66 F. high in the Twin Cities Wednesday.
66 F. average high on May 4.
72 F. high temperature observed on May 4, 2015.
May 5, 1965: At least 7 tornadoes hit southern Minnesota. This outbreak is a preview of what would happen the next day…
Back to the Future: 80s Friday, a B+ Weather WeekendGrowing up on Star Trek reruns I'm disappointed with how the future has turned out.
Instead of flying cars and clones (with better attitudes) we have little supercomputers buzzing in our pockets.
Instead
of another useless app - would someone hurry up and perfect
"transporter" technology that can beam us anywhere, anytime? Elon Musk,
are you listening? Future generations will marvel at the utter
inefficiency of wasting time crawling to work in our cars; work that
most of us could be doing from home. There has to be a better way.
The forecast calls for construction - and a nice warming trend over the next 36 hours. Upper 70s today; mid-80s
tomorrow before a wind shift sparks a few growls of thunder late
Friday. Skies quickly clear
Saturday with temperatures in the 60s; even a few whitecaps on your favorite lake. Winds ease
Sunday with enough sun for low 70s. Cooler, showery weather returns next week - another free watering for lawns and fields.
The same wildfire forcing the evacuation of Ft. McMurray, Alberta may give our sky a hazy, milky appearance the next few days.
From
wildfire smoke, central Wisconsin frost this morning to temperatures
near 90F tomorrow afternoon in the metro, there's something for everyone
in today's outlook.
4 PM Friday.
Prepare to listen to neighbors whining about the heat tomorrow
afternoon. Well, maybe not, but they'll be tempted. Expect mid-80s,
with a chance of 90-degree highs just north and west of the MSP metro
area - the hottest day of 2016 to date. 4 KM 2-meter NAM temperature
guidance: AerisWeather.
Waves of Summer Warmth.
Temperatures reach the mid to upper 70s today (a few bank thermometers
may flash 80F by late afternoon) but temperatures peak Friday afternoon,
nearly 20F warmer than average. Model guidance: NOAA and Aeris
Enterprise.
Abrupt Wind Shift.
The arrival of cooler air sets of strong winds (and a few spotty
showers and T-showers) Friday night. Model ensembles hint at winds over
30 mph by 10 pm Friday evening. Source: Aeris Enterprise Mobile.
Smoky Sunshine?
The same wildfires chasing tens of thousands of residents of Fort
McMurray, Alberta from their homes may be swept southeastward into
Minnesota today and Friday, creating a milky cast to the sky, and a
potentially Technicolor, cherry-red sunset this evening. Source: MPX
Weather Service.
A Glimpse of Hell. The Weather Channel has some
amazing video of the frantic evacuations underway in Fort McMurray, Alberta on their Facebook page: "
An incredible video is shot as residents evacuate because of this intense wildfire in Fort McMurray, Alberta."
Adrian Peterson Donating More Than 100K to Flood-Relief Efforts in Hometown of Palestine, Texas.
ESPN has the story; here's an excerpt: "...
The
flooding shocked the town of roughly 19,000, which Peterson said hasn't
been prone to floods in the past. "My mom is over 50, and in her
lifespan she's never seen a flood in Palestine," Peterson said. "That's
what was so unusual about it. We've never had an issue with flooding.
We've had heavy rains for days at a time, but nothing to this magnitude.
For this to hit overnight, and the damage that it caused, it was
devastating." Peterson said his family is fine but that some of his
friends have been affected..."
More Than 300 Million Indians Suffer From a Crippling Drought. Here's a clip from a
Washington Post story: "...
About 330 million Indians are struggling under grueling heat and drought conditions across 10 states this year, the government said, severely harming the economy of a nation where nearly half the people rely on farming. Reservoirs
and rivers here in Maharashtra’s drought districts are almost dry, and a
50-car train now delivers water to Latur city, near Suryavanshi’s
village. Thirsty Indians place long, serpentine lines of plastic pots
and drums at the municipal water tank and village wells, and fights have
broken out at water pumps..." (GFS 2-meter temperature outlook: NOAA and WeatherBell).
Delhi Schools Ordered to Close Early for Summer as Temperatures Soar. Here's an excerpt from
The Guardian: "
All schools in Delhi
have been ordered to take a “mandatory summer vacation” from 11 May
amid a heatwave that has swept the city. Officials say temperatures will
continue to rise in the coming weeks, after reaching 44C (111F) on
Monday – the hottest day of the year so far. Schools in other parts of
India have already been forced to close because of heatwaves and a drought that has affected 330 million people across India..."
Photo credit above: "
Officials say temperatures will continue to rise in the coming weeks, after reaching 44C (111F) on Monday." Photograph: Harish Tyagi/EPA.
India's Water Crisis. A combination of factors are in play, as described by
The New York Times: "
Some
330 million people — about one quarter of India’s population — are
reeling from a drought that has turned vast areas of the subcontinent
into a dust bowl, withering crops and forcing farmers from their lands.
