
Climate Central: The heat is on for one more day in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast, before scattered thunderstorms are forecast to usher in cooler air for the weekend. The hot weather represents the last gasp of a heat wave that began in the West on June 16-17, moved eastward, breaking records in Chicago as well as contributing to the record flooding in Duluth, Minn., and finally roasting residents of the eastern seaboard.
During the period from June 15-21, 443 daily high maximum temperature records were set or...
Snow, Deadly Tornadoes Slam Upper Midwest, Ohio Valley
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on February 29th, 2012
Climate Central: An intense winter storm has brought blizzard conditions to the Great Plains and the Upper Midwest, while spawning a spring-like tornado outbreak across several states, killing at least nine people so far.
A visible satellite image on Wednesday afternoon showing the storm center and heavy snow in Minnesota, and a line of severe thunderstorms from Kentucky to Mississippi. Click on the image for a larger image. Credit: SSEC/NOAA.
As of late Wednesday afternoon, tornado and severe thunderstorm...
Texas Drought Eases, But It’s Too Late for Some
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on February 24th, 2012
Climate Central: Defying seasonal climate forecasts, this winter has been very good to Texas, which has been locked in the grips of one of the worst droughts in state history. But the unexpectedly generous winter storms have come too late for some, since water supplies are still running low.
As I reported in late January, managers of the Lower Colorado River are likely to take the unprecedented step of denying water for rice growers in Southeast Texas, putting several thousand jobs at risk. Although the decision...
Top Scientists Write Letter to Congress, Oppose Keystone
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on February 13th, 2012
Climate Central: With possible House and Senate votes on the Keystone XL pipeline looming, climate activists -- including several prominent climate scientists -- are once again rallying to oppose the oil pipeline. As The Hill newspaper reported this morning, Senate Republicans may attach an amendment to an unrelated highway spending bill that could come up for a vote as early as Tuesday. The amendment, sponsored by Sens. Dick Lugar (R-Ind.), John Hoeven (R-N.D.) and David Vitter (R-La.) would allow Congress to require...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Top Scientists Write Letter to Congress, Oppose KeystoneUnited States: Flood warnings at risk as cuts to critical gauges loom
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on February 10th, 2012
Climate Central: This is the first in an occasional Climate Central series on how reduced funding for scientific observations is affecting climate and weather research and forecasting.
On Sept. 7, 2011, a record deluge associated with Tropical Storm Lee struck Binghamton, N.Y., dumping 7.5 inches of rain in a 24-hour period -- the most the city had ever seen in such a short time. Weather forecasters, emergency managers and rescue teams knew the nearby Susquehanna River was already rising from an unusually wet...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on United States: Flood warnings at risk as cuts to critical gauges loom