19 F. high Sunday at KMSP.
25 F. average high on December 22.
29 F. high on December 22, 2012.
1/2" snow fell at Twin Cities International yesterday.
6" snow on the ground in the Twin Cities.
Minnesota Weather History on December 22. Data courtesy of the Twin Cities National Weather Service:
1996:
Heavy snow fell across much of central Minnesota. The heaviest snow of 6
to 10 inches fell in central and eastern sections of area while snow
amounts were in the 4 to 6 inch range in the north. Other snowfall
totals included 6 to 8 inches across the Twin Cities metro area, 10
inches in Jordan, 8 inches at Cambridge, Forest Lake, Hutchinson and
Montevideo, and 6 inches at St. Cloud, Glenwood and Redwood Falls.
Counties affected include: Sherburne, Sibley, Stearns, Steele, Stevens,
Swift, Todd, Waseca, Washington, Watonwan, Wright, and Yellow Medicine.
1983: The Twin Cities had a high of 17 degrees below zero.
1833: Warm spell at Ft. Snelling. Temperature reached 45 degrees.
Frozen Jingle Bells
The
snow-globe vision outside my window is right out of a Norman Rockwell
painting. So why does I-394 merging into I-94 in Minneapolis look like
the trailer for a Steven King horror flick? Simple. It's too cold for
MnDOT chemicals to work effectively. Black ice is a much bigger threat
at 5-10F than it is at 20-25F
We're studying the economic
feasibility of a retractable dome over the MSP metro area; until then
all we can do is slow down - and leave more time to get around town.
I'm
forecasting the whitest Christmas since we woke up to a whopping 19
inches of snow on December 25, 2010. If you're keeping score: 5
Christmases since 2001 have had an inch of snow or less.
When it's
this cold air puffs up between snowflakes, like feathers in a down
comforter. Easy to get off your sidewalk, but prone to being compressed
by traffic into glaze ice.
Today will bring our your inner
survivalist: single digit "highs", a chill factor near -15F. Double
digit negative numbers early tomorrow, then a period of snow Christmas
Eve. Expect 2-3 inches, heavier amounts east of St. Paul, maybe 4-6" for
Wisconsin.
People keep asking me when we'll pull out of this Deep Freeze. That's an easy one.
April.
Snow On The Ground December 25 in the Twin Cities:
2012: 1"
2011: 0
2010: 19"
2009: 12"
2008: 8"
2007: 6"
2006: Trace
2005: 3"
2004: 1"
2003: 4"
2002: 1"
2001: 3"
Snow For Santa.
Yes, I still believe. And I believe we're about to see another
potentially plowable snowfall late Christmas Eve, possibly 2-4" of fluff
by Christmas morning, with much heavier amounts predicted by NOAA's
NAM model just east of the St. Croix River. The heaviest snow will
probably come during the afternoon and evening hours tomorrow. Map: Ham
Weather.
Snow For Christmas.
At the rate we're going we may wind up with 10" or more of snow by
Christmas Day; another 2-4" possible late tomorrow and tomorrow night.
Future Radar.
NAM model guidance shows the storm that crippled much of the central
USA with heavy snow and ice pushing into eastern Canada, a brief break
today before the next clipper-like system pushes moisture up and over
the arctic dome over Minnesota, resulting in a burst of snow late
Tuesday. Loop: NOAA and Ham Weather.
Windchill Advisories And Warnings.
Take the cold seriously over the next 24 hours. Advisories have been
upgraded to warnings over much of west central and southwestern
Minnesota, where it may feel like -40F at times. Serious cold. Map: Twin
Cities National Weather Service;
details here.
Cold Enough.
Guidance suggests double-digit lows Tuesday morning, as cold as -10F
(air temperature) in the immediate Twin Cities metro, -15F in the
suburbs and -20 from St. Cloud to Brainerd. 6 am NAM predicted
temperature Tuesday courtesy of NOAA and Ham Weather.
Jet Stream Explainer. The
Twin Cities National Weather Service
created the graphic above, showing the location of the jet stream via a
"cross-section" in 3-D. The greater the north-south temperature
gradient, the faster winds aloft have to blow to keep the atmosphere in
equilibrium. When the core of the jet is directly overhead one
manifestation is a higher risk of turbulence for aviation.
