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A Record Lack of Rain in Drought-Stricken Nebraska
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on October 15th, 2012
Climate Central: The 2012 drought has already set a slew of records, and is destined to go down in history as one of the worst droughts since the Dust Bowl era of the 1930s. The drought is not having the same impacts in every state, with recent improvements taking place in the lower Mississippi River Valley, parts of the Midwest, and the East. However, in the Plains and Upper Midwest, along with the West in general, the situation looks bleak. Nebraska, for example, was experiencing "exceptional" drought conditions,...
Global warming may shift summer weather patterns
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on October 11th, 2012
Climate Central: By altering the heat balance between land and sea, manmade global warming may be altering summer weather patterns in the Northern Hemisphere, a new study found. The study, published on Sept. 30 in Nature Geoscience, shows that the sprawling high pressure areas that set up shop over the Western North Atlantic and North Pacific Oceans during the summer months have become larger and stronger during the past 40 years, and these trends are likely to continue during the next several decades as temperatures...
Temperature target may doom climate talks, study says
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on October 9th, 2012
Climate Central: At the much-heralded climate summit in Copenhagen in 2009, world leaders agreed to limit manmade global warming to less than 2°C (3.6°F) above preindustrial levels. The agreement at Copenhagen, however, and in multiple rounds of subsequent negotiations, hasn't led countries to make actual commitments to the kind of emissions reductions that would put the world on a path to meeting that 2°C target.
According to a new study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, however, this...
Drought Conditions Recede Slightly Across U.S
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on October 4th, 2012
Climate Central: Thanks to heavy rains from a slow-moving cold front, the massive drought affecting the U.S. receded slightly during the past week, as the drought footprint for all drought categories fell between Sept. 25 and Oct. 2. The findings, contained in the latest U.S. Drought Monitor, were released Thursday.
As of Oct. 2, about 65 percent of the contiguous U.S. experienced some form of drought, down a smidgen from 65.45 percent one week ago. The biggest drop occurred in the area of the lower 48 states...
In West, September Brought Record Heat and Dry Weather
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on October 3rd, 2012
Climate Central: While September finally brought some relief from the unrelenting summer heat to the Central and Eastern parts of the U.S., the prevailing weather pattern helped set heat and dry weather records and gave rise to wildfires throughout the West. Death Valley, Calif., which is the country's hottest spot, set a record for the warmest September on record, with an average temperature of 96.3°F. That beat the old record of 95.7°F, which was set in 1915. Records for Death Valley date back to 1911.
At Needles,...
Another Week Brings More Pessimistic Drought News
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on September 27th, 2012
Climate Central: As has been the case throughout the month of September, the latest weekly drought update shows that drought conditions have tightened their grip on the Plains States and Western U.S., and the overall drought footprint expanded to encompass 65.45 percent of the lower 48 states, up from 64.8 percent on Sept. 18. This represents the highest areal coverage in the 12-year history of the Drought Monitor analysis, topping last week's record.
As of Sept. 25, the worst categories of drought -- extreme...
Scientists Seek Insights into Outlier Drought Projections
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on September 26th, 2012
Climate Central: Although official drought outlooks failed to provide Americans with advanced notice of one of the worst droughts to strike the U.S. since the Dust Bowl-era -- a drought that is still ongoing -- there were some computer models that got the forecast right. Viewed as outliers at the time by climate forecasters tasked with making seasonal forecasts, such models look downright prescient with hindsight.
In the wake of the flawed forecasts, climate researchers are seeking to understand what enabled certain...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Scientists Seek Insights into Outlier Drought ProjectionsA Closer Look at Arctic Sea Ice Melt and Extreme Weather
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on September 19th, 2012
Climate Central: With Arctic sea ice reaching its lowest level in the satellite record after an astonishingly rapid summer melt, the question of whether disappearing sea ice might lead to more extreme winters in Europe and North America needs more scrutiny.
In an article on September 12, I reported on a 2012 paper by Jennifer Francis of Rutgers University and Stephen Vavrus of the University of Wisconsin, which showed that the loss of Arctic summer sea ice cover is adding enough heat to the ocean and atmosphere...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on A Closer Look at Arctic Sea Ice Melt and Extreme WeatherGlobe Records Fourth Warmest August as Arctic Ice Melts
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on September 17th, 2012
Climate Central: August was the fourth warmest such month on record worldwide, marking the 330th straight month with a global temperature above the 20th century average, according to a report released Monday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). In other words, the last time the globe saw a below average month, Ronald Reagan was just entering his second term in office. The last below average August occurred even further back in time, in 1976, when Gerald Ford was serving as U.S. President....
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Globe Records Fourth Warmest August as Arctic Ice MeltsArctic Warming is Altering Weather Patterns, Study Shows
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on September 15th, 2012
Climate Central: By showing that Arctic climate change is no longer just a problem for the polar bear, a new study may finally dispel the view that what happens in the Arctic, stays in the Arctic.
The study, by Jennifer Francis of Rutgers University and Stephen Vavrus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, ties rapid Arctic climate change to high-impact, extreme weather events in the U.S. and Europe.
The study shows that by changing the temperature balance between the Arctic and mid-latitudes, rapid Arctic...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Arctic Warming is Altering Weather Patterns, Study Shows