84 F. maximum temperature on September 21.
70 F. average high on September 21.
73 F. high on September 21, 2016.
26 F. record low in the Twin Cities on September 22, 1974
12 hours, 12 minutes of daylight today, down from 15 hours and 37 minutes of daylight on June 21.
September 22, 1936: Summer-like heat continues with 101 at Ada, Beardsley and Moorhead.
Dear Confused: Late September or Mid-July?
Media maven Tim Post said it (tweeted it) best: "Who’s ready for bonfires, cozy sweaters, chili, hot chocolate, college football, pumpkin spice OH NEVER MIND."
The autumnal equinox hits at 3:02 pm today, as the heat index approaches 100 degrees. On the 22nd day of September. Huh? Model data suggests 3 nights/row with nighttime lows of 70F or milder at MSP. According to NOAA, this would be a record for the latest consecutive 70F low temperatures this late in the year. Freaky warm.
Dress light today; low 90s coupled with a dew point in the low 70s will create oppressive conditions. You will swear it's mid-July out there.
Expect steamy sun and 80s from the Twin Cities on south and east this weekend; the best chance of T-storms northwest of St. Cloud. A few inches of rain may douse western and northern Minnesota.
By late next week highs hold in the 50s and 60s (there will be no doubt in your mind that autumn is here) but 70s may return for the last Saturday in September.
If you like warmth you'll appreciate NOAA's forecast: a mild bias in Minnesota through the end of 2017.
Fall Color Update. Colors are peaking from near Bemidji to Warroad and Roseau. The Brainerd Lakes and North Shore are still 1-2 weeks away from peak color. Map courtesy of the Minnesota DNR.
Anatomy of a Disaster.
Wednesday morning Category 4 Hurricane Maria tracked over Puerto Rico,
knocking out the NOAA NEXRAD Doppler radar on the island, in fact all
radars went down as winds reached 150 mph in some locations. But the
weather satellites (including non-operational GOES-16 above) kept on
working, a reminder of how reliant, how dependent we are on satellites.
They provide much of the "initialization data", the raw fuel, that goes
into the weather models. Before the first weather satellites was
launched (TIROS-1 in 1960) we had to rely on ship reports in the
Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico to have any clue where tropical
systems were. Ships! Now we take for granted that we can instantly call
up Doppler radar images or satellite pictures, 24 hours a day.
But
it costs money to maintain these weather systems, so (in my humble
opinion) now might not be the very best time to cut NOAA's budget. We
all pay $3/year for the privilege of having the best weather service on
the planet. Considering America experiences more extreme weather than
any other country on Earth, we deserve nothing less. Back to Maria and
Puerto Rico, which may be without power for a couple of months,
according to local officials. The grid is down across the entire island.
Food will spoil rapidly; emergency supplies will need to be airlifted
and shipped to San Juan to feed this nation of 3.5 million people, now
experiencing the worst storm-related disaster since 1932. I don't want
to minimize the scale of this tragedy. Many Caribbean island nations are
down for the count - with little chance of tourist dollars returning
for years, so they won't have the cash flow to be able to quickly
rebuild.
Maria was the third most intense
hurricane to hit the USA on record - I fear we're going to see a
slow-motion tragedy unfold in Puerto Rico in the coming weeks and
months. Many people who survived the storm may not survive the
aftermath. I hope I'm wrong.
A Memorable 2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season So Far - Not Over Yet.
We are just past the midpoint of the traditional hurricane season (the
date a hurricane is most likely to make landfall in the USA is September
10). Praedictix meteorologist Todd Nelson takes a look at what is turning into the busiest hurricane season since 2005: "...Maria
became the 2nd category 5 storm of the 2017 season, which is the first
season to have produced two category 5 storms since 2007 another
incredible storm of what has been a remarkable season so far. In terms
of pressure, Maria was stronger than Irma was and actually recorded to
908mb, which becomes the 10th most intense hurricane on record in the
Atlantic Basin. Maria became the first category 5 storm on record to
make landfall with Dominica! Severe damage was reported their as it
continued on a northwesterly track toward Puerto Rico. One day later it
made landfall there as a category 4 storm and became the strongest
hurricane to hit the island since the 1928 San Felipe Hurricane. Severe
damage was reported their with 100% of the island without power the day
after landfall..."
