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Category Archives: Climate
What is climate change?
Climate can be defined as the collective state of the atmosphere for a given place over a specified interval of time. There are three parts to this definition: location, because climate can be defined for a globe, a continent, a region or a city; time, because climate must be defined over a specified period; and the collective state of the atmosphere, which includes averages and extremes of variables such as temperature, precipitation, pressure and winds.
Climate change is a long-term change in the average weather patterns that have come to define Earth’s local, regional and global climates. Continue reading
Can we control the weather?
We watched in stunned horror the suffering of our fellow citizens across parts of the South in the aftermath of the nearly back-to-back disasters wrought by hurricanes Helene and Milton.
Naturally the question of whether these storms were made more intense and impactful by the ongoing, slow background warming has been considered in discussions of these events. Continue reading
What is “The Old Farmer’s Almanac” forecast for winter?
“The Old Farmer’s Almanac” recently published its 2024-25 winter forecast. For the Upper Midwest region, it predicts winter will not be as cold as usual. The precipitation and snowfall forecast are for below average.
But don’t count on that forecast, as there is no proven skill. “The Old Farmer’s Almanac” does not share how it makes its forecast, so it cannot be judged scientifically. “The Old Farmer’s Almanac” also makes a weather forecast for specific time periods in a given season. Such detailed forecasts can be announced but are not trustworthy scientifically. Continue reading
Do oceans have heat waves?
As with the atmosphere, oceans can experience heat waves. The National Weather Service defines an atmospheric heat wave as a period of abnormally hot weather generally lasting more than two days. To be considered a heat wave, the temperatures must be outside the historical averages for a given area.
Marine heat waves are defined as any time the ocean temperatures are warmer than 90% of the previous observations for the region at a given time of year. Marine heat waves can last for weeks, months and even years. Continue reading
Is the Sun Playing a Role in the Earth’s Global Warming?
The sun helps maintain Earth’s climate to be warm enough for us to survive. Even subtle changes in Earth’s orbit around the sun have led to and ended past ice ages. This relationship between Earth’s climate and its orbit around the Sun is well known.
The sun’s activity and appearance goes though cycles, with one solar cycle taking 11 years to complete. The current cycle began at the end of 2019 and will reach peak levels of activity in 2025. During a solar cycle, the amount of solar radiation reaching Earth varies. These changes have a variety of effects on Earth’s atmosphere, including auroras. Continue reading