Coal-fired power plants — the major source of India’s electricity — have
had to suspend output because there is not enough water in nearby
rivers to generate steam. Armed guards are being posted at dams
to prevent desperate farmers from stealing water. Part of the problem
is El NiƱo, the climate pattern that puts extra heat into the
atmosphere. But much of the problem is a result of years of
mismanagement of water resources, a failure to crack down on corruption
and dithering by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government on taking
action to help those affected..."
Nearly 200 People Have Been Killed by Flooding in the U.S. During The Last 16 Months.
Weather Underground has an interesting post; here's the intro: "
Flooding
has proved to be extremely deadly in the United States in the last 16
months. Nearly 200 people, including 14 in Texas last month alone, have
lost their lives since January 2015. NOAA says that in 2015 176 people
were killed by flooding in 26 states. So far in 2016 there have been 19
flood-related deaths in four states. That's a total of 195 fatalities
from January 2015-April 2016. For comparison, the 30-year average
(1986-2015) number of flood deaths for a 16-month period is 108. There
are typically about 81 flood deaths a year, making it, on average, the
the second most deadly weather-related event behind extreme heat..."
Map credit above: "
Flood deaths by state, January 2015 - April 2016." Please note that this data is preliminary."
Hurricane Project Put on Back Burner After Decade With No Storms.
What can possibly go wrong? A sense of hurricane-apathy is growing,
especially in Florida, where the last Category 3 strike was 2005. Here's
an excerpt of a post at mypalmbeachpost.com: "A landmark hurricane research project that improved forecasts by 20 percent
in five years is facing more budget cuts as the federal government
seeks to “slow the development” of the program after a decade with no major hurricane
landfalls. In its fiscal year 2017 budget request, the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration, said it plans to reduce its investment
in the Hurricane Forecast Improvement Project, which was launched in
response to the record storm seasons of 2004 and 2005..."
Does Your Family Have a Tornado Safety Plan? Everyone should have a plan ready to go. Here's an excerpt from
KCAU: "...
Do
you have a tornado safety kit? The Frosts' do now! After we found a
safe underground, interior room away from windows in their basement, the
Frosts' and I got a bin together with supplies to stay in that safe
room. Non perishable food items, water, and a first aid kit were at the
top of the list, along with a flashlight and batteries. The kids also
picked a few of their favorite board games and books so that they would
have something to do in a prolonged event. Jennifer thought it was a
great idea to help the kids stay calm in an emergency situation too....
the exact purpose of our practice drill..."
GAO: DHS Not Doing Enough to Prevent EMP Disaster.
Got that? An EMP or electromagnetic pulse can be triggered by the sun,
or a high-altitude nuclear detonation. Here are a couple of clips from a
Power Magazine article that got my undivided attention: "
The
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) internally recognizes that a
power grid failure resulting from an electromagnetic pulse (EMP) or a
solar storm can pose great risk to the security of the nation, but it
hasn’t prepared adequately, the Government Accountability Office (GAO)
said in a newly released report...The April 25–released report assesses
risks posed by a high-altitude—from 25 to 250 miles above the Earth’s
surface—EMP event, which could be caused by the detonation of a nuclear
device above the atmosphere. The burst of electromagnetic radiation
resulting from such an event could disrupt or destroy computers and
damage electronics and insulators, as well as severely damage critical
electrical infrastructure like transformers..."
Buffet vs. Musk: The Clash of Old and New Energy Titans. Here's an excerpt of a fascinating read at the
Las Vegas Sun: "...
As
regulated monopolies with guaranteed returns and virtually no
competition, they were lucrative buys. “It’s a way to stay rich,”
Buffett once said of utilities. But times were changing. Over the next
several years, another billionaire was threatening that long-held
assumption. Musk, the chairman of SolarCity and CEO of Tesla Motors, had
entered the energy game, challenging NV Energy’s position as the
primary energy player in the state. The two had collided head-on in a
battle over the future of electric power — how it’s generated and
distributed, who controls it and how much it costs consumers. The two
capitalists could hardly be more different..."
Madison Project Studies Solar Power in Northern Climate. Here's a snippet from a story at
The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel: "...
The
three-year study will examine 10 different kinds of solar panels using a
variety of different technologies that capture sunlight and convert it
into electricity. "What we've been seeing based on the level of interest
in solar is that here in the Midwest it will become a larger and
emerging resource for us," said Zimmerman, Alliant lead project controls
planner. "With the panel technologies improving in their efficiency and
the cost going down, even though the Midwest has limited sunlight hours
as compared to southern California or New Mexico or Arizona, we believe
it's going to be a reliable and dependable energy source for us that
will complement our other energy offerings..."
