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News & ArtsTuesday, July 3, 2012
The Weather A Slog Poll: Are We Doomed?
Posted by Paul Constant on Tue, Jul 3, 2012 at 7:55 AM
In a post titled "72 Percent of the US Is Experiencing Dry or Drought Conditions," Julia Whitty at Mother Jones writes:
Yesterday—only the first day of the month—was brutal enough to shatter 27 records and tie 24 records for the highest ever July temperatures...More amazingly, the first day of the month also broke 6 and tied 11 records for the highest ever recorded temperatures on any date at sites in Georgia (Rome: 108°F), Kentucky (Barren River Lake: 108°F), North Carolina (Tapoco: 106°F), and South Carolina (Grnvl Spart Intl Ap: 107°F).
Of course, the Midwest and Washington DC both suffered epic thunderstorms over the weekend, leaving many without power for days. (And Instagram was down. Dear God, Instagram was down!!) While the high-pressure front that inspired most of this bad weather is moving on, it looks like it could be a long, hot summer. But is it...the end of the world?
2
I'm in Baltimore and that was the craziest storm I've ever seen. It got so bad at one point I was trying to remember which corner of the basement you're supposed to go to during a tornado.
3
I wish we could get us some global warming over here in Amsterdam. 65 and cloudy is officially tiresome now.
4
Option #4: can we set up huge fans to push some of that heat over here? I'm freezing my wet ass off in this weather. (though it does look lovely out there today.)
5
The huge cities that act as heat sinks, the clearing of more and more forest lands all over the globe, and the huge Pride Parades with all that black leather on big round bodies is to blame. Driving cars is not the problem as the Chinese and Indians want to drive cars, they're allowed to.
6
@ 2, you're supposed to get into a windowless room, like the bathroom. Getting in a corner is a now-discredited idea, like opening all your windows.
7
This heat is perfectly normal for this time of year here. The drought isn't, though. 4.81" of precipitation all year so far. That's why everything's burning.
8
Climate change is happening, but these record temps probably aren't strongly driven by it. In 20 or 50 years they will be, but not today.
These high temperature records are interesting. Climate scientists track the ratio of hot records to cold records. A static climate tends to have a ratio of 1:1. The last decade has been 2:1, and increasing. This is slightly misleading though. The more temperature data you acquire, the less likely you will hit a record temperature in a static climate. So if your climate is warming, and you have a lot of data, high temperature records will be easy to achieve (but somewhat mitigated by the increased data) while low temperature records will be harder due to rising temperatures and reduced data. It takes a little interpretation to use this information.
These high temperature records are interesting. Climate scientists track the ratio of hot records to cold records. A static climate tends to have a ratio of 1:1. The last decade has been 2:1, and increasing. This is slightly misleading though. The more temperature data you acquire, the less likely you will hit a record temperature in a static climate. So if your climate is warming, and you have a lot of data, high temperature records will be easy to achieve (but somewhat mitigated by the increased data) while low temperature records will be harder due to rising temperatures and reduced data. It takes a little interpretation to use this information.
9
So if like 98% of the US is a fiery death zone, why do people who whine about the weather in the NW just move. Go forth and revel in the warmth and earth cracking sunshine that you so crave. Every freaking day I hear people bitching about the weather. There are those of us who love rainy dreary days, intermittently broken up by gentle partly cloudy days. IT IS A GIFT.
12
@11 Yes.
That said, the science is pretty conclusive; we do have climate change. Also, given a long enough sampling window, we are all going to die.
That said, the science is pretty conclusive; we do have climate change. Also, given a long enough sampling window, we are all going to die.
15
It's normal. The Earth will continue to get warmer as the sun begins to burn up all of it's nuclear fuel. Life on Earth will end at some point as the sun increases in size and it's outer layers will reach Earth's orbit. Eventually, the sun will die - when it does, it will spew it's matter throughout the galaxy.... It may be billions of years from now, but it will happen. So, yes - the increase in heat is normal.
16
Ah....so many newcomers to Seattle. Yes, this happens with great frequency historically speaking. I remember cold Julys and I remember people bitching about it. Sweaters during the day on 7/15. Cold drizzle at night. It happens. Part of being in the great Pacific Northwest.
Most of August, September, and most of October will be gorgeous. Just wait. The days are little shorter, but gorgeous.
And for God's sake, when friends ask you what it's like to live in Seattle, will you do us all a favor and say, "It rains all the motherfucking time!" Thank you.
Most of August, September, and most of October will be gorgeous. Just wait. The days are little shorter, but gorgeous.
And for God's sake, when friends ask you what it's like to live in Seattle, will you do us all a favor and say, "It rains all the motherfucking time!" Thank you.
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