Hurricane Maria Live Updates: in Puerto Rico, the Storm "Destroyed Us". The New York Times has continuous updates.
Why Hurricane Maria Was Such a Nightmare for Puerto Rico. Vox explains what a Category 4 hurricane is really like: "...Puerto
Rico had no such luck with Hurricane Maria. On Thursday, it seemed that
forecasters’ dire scenario played out with the storm’s direct hit of
the island, home to 3.4 million US citizens. When it made landfall,
Maria took a course that bisected the island from the Southeast to the
Northwest. “It was as if a 50- to 60-mile-wide tornado raged across
Puerto Rico, like a buzz saw,” Jeff Weber, a meteorologist with the
National Center for Atmospheric Research, says. “It’s almost as strong
as a hurricane can get in a direct hit.” By the record books, it was the
fifth-strongest storm ever
to hit the US. Communications to and from Puerto Rico are strained, but
the situation on the ground sounds very grim. There is no electricity on the entire island — and it could remain that way for months. Whole communities are likely destroyed. It’s probable the island saw near-record levels of rain and flooding..."
Image credit: "
Praedictix Briefing: Issued Thursday, September 21st, 2017:
* Puerto Rico paralyzed by Maria - still a major hurricane - Jose churns off northeast coast of USA.
* Puerto Rican emergency officials report that 100 percent of the island is still without power as of Thursday morning. The mayor of San Juan said it could take four to six months until electricity is restored to the entire island.
* Widespread damage is also being reported across the island with 80 percent of the homes damaged in the Juana Matos neighborhood of San Juan suburb of Catano.
* At least one fatality has been reported so far on the island as a man was struck by flying debris.
* Flash Flood Warnings are still in effect across much of the island with Flash Flood Emergencies continuing for much of northwest, western interior and central portions of Puerto Rico including Mayaguez and Aguadilla. Several rivers are running high due to the heavy rain that has fallen and the threat for mud slides continues near steep terrain as an additional 4” to 8” of rain are still possible in the warned areas, bringing isolated maximum storm totals to 35”.
* As of 8:00 AM AST, the eye of Maria was sitting 95 miles north-northwest of Punta Cana Dominican Republic or 190 miles southeast of Grand Turk Island with 115 mph winds making it a major category 3 hurricane.
* Maria is moving northwest at 9 mph and will continue to move northwest over the next 24 to 48 hours, before turning north into the weekend. Maria is expected to strengthen slightly on Thursday as it is now back over warm ocean water, but will likely weaken into the weekend due to slightly unfavorable atmospheric conditions. Models continue to keep Maria away from the East Coast into next week.
* We’re also still tracking Tropical Storm Jose, which is sitting off the Northeast coast with 60 mph winds. Tropical Storm Warnings continue in southeastern Massachusetts, including Cape Cod as gusty winds, dangerous surf, rip currents, beach erosion and coastal flooding continues.
Maria East of Dominican Republic. Heavy
rainfall continues as well as catastrophic, life-threatening flash
flooding in Puerto Rico, especially in areas of mountainous terrain.