New Record Set for World's Cheapest Solar, Now Undercutting Coal. Moore's Law continues to drop prices, down 80% since 2007.
Bloomberg has the story.
The Awe-Inspiring Growth of the U.S. Solar Industry. A few very interesting and encouraging statistical nuggets in a
Huffington Post story; here's an excerpt: "...
Solar’s costs have come down to the point that we regularly see contracts for utility-scale solar power under 5 cents per kilowatt-hour – making solar, in many cases, a cost-competitive option for utilities. Last year our country added more solar
than new natural gas capacity for the first time ever – and you can bet
it won’t be the last. In fact, there have been times this year when
California, one of the world’s largest economies, has gotten third of its power
from the sun. It hasn’t always been sunny on the road to a million
solar installations. Although there is sustained double-digit market and
job growth, there have also been naysayers, big-moneyed opposition,
nasty electoral politics, and stumbles from an industry in its early
stages..." (Image credit: Solar City).
Here's What It Would Take for the U.S. to Run On 100% Renewable Energy. Dave Roberts has the story at
Vox; here's the intro: "
It
is technically and economically feasible to run the US economy entirely
on renewable energy, and to do so by 2050. That is the conclusion of a study last year
in the journal Energy & Environmental Science, authored by Stanford
scholar Mark Z. Jacobson and nine colleagues. Jacobson is well-known
for his ambitious and controversial work on renewable energy. In 2011 he published, with Mark A. Delucchi, a two-part paper (one, two) on "providing all global energy with wind, water, and solar power." In 2013 he published a feasibility study on moving New York state entirely to renewables, and in 2014 he created a road map for California to do the same..."
The United Arab Emirates Wants To Build a Full-Size Artificial Mountain to Encourage Rainfall. Now here's an infrastructure project. Here's an excerpt of an eye-popping proposal at
Yahoo News: "
The
United Arab Emirates is used to building landmasses were there were
none before, but creating a mountain from scratch is a whole new level.
Nonetheless, the UAE is considering precisely that kind of construction.
With hopes that it will encourage raincloud development in a country
mostly covered in desert, the UAE is looking to build a full-sized artificial mountain.
Desert flatlands make it difficult for air to get the upward climb
required to collect into rain clouds, but creating a mountain could help
bring a certain amount of rain to the otherwise arid region..."
TODAY: Partly sunny, lukewarm. Winds: SW 8-13. High: 77
THURSDAY NIGHT: Clear and mild. Low: 57
FRIDAY: Warm sun, late-day T-shower possible. Winds: SW 10-20. High: 85
FRIDAY NIGHT: Risk of a few showers, T-storms. Low: 58
SATURDAY: Gradual clearing, cooler breeze. Winds: N 10-20. High: 68
SUNDAY: Partly sunny, less wind. Winds: E 5-10. Wake-up: 49. High: 73
MONDAY: Unsettled, showers develop. Winds: E 10-20. Wake-up: 54. High: 67
TUESDAY: Lingering showers, clap of thunder? Winds: E 10-20. Wake-up: 53. High: 68
WEDNESDAY: Atmospheric holding pattern, instability showers. Winds: SW 10-15. Wake-up: 51. High: 66
Climate Stories...
Destructive Canadian Wildfire Fueled In Part by Global Warming. Other
factors are in play (including a stalled Omega Block) but consistently
earlier springs and longer growing seasons are providing more fuel for
massive fires, according to an Andrew Freedman article at
Mashable. Here's an excerpt: "...
In
addition, long-term trends associated with human-caused global warming
include earlier spring snow melt and later starts to the winter season,
which is lengthening wildfire seasons from Alaska to Alberta, and south
to New Mexico. According to Mike Flannigan, a wildfire specialist at the
University of Alberta, the area burned by wildfires in Alberta has more
than doubled since 1970, a trend he said is partly tied to global
warming. Climate data
shows that Fort McMurray has seen an increase in the number of days
with high temperatures above 25 degrees Celsius, or 77 degrees
Fahrenheit, since 1950. This number has jumped from an average of 21
such days in 1950 to an average of 35 such days in 2010. A study
published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences in
2013 found that boreal forests, which form a ring around the world just
below the Arctic Circle, have been burning at rates that are
unprecedented in 10,000 years..."
Photo credit above: "
Smoke rises from a wildfire outside of Fort McMurray, Alberta, Tuesday, May 3, 2016." Image: Mary Anne Sexsmith-Segato/The Canadian Press via AP.
The Time Has Come to Turn Up The Heat on Those Who Are Wrecking Planet Earth. Here's the intro to an Op-Ed from climate activist Bill McKibbon at
The Guardian: "
An
interesting question is, what are you waiting for? Global warming is
the biggest problem we’ve ever faced as a civilisation — certainly you
want to act to slow it down, but perhaps you’ve been waiting for just
the right moment. The moment when, oh, marine biologists across the
Pacific begin weeping in their scuba masks as they dive on reefs bleached of life in a matter of days. The moment when drought in India gets deep enough that there are armed guards on dams to prevent the theft of water. The moment when we record the hottest month ever measured on the planet, and then smash that record the next month, and then smash that record the next month?