New York City, Philadelphia, Atlantic City Break Temperature Records During December Heat Wave. I saw 70F at Dulles International Airport outside Washington D.C. Saturday. Here's an excerpt from
Huffington Post: "...
The
National Weather Service says the temperature in Central Park hit a
record-setting 65 degrees Saturday. The previous record was 62, set in
2011 and 1923. Philadelphia and Atlantic City, N.J., reached 67 degrees
on Saturday afternoon. That broke Atlantic City's previous mark of 63
degrees, set in 2011, and bested Philadelphia's previous high of 66
degrees, set in 1895..."
Graphic credit:
Mesonet.org.
"Alien Clouds" Swirl Over The Alaskan Aleutian Islands. This entry caught my eye at the
NBC News PhotoBlog; here's an excerpt: "
Spooky
clouds that swirl over Alaska's Aleutian Islands look as if they came
from Jupiter — and it turns out that the same phenomenon is at work on
both planets. This satellite view, captured by Landsat 7 in 2002, shows the pattern of atmospheric eddies that's characteristic of a "Karman vortex street." On Earth,
these powerful chains of swirls arise when air flows over and around
objects in its path. The Landsat 7 image is color-coded to indicate
temperature variations and the size of raindrops in low-altitude clouds
as they sweep over the Aleutians. On Jupiter, such vortices are generated by turbulence in the bands of clouds whipping around the giant planet..."
Photo credit above: NASA / USGS via Abrams. "
Clouds
swirl over the Aleutian Islands in a pattern known as a Karman vortex
street, as seen in a Landsat 7 satellite image from July 4, 2002."
Navy Sailors Giving Aid To Japan After Tsunami Poisoned By Nuclear Fallout. Why haven't I heard more about this in the popular media? Here's an excerpt from
guardianlv.com: "
Navy
sailors that were on a humanitarian mission in Japan which provided aid
proceeding the March 11, 2011 tsunami, were poisoned by the nuclear
fallout contained in the waters while aboard the aircraft carrier, the
USS Ronald Reagan. The storm blew toward them from Fukushima, whose
nuclear power plant was melting down after an earthquake caused a
tsunami that flooded the plant and ultimately took the lives of 19,000.
When the storm’s path crossed that of the ship, crew member Lindsay
Cooper “felt this warm gust of air, and suddenly it was snowing.” The
sailors on board weren’t aware that the snow falling down on them was a
mixture of cold ocean air and radioactive steam, which was emitted from
the nuclear reactor that melted down after power failures caused by the
tsunami caused cooling equipment to fail..."
The Case Against Multivitamins Grows Stronger. Here's a clip from a story at
NPR: "...
Evidence
continues to mount that vitamin supplements don't help most people and
can actually cause diseases that people are taking them to prevent, like
cancer. Three studies published Monday add to multivitamins' bad rap.
One review found no benefit in , heart disease or cancer. Another found
that taking multivitamins did nothing to stave off with aging. A third
found that didn't help people who had had one heart attack avoid
another. "Enough is enough," declares an accompanying the studies in
Annals of Internal Medicine. "Stop wasting money on vitamin and mineral
supplements..."
Eco-Friendly Holiday Tips: Surprising Ways To Make Your Family Time More Sustainable. A few good ideas can be found in this story at
Huffington Post; here's the intro: "
For
many people, the holiday season is about more than just religion. It is
a time to contemplate the morals we value as a society. These concepts
are explored through actions, by swapping gifts, giving donations and
making sure to spend time with friends and family. Yet a major component
of the holiday mindset is showing gratitude for the world around us.
One of the best ways we can do this is by not only showing compassion
and appreciation for our loved ones, but by making sure our holiday is
as sustainable as possible..."
TODAY: Windchill Advisory. Icy with flurries giving way to sunny peeks. Feels like -15 to -20F. High: 6
MONDAY NIGHT: Mostly clear. Cold enough. Low: -12
CHRISTMAS EVE: Brisk. Another 2-4" snow falls during the PM hours. High: 13
CHRISTMAS DAY: Light Chistmas snow, coating - 1" Wake-up: 11. High: 23
THURSDAY: Another temperature relapse. Bright sun. Wake-up: 0. High: 8
FRIDAY: Cold start, milder breeze PM. Wake-up: -4. High: 26
SATURDAY: Clouding up, light snow arrives. Wake-up: 23. High: 31 (falling later in the day)
SUNDAY: Mostly cloudy, colder again. Wake-up: 10. High: 12
Climate Stories...