Strong gusty winds are also still occurring over portions of Puerto
Rico, but should continue to gradually subside this morning. Hurricane
warnings continue in the Dominican Republic, the Turks and Caicos
Islands, and the southeastern Bahamas where dangerous wind, storm surge,
and heavy rainfall are expected. Tropical storm and hurricane
conditions are currently ongoing across portions of warned areas in the
Dominican Republic. Hurricane conditions are expected to begin in
portions of the Turks and Caicos Islands and the southeastern Bahamas tonight, with tropical storm conditions beginning in these areas later tonight. Tropical storm conditions are possible in the central Bahamas beginning late Friday(Satellitedata: AerisWeather)
Maria Official Track. Maria
will continue to move northwest along the northern coast of the
Dominican Republic today with tropical storm and hurricane force winds, 4
to 6 feet surge and additional rainfall amounts of 2” to 4”, which
could lead to life-threatening flash floods and mudslides. The Turks and
Caicos and southeastern Bahamas could see a storm surge of 9 to 12 feet
and rainfall tallies of 8” to 16” with isolated 20” amounts! Maria will
still be a powerful system, but the worst of the winds and waves will
likely stay just offshore.
A dangerous storm surge accompanied by large and destructive waves will raise water levels by as much as 4 to 6 feet above normal tide levels in the hurricane warning area in the Dominican Republic, and 1 to 3 feet elsewhere along the northern coasts of the Dominican Republic and Haiti.
A dangerous storm surge accompanied by large and destructive waves will raise water levels by as much as 9 to 12 feet above normal tide levels within the hurricane warning area of southeastern Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands.
A Tropical Storm Warning is in effect for…
*Woods Hole to Sagamore Beach, including Cape Cod
*Block Island
*Martha’s Vineyard
*Nantucket
Summary: The center of Maria is located northwest of Puerto Rico today, but strong winds, catastrophic and life-threatening flooding continues across the island. As Maria slides northwest along the northern coast of the Dominican Republic today, tropical storm and hurricane force winds will continue along with heavy, flooding rainfall and significant storm surge. The Turks and Caicos along with southeastern Bahamas will also get brushed by Maria, which will likely be a major hurricane over the next few days. These areas will also experience tropical storm and hurricane force wind gusts along with heavy, flooding rains and significant storm surge through the weekend. Meanwhile, Jose will be problematic along the Northeast and New England coast as it sits stationary 150 miles southeast of Nantucket. Tropical storm force winds, high surf, rip currents, beach erosion and areas of heavy rainfall can still be expected in areas under warnings and advisories over the next few days.
Meteorologist Todd Nelson, Praedictix
Harvey, Irma, Maria: This is the Hurricane Season Scientists Expected...and Feared. Eric Holthaus reports for Grist: "...There is evidence that we are emerging from an era of messy meteorological data, where we were blind to warming seas strengthening hurricanes because the really damaging ones were rare. If that’s true, weather historians may look to this year as the beginning of a frightening new phase of superstorms. About 85 percent of all damage done by hurricanes is attributable to “major” storms — those stronger than Category 3, so roughly one-quarter of all storms. While relatively infrequent, they are by far the most destructive — a Category-5 cyclone has 500 times the power of a Category 1. Globally, major hurricanes have become slightly more common in recent decades, even as overall numbers have held steady. Further, there’s nothing in recorded history that resembles what Irma and Maria have inflicted on Caribbean islands in recent days..."
Photo image of Hurricane Maria from NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik aboard the ISS, the International Space Station.
One Lesson of Harvey: Read the Fine Print. Read this story from Dallas News and try not to shake your head in wonder: "They sat tucked away in a Fort Bend county clerk's file for the past two decades: 25 words on a public document that could have spared thousands of homeowners from losing everything. If only the homeowners had seen them. In the finest of fine print, the county warned in 1997: "This subdivision is adjacent to the Barker Reservoir and is subject to extended controlled inundation under the management of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers." In other words, during a major storm, the corps could choose to flood the subdivision in an effort to protect greater Houston. Which is exactly what happened during Hurricane Harvey. Now, as Houston begins a massive recovery effort projected to cost as much as $180 billion, it is increasingly clear that government officials at every level did little to warn residents in some of the hardest-hit areas that they were buying into risk — living in areas designed to flood..."
Photo credit: "Floodwaters rose into the Lakes on Eldridge North neighborhood near the Addicks Reservoir in West Houston shortly after the storm hit." (Tom Fox/Staff Photographer)
File image: AerisWeather.
