RSS Feed
Author Archive
Stubborn 2012 Heat Wave Roasts Eight States
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on July 31st, 2012
Climate Central: Like an unwanted houseguest, intense heat and humidity have overstayed their welcome in the South Central states from Kansas southeastward to Mississippi. For many parts of this region, triple-digit heat is likely throughout this weekend and into the first full week of August, with even more records falling by the wayside.
So far during July, hundreds of records have been broken in an eight-state hot zone that encompasses Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma, Tennessee...
Drought’s Silver Lining is Fewer Tornadoes Across U.S
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on July 26th, 2012
Climate Central: There is at least one upside to the massive drought that covers more than half of the lower 48 states: a near-record low number of tornadoes. In contrast to last year, when swarms of tornadoes killed hundreds during the spring and early summer, this year has seen a flatlining of tornado numbers since June. Through July 23, there had been just 12 tornadoes recorded in the U.S. this month, and unless a severe weather outbreak in the Northeast on Thursday results in a large number of twisters, it's...
Drought Tightens Its Grip on High Plains, Central States
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on July 26th, 2012
Climate Central: The massive U.S. drought, which is already driving food prices skyrocketing and prompting federal disaster declarations, has only grown worse during the past week. According to the latest edition of the U.S. Drought Monitor, released Thursday morning, between July 17 and July 24, the portion of the country affected by "extreme" to "exceptional" drought jumped from 14 percent to about 21 percent. The portion of the country affected by exceptional drought, which is the most significant drought category,...
Posted in Water Conservation 
Comments Off on Drought Tightens Its Grip on High Plains, Central StatesExtreme Heat Proves Relentless in Central States
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on July 24th, 2012
Climate Central: While much of the country has had a brief respite from the extreme heat and humidity that has marked the summer of 2012, in the nation's heartland -- including key agricultural areas from Nebraska to Illinois -- the heat has proven relentless. When the temperature soared to 105°F at 3:00 pm central time, St. Louis tied its all-time record for the most days in a single year with high temperatures of 105°F or greater. The existing record of 10 such days was set in 1934.
High temperature forecast...
Great Lakes Water Temperatures At Record Levels
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on July 24th, 2012
Climate Central: Looking to escape to the beach this summer? Well, before you book that trip to Cape Cod or the Outer Banks of North Carolina, you might want to consider an unorthodox option -- the shores of Lake Superior. The lake, which is the northernmost, coldest, and deepest of the five Great Lakes, is the warmest it has been at this time of year in at least a century, thanks to the mild winter, warm spring, and hot, dry summer.
A comparison between Lake Superior's average water temperature this year so far...
Ongoing Coverage of Historic Drought in U.S
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on July 24th, 2012
Climate Central: After a warm and dry spring and a scorchingly hot start to the summer, the U.S. is in the grips of one of its top 10 worst drought events on record. The drought extends from Delaware to California, with the most intense drought conditions centered in the nation's heartland. Corn growers and ranchers have been hard-hit this year, prompting fears of a food crisis as corn prices rise and prospects for a bumper crop are diminished. The drought is the most extensive and intense drought to hit the U.S....
Record Summer Temperatures, By The Numbers
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on July 21st, 2012
Climate Central: The weather this summer has been so extreme that it has rivaled the most destructive and unbearable summers in U.S. history, years that are infamous in weather lore. Those years include 1934 and 1936, which were in the middle of the Dust Bowl era, as well as 1954 and 1988, which was the year that Yellowstone National Park burned and NASA scientist James Hansen first warned the U.S. Senate about the consequences of manmade global warming.
As a reporter and analyst on the extreme weather and climate...
Drought Has Ties to La Niña, with Global Warming Assist
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on July 20th, 2012
Climate Central: Driven by a combination of natural climate variability, manmade global warming, and plain old bad luck, drought conditions are so widespread in the U.S. that it's possible to take a cross-country flight from Washington, D.C. to San Francisco -- a distance of approximately 2,400 miles -- without once overflying an unaffected area. With about 81 percent of the lower 48 states experiencing at least abnormally dry conditions, and 63 percent mired in moderate-to-exceptional drought, it's becoming harder...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Drought Has Ties to La Niña, with Global Warming AssistHeat and Drought Pose Risks for Nuclear Power Plants
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on July 18th, 2012
Climate Central: Compared to coal and natural gas, nuclear power plants offer a significant advantage when it comes to greenhouse gas emissions -- they don't emit any. However, in an ironic twist, it seems that climate change is increasingly causing problems for operators of nuclear plants.
Like coal-fired power plants, nuclear facilities use large amounts of water for cooling purposes. After water has cycled through the plant, it is discharged back into a nearby waterway, usually a lake or a river, at a higher...
Record Amount of Arctic Sea Ice Melted in June
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on July 13th, 2012
Climate Central: The Arctic melt season is well underway, and sea ice extent -- a key indicator of global warming -- declined rapidly during June, setting a record for the largest June sea ice loss in the satellite era. Sea ice extent is currently running just below the level seen at the same time in 2007, the year that set the record for the lowest sea ice minimum in the satellite era.
While the current rate of sea ice decline does not necessarily indicate that another record low will be set this year -- weather...