"
The atmosphere and oceans are storing the energy of 4 Hiroshima bombs every second, 400,000 every day."
Earth's Rate Of Global Warming Is 400,000 Hiroshima Bombs A Day.
A temperatures "pause" or "hiatus"? Not so much. It's hard to wrap your
brain around this number but the metaphor captures the amount of warmth
being retained in the atmosphere and oceans by a steady buildup of
greenhouse gases; here's an excerpt of an explanation at
ThinkProgress: "...
How
can one convey the Earth’s staggering rate of heat build up from
human-caused global warming — 250 trillion Watts (Joules per second)?
The analogy to the energy released by the Hiroshima bomb has been used
in recent years by a number of scientists, such as NOAA oceanographer John Lyman, and Mike Sandiford, Director of the Melbourne Energy Institute. In his TED talk Climatologist James Hansen explained the current rate of increase in global warming is:
“… equivalent to exploding 400,000 Hiroshima atomic bombs per day, 365 days per year. That’s how much extra energy Earth is gaining each day.”
That comes out to more than four Hiroshima bombs a second, which is a metric Skeptical Science has turned into a widget.
I prefer the 400,000 Hiroshimas per day metric simply because the heat
imbalance is occurring over a very large area, which four Hiroshimas
don’t do justice to. The deniers don’t like the metaphor because, they
assert, it is inexact and sensationalistic. But the deniers don’t like
the literal facts because they think those are inexact and
sensationalistic, too, so we can safely ignore them..."
File photos above: Wikipedia.
Not Just The Koch Brothers: New Drexel Study Reveals Funders Behind The Climate Change Denial Effort. Here's an excerpt of a press release from
Drexel University: "...
The
climate change countermovement is a well-funded and organized effort to
undermine public faith in climate science and block action by the U.S.
government to regulate emissions. This countermovement involves a large
number of organizations, including conservative think tanks, advocacy
groups, trade associations and conservative foundations, with strong
links to sympathetic media outlets and conservative politicians. “The
climate change countermovement has had a real political and ecological
impact on the failure of the world to act on the issue of global
warming,” said Brulle. “Like a play on Broadway, the countermovement has
stars in the spotlight – often prominent contrarian scientists or
conservative politicians – but behind the stars is an organizational
structure of directors, script writers and producers, in the form of
conservative foundations. If you want to understand what’s driving this
movement, you have to look at what’s going on behind the scenes...”
Green Power Locater. Click on an interactive map from
EPA to see incentives available, state by state.
Op-Ed: Events Show Utah Must Address Climate Change. Here's the intro to an Op-Ed at
The Salt Lake Tribune: "
As
the planet warms, its atmosphere becomes more turbulent. We see changed
weather patterns. Extreme events, for example severe droughts,
wildfires, deadly storms, and floods, become more likely. Sad to say,
such possibilities are right at hand. Jump back to Sept. 4, when a
deadly wildfire scorched Yosemite, our treasured national park, and
rained toxic ash on San Francisco’s water supply. "Experts," the New
York Times reported, "say this is just a foretaste of major fires to
come." In Colorado, two weeks later, torrential rain, on mountains
scarred by recent fires, sent walls of water down the slopes, cut whole
towns off, and left seven people dead. In Boulder alone, 6 inches fell
in just 12 hours. Days later, with more than 800 Boulder and Larimer
county residents still unaccounted for, a second storm grounded the
rescue helicopters..."
Americans Have Little Faith In Scientists, Science Journalists: Poll.
Huffington Post has the results of a troubling poll; here's a clip: "
How much faith do Americans have in scientists and science journalists? Not a whole lot, a new survey finds. In a new HuffPost/YouGov poll,
only 36 percent of Americans reported having "a lot" of trust that
information they get from scientists is accurate and reliable. Fifty-one
percent said they trust that information only a little, and another 6
percent said they don't trust it at all. Science journalists fared even
worse in the poll. Only 12 percent of respondents said they had a lot of
trust in journalists to get the facts right in their stories about
scientific studies. Fifty-seven percent said they have a little bit of
trust, while 26 percent said they don't trust journalists at all to
accurately report on scientific studies..."
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