Despite Rising Seas and Bigger Storms, Florida's Land Rush Endures. It's a tropical paradise, until it's not. Here's an excerpt from The New York Times: "Florida was built on the seductive delusion that a swamp is a fine place for paradise. The state's allure - peddled first by visionaries and hucksters, most famously in the Great Florida Land Boom of the 1920s - is no less potent today. Only, now there is a twist: Florida is no longer the swampy backwater it once was. It is the nation's third most populous state, with 21 million people, jutting out precariously into the heart of hurricane alley, amid rising seas, at a time when warming waters have the potential to bring ever stronger storms. And compared with the 1920s, when soggy land was sold by mail, the risks of building here are far better known today. Yet newcomers still flock in and buildings still rise, with everyone seemingly content to double down on a dubious hand..."
Photo credit: "A beachfront house in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., that was damaged by Hurricane Irma." Luke Sharrett for The New York Times.
The Stunning Price Tags for Hurricanes Harvey and Irma, Explained.
Good for the economy (new construction!) Depends on who you ask -
certainly not a positive for those starting over. Here's an excerpt from
Vox: "Estimates for the cost of Hurricane Harvey’s damage have come in at $65 billion, $180 billion, and as high as $190 billion
— the last of which would make it the costliest disaster in US history.
The numbers from the second record-breaking storm that hit the US this
summer, Hurricane Irma, meanwhile, are still rolling in. But totals
range from $50 billion to $100 billion. To appreciate how staggering these figures are, consider that they could be enough to make the $18.57 trillion US economy lose a step, knocking between 0.6 percent and 0.8 percent off of US GDP growth this quarter, according to projections from investment banks..."
How to Avoid Cars With Flood Damage. CNET has some timely advice: "...Here's a quick checklist for avoiding soggy vehicles:
- Examine the car's title. Any reputable dealer or seller will let you know the car has a Salvage or Flood branded title from water incursion. That's establish on the car's state record once an insurance company has made that declaration. Note that this entire scenario has a big loophole:
- Cars that never saw an insurance adjuster, either because they weren't insured or the owner knew what would happen when a claim was made on a flooded car, may end up on the private market after being dried out and cleaned up. This non-insurance loophole is one of the most troublesome.
- Check the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System, NMVTIS, which is a free online database run by the DOJ..."
10 Costliest Hurricanes in U.S. History? NOLA.com in New Orleans takes a look; number one on the list is Katrina: "The 10 costliest hurricanes in U.S. history, even when damage estimates are adjusted for inflation, all occurred in the past 30 years. All but two of them struck in the 21st century. The storms hit Florida (6), Louisiana (4) and Texas (2), as well as Alabama, Mississippi, New Jersey, North Carolina and South Carolina (1 each). Most of the big ones struck more than one coastal state. But it’s not just coastal states where costs mount. Once a hurricane comes ashore and weakens, cut off from the warm seawater that fuels it, it still carries immense amounts of moisture. As it moves hundreds of miles inland and breaks up, it continues to dump that moisture in the form of phenomenal rain that floods creeks and rivers, causing even more damage..."
Feature: Extreme Heat - an "Unseen Threat" - Burns U.S. Urban Poor. Reuters explains: "...Jenkins-Smith
is among the growing number of city dwellers whose health is at risk
from increasingly hotter summers - a threat that has prompted cities
nationwide to look for innovative ways to keep their most vulnerable
residents safe and cool. Rife with asphalt and concrete that absorb and
radiate heat, many U.S. cities amount to giant heat traps, scientists
say. The phenomenon is known as the urban heat island effect. It can add
as much as 5 degrees Fahrenheit (3 degrees Celsius) to daytime
temperatures in cities, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency. The problem is even worse at night, when city temperatures can
be as much as a whopping 22 degrees Fahrenheit (12 degrees Celsius)
warmer than green rural areas, where heat is more effectively released
back into the atmosphere, the agency said..."