The moment when scientists reassessing the stability of the Antarctic
ice sheet have what one calls an ‘OMG moment’ and start talking about
massive sea level rise in the next 30 years?..."
Photo credit above: "
Global
direct action began with hundreds of environmental activists invading
the UK’s largest opencast coal mine in south Wales on Tuesday." Photograph: Kristian Buus for the Guardian.
The Rising Tide. How
will rising seas (and temperatures) impact migration patterns. Is the
current refugee crisis the tip of the (tenuous) iceberg? Here's an
excerpt of a story at
Columbia Law School Magazine: "...
According
to a recent study compiled by 30 research groups from around the world,
land degradation and desertification alone may force tens of millions
of people from their homes within the next decade. There has also been
an increasingly dire stream of scientific findings that show global sea
levels may rise much more quickly than previously predicted. Dr. James
E. Hansen, who, as director of the Climate Science, Awareness and
Solutions program at Columbia University’s Earth Institute, works with
Gerrard and his Law School colleagues, notes that the resulting surges
of migration and related conflicts would threaten the fabric of
civilization. And according to Sabin Center Executive Director Michael
Burger ’03, there is no time to waste in addressing that potential
reality. “This problem,” he says, “although it’s happening now, already,
is just going to get worse as the years go on...” (Image: Real Climate).
Price Water or Prepare for a Thirstier, Poorer Planet. Here's an excerpt from a story at
Climate Home: "
The
future will be thirsty unless governments place a price on water.
That’s the stark warning in a World Bank report published on Tuesday,
urging lawmakers to make water conservation a national and international
priority. Rising populations, soaring energy demand, expanding
agricultural lands and climate change are making water increasingly
scarce, driving hunger, conflict and economic woes..."
Photo credit above: "
Fatuma has lost 190 sheep and goats and 23 cattle because of the drought. She now has 10 goats and sheep and 2 cattle." (Pic: Abiy Getahun/Oxfam).
Voices: In Alaska Climate Change is a Daily Reality. Here's an excerpt of an Op-Ed at
USA Today: "...
That’s
got lots of consequences. It means residents of Little Diomede Island,
in the Bering Strait, can no longer consistently land small planes on
frozen ocean in front of their village. Instead, they now largely depend
on a helicopter that can only land in good weather. Last year, the
helicopter couldn’t land for six weeks, and the entire 110-person island
ran out of toilet paper. The weaker ice is also affecting polar bears,
which normally prowl the edges hunting seals. Forced to swim longer
distances between ice floes, cubs often drown, and federal scientists
are alarmed by the drop in the polar bear populations. Experts say there
could be as few as 25,000 of these iconic animals living worldwide, and
polar bears today are listed as a “threatened” species in danger of
extinction..."
Resettling the First American "Climate Refugees". Here's an excerpt from an analysis by
The New York Times: "...
In January, the Department of Housing and Urban Development announced grants totaling $1 billion in 13 states to help communities adapt to climate change,
by building stronger levees, dams and drainage systems. One of those
grants, $48 million for Isle de Jean Charles, is something new: the
first allocation of federal tax dollars to move an entire community
struggling with the impacts of climate change. The divisions the effort
has exposed and the logistical and moral dilemmas it has presented point
up in microcosm the massive problems the world could face in the coming
decades as it confronts a new category of displaced people who have
become known as climate refugees..."
Image credit above: "Isle
de Jean Charles in southeastern Louisiana. A $48 million federal grant
has been allocated to resettle its residents because of flooding." Credit Josh Haner/The New York Times.
April Joins Parade of Record Global Temperatures, Making It 12 Months in a Row. Here's a clip at The Sydney Morning Herald: "...The
largest departures from the norm, though, have been occurring at the
poles, especially in the north. Parts of Greenland were 8 degrees warmer
than average in April, sparking early-season melting of the giant ice
sheets so rapid it prompted scientists to check their instruments
weren't broken. Unusual heat over the northern winter meant the Arctic
Sea ice extent began at a record low level. With less to start with and
warmer seas, the area covered by sea ice is retreating, setting new
records every day last month, according to US PhD student, Zack Labe..."
Editorial: A Climate Plan for Conservatives. Here's an excerpt of an Op-Ed at
TheLedger.com: "
Our
planet is now setting records for setting records about the heat. Earth
has set monthly heat records for 11 months in a row, a record in
itself, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced
last week. As global warming causes such changes, researchers told the
Associated Press that they're worried the public is become desensitized
to the drumbeat of broken records. The same could be said for other
worrisome trends involving climate change..."
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