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Tenacious U.S. drought worsens, to last through winter
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on November 30th, 2012
Climate Central: The tenacious U.S. drought that continues to hamper American agricultural output and put water supplies and Mississippi River commerce at risk worsened during the past week, particularly in the Southeast, according to figures released on Thursday. The new U.S. Drought Monitor shows that all categories of drought increased across the country between Nov. 20-27, with the largest increase occurring in an area from Alabama northeastward to Virginia.
This has already been the most intense and widespread...
As Sea Ice Declines, Winter Shifts in Northern Alaska
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on November 19th, 2012
Climate Central: The consequences of the record loss of Arctic sea ice this past summer are becoming clear to the 4,000 or so residents of Barrow, Alaska, who have seen a much milder and snowier-than-average start to their typically long and bitterly cold winter season.
As is typical for this time of year, much of Alaska has already been plunged into winter conditions, with temperatures below 0°F in some locations. Yet Barrow, which from its perch on Alaska's North Slope is the country's northernmost town, has...
Weather Service Halts Review of Its Work During Sandy
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on November 16th, 2012
Climate Central: Just days after commissioning a review of its performance during Hurricane Sandy, the National Weather Service (NWS) abruptly disbanded the review team Thursday, saying that "a larger, multi-agency review of this event may take place' instead. The agency gave no time frame on when another review team might be put in place, or what other agencies might be involved in such a review.
Consistent with its tradition of evaluating its performance following major and deadly weather events, the NWS had...
Amid Energy Boom, Report Warns of Unsustainable Path
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on November 13th, 2012
Climate Central: The oil and natural gas boom in the U.S. is having far-reaching effects on the global energy landscape, according to the "World Energy Outlook' report released by the International Energy Agency (IEA). The report shows that the U.S. is likely to become the largest global oil producer by about 2020, overtaking Saudi Arabia and Russia, although Saudi Arabia may reclaim that title soon thereafter.
Tower for drilling horizontally into the Marcellus Shale Formation for natural gas, from Pennsylvania...
2012 May Rank As 2nd Most Disastrous Year Since 1980
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on November 13th, 2012
Climate Central: With about six weeks remaining in the year, there have already been 11 natural disasters that have cost $1 billion or more in damage, bringing 2012 to second place on the list of top billion-dollar disaster years. The current record-holder is 2011, when there were 14 billion-dollar disasters. The widespread and intense drought -- which as of Nov. 6 still covered at least 60 percent of the lower 48 states -- and Hurricane Sandy are expected to go down in history as two of the most costly weather-related...
Despite cool October, 2012 tracks to be hottest US year
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on November 10th, 2012
Climate Central: After 16 straight months with above-average temperatures, October temperatures in the lower 48 states averaged slightly below average, according to data released Thursday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Even with a cooler October, 2012 is still on track to be the warmest year on record in the U.S., propelled by a widespread March heat wave, the warmest spring on record, and the third-hottest summer on record. The month of July, for example, set the record for the...
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Comments Off on Despite cool October, 2012 tracks to be hottest US yearRare November Snowstorm Strikes In Wake Of Sandy
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on November 8th, 2012
Climate Central: It's rare enough to have a hurricane make landfall in New Jersey, but it's downright unheard of to have a New Jersey hurricane followed one week later by a significant early season snowstorm. Yet that's exactly what unfolded on Wednesday, as a powerful nor'easter helped provide just enough cold air to dump more than a foot of snow in the Tri-State area of Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York.
Contrary to initial weather forecasts, accumulating snow occurred all the way to the badly damaged New...
How global warming made Hurricane Sandy worse
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on October 31st, 2012
Climate Central: As officials begin the arduous task of pumping corrosive seawater out of New York City's subway system and try to restore power to lower Manhattan, and residents of the New Jersey Shore begin to take stock of the destruction, experts and political leaders are asking what Hurricane Sandy had to do with climate change. After all, the storm struck a region that has been hit hard by several rare extreme weather events in recent years, from Hurricane Irene to "Snowtober.'
Scientists cannot yet answer...
Hurricane Sandy Paralyzes New York, New Jersey
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on October 30th, 2012
Climate Central: For years, public officials and coastal residents of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast were told that the region is extraordinarily vulnerable to storm surge from nor'easters and hurricanes, but it took Hurricane Sandy, an unprecedented combination of both of those storms, to realize the worst-case scenario on Monday evening. When the storm roared ashore near Atlantic City at 8 p.m. on Monday, it pushed a record high wall of water into Lower Manhattan and coastal New Jersey, flooding parts of Lower...
Winter Wheat Crop Now Feeling Impact of U.S. Drought
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on October 19th, 2012
Climate Central: During the past week, drought conditions have improved slightly across the U.S., but the majority of the lower 48 states continue to suffer from what is proving to be a widespread and pernicious drought event, according to the latest U.S. Drought Monitor statistics, released on Thursday. The drought put a major dent in the U.S. corn and soybean crop, and now it is delaying the emergence of winter wheat, which is grown in some of the hardest-hit drought states, such as Nebraska.
Two storm systems...