Earth Sweltered to 3rd Hottest August, Summer on Record. The AP has details: "Earth just sweated through the third hottest August and summer on record. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Monday the globe last month averaged 61.5 degrees (16.43 Celsius), which was a degree-and-a-half higher than the 20th century average, but behind 2016 and 2015. The average temperature for June through August was 61.47 degrees (16.41 Celsius). So far the year to date has edged out 2015 and is the second hottest January through August, averaging 58.88 degrees (14.88 Celsius), behind 2016. Records go back to 1880..."
File image: Climate Nexus.
Trending Milder Rest of 2017.
With the exception of North Dakota and part of Montana, just about the
entire USA is forecast to be milder than average the rest of the year.
What a shock. Forecasts above courtesy of NOAA CPC.
Photo credit: "A gate at the U.S. Oil Recovery Superfund site is shown Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017, in Pasadena, Texas, where three tanks once used to store toxic waste were flooded during Hurricane Harvey. The Environmental Protection Agency says it has found no evidence that toxins washed off the site, but is still assessing damage." (Associated Press).
Wind Powered Electricity is Competitive, Even Without Subsidies. Here's an excerpt of a post at Scientific American: "...But it’s important to note that the price of wind energy offered through a PPA is an all-in price that includes the effect of subsidies such as the federal wind production tax credit, which provides a tax subsidy of 18 to 23 dollars per megawatt hour of energy produced. When you exclude the production tax credit and look at the levelized cost of energy (LCOE) from interior wind, it still comes in at an extremely competitive cost of less than 50 dollars per megawatt-hour (5 cents per kilowatt-hour). For comparison, the Energy Information Administration estimates a best-in-class combined cycle natural gas power plant has an LCOE of about 54 dollars per megawatt-hour (5.4 cents per kilowatt-hour). So even when you account for the effect of the federal wind production tax credit, wind energy remains an extremely competitive generating resource..."
File image: Star Tribune.
10 Giant Companies Commit to Electric Vehicles, Sending Auto Industry a Message. InsideClimate News has the story: "A
coalition of global corporations, including Unilever, Ikea and shipping
giant DHL, launched a global campaign today to accelerate the shift to
electric vehicles and away from gas- and diesel-powered
transportation—which generates almost a quarter of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions worldwide and has been the fastest growing emissions source. Since more than half of the cars on the road belong to companies, the new EV100 coalition could have a major impact. It aims to do for EVs and electric car charging infrastructure what coalitions such as the RE100
are already doing to encourage corporate purchasing of clean energy
(and thus motivating development of new solar and wind power).
EV100's goal is to send a signal to automakers that there is mass
demand for electric vehicles before 2030, when current forecasts suggest
global uptake will start to really ramp up..." (File image: Shutterstock).
Utilities Line Up to Profit from "Slowest Trainwreck" in History. Bloomberg reports: "...Renewable energy technologies are upending the century-old, centralized business model that that utilities have used to grow. The cost of electricity from offshore wind farms, once one of the most expensive forms of green energy, is expected to slide by 71 percent over the next two decades, according to BNEF. Solar, once so costly it only made sense in spaceships, now competes with coal and even natural-gas plants on cost. “I do think we’re experiencing the slowest trainwreck in history,” Steven Martin, chief digital officer at General Electric Co.’s energy connections unit, said at the conference. “We’re going to reach some point where the marginal cost of energy is zero.” Earlier this year, Germany shocked the renewable energy industry by handing out contracts to developers willing build offshore wind farms without subsidy. Spain has also seen zero subsidy tenders, according to Starace, who said he expects the trend to go global after beginning in Europe..."
