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Category Archives: History
Beyond the headlines, what else has been happening in the weather lately?
There has certainly been a lot of interesting and, in many cases, devastating weather around the country in the past couple of weeks. The heavy snow in parts of the country that don’t often see it along with the California wildfires have caught the attention of lots of us in the first days of the new year.
But in the background is a rather remarkable one-week stretch that occurred in the last week of December. Continue reading
Is climate change uniform across the globe?
Temperature is a fundamental indicator of a climate. Annual and seasonal temperatures patterns have a defining role in the types of animals and plants that reside in an ecosystem. Rapid changes in temperature can disrupt a wide range of natural processes. This is one reason we monitor temperature changes as a metric for global change. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Centers for Environmental Information maintain a collection of climate data online at: www.ncei.noaa.gov
Concentrations of heat-trapping greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide, are increasing in the Earth’s atmosphere. This increase is due to anthropogenic activity. In response, the average temperatures at the Earth’s surface are increasing and are expected to continue rising. Though global temperature changes can shift the wind patterns and ocean currents, the regional warming is not uniform. Continue reading
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
Science-based policy is shrinking ozone hole
The Southern Hemispheric ozone hole usually begins to develop in mid- to late August, as the hemisphere emerges from its winter, and peaks in mid-October.
This year it first appeared closer to the end of August and by mid-September was 18.48 million square kilometers in size, smaller than in recent years, including both 2022 and 2023. Though this year’s slow start does not necessarily reflect a recovery of the ozone layer, it does support the notion that expert guidance has made a positive contribution to this vexing problem. 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