Photo credit: "A smart habit?" (Unsplash/Hal Gatewood)
The Impossible Burger: Inside the Strange Science of the Fake Meet that "Bleeds". I love a burger or steak as much as the next guy or gal - I'm trying to keep an open mind. Here's a clip from WIRED.com: "The cook, complete with
hair net, lays the red patty down on the grill and gives it a press
with a spatula. And there, that unmistakable sizzle and smell. She flips
the patty and gives it another press, lets it sit, presses it, and
pulls it off the grill and onto a bun. This is no diner, and this is no
ordinary cook. She's wearing not an apron, but a lab coat and safety
goggles, standing in a lab-kitchen hybrid in a Silicon Valley office
park. Here a company called Impossible Foods has over the last six years
done something not quite impossible, but definitely unlikely:
Engineering a plant-based burger that smells, tastes, looks, and even
feels like ground beef..."
The Bizarre Case of New Zealand's Exploding Pants. Only Atlas Obscura could bring us this story: "...The
problem was that in order to apply the sodium chlorate, the chemical
was mixed with water to create a solution, which was then sprayed and
spread, getting all over the pants of the farmers using it. As the
clothing dried, the water was removed, leaving nothing but volatile
sodium chlorate crystals bonded to the fibers. In essence, it created
explosive cloth that could be set off by flames, heat, or even just a
strong impact. Luckily New Zealand’s exploding pants epidemic didn’t
last long, quickly becoming an odd historical footnote after use of the
dangerous chemical slowed..."
File photo: "These overalls might look harmless, but what if they exploded?" LOC/LC-USF33- 001805-M5 [P&P]/Public Domain
TODAY: Hello fall! Sunny and stinking hot. Winds: S 10-20, gusty. High: 92
FRIDAY NIGHT: Mostly clear, unusually mild. Low: 72
SATURDAY: Warm & steamy, T-storms north/west of the Twin Cities. Winds: S 10-15. High: 86
SUNDAY: Still sticky, few T-storms nearby. Winds: S 8-13. Wake-up: 71. High: 85
MONDAY: More numerous showers and T-storms likely. Winds: SW 7-12. Wake-up: 67. High: 75
TUESDAY: Cooling off, showers taper off. Winds: NW 8-13. Wake-up: 60. High: 69
WEDNESDAY: Mix of clouds and sun, fresh breeze. Winds: W 7-12. Wake-up: 55. High: 68
THURSDAY: Clipper, few PM showers may pop up. Winds: NW 10-15. Wake-up: 51. High: 63
SATURDAY: Warm & steamy, T-storms north/west of the Twin Cities. Winds: S 10-15. High: 86
SUNDAY: Still sticky, few T-storms nearby. Winds: S 8-13. Wake-up: 71. High: 85
MONDAY: More numerous showers and T-storms likely. Winds: SW 7-12. Wake-up: 67. High: 75
TUESDAY: Cooling off, showers taper off. Winds: NW 8-13. Wake-up: 60. High: 69
WEDNESDAY: Mix of clouds and sun, fresh breeze. Winds: W 7-12. Wake-up: 55. High: 68
THURSDAY: Clipper, few PM showers may pop up. Winds: NW 10-15. Wake-up: 51. High: 63
Climate Stories...
Hurricane Harvey - a Climate Angle? Climate Signals provides perspective: "...Climate change raises or amplifies the three primary hazards associated with hurricanes: storm surge, rainfall, and the power ceiling, aka potential speed limit, for hurricane winds. Sea level rise has elevated and dramatically extended the storm surge driven by hurricanes - the main driver of damage for coastal regions. Climate change has been found to have significantly increased the rainfall in hurricanes.[6][7] A warmer atmosphere holds more water vapor, feeding more precipitation into all storms including hurricanes, significantly amplifying extreme rainfall and increasing the risk of flooding. Hurricanes are fueled by ocean heat. As climate change warms sea surfaces, the heat available to power hurricanes has increased, raising the limit for potential hurricane wind speed and with that an exponential increase in potential wind damage. Harvey intensified rapidly amid sea surface temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico up to 2.7 - 7.2°F (1.5 - 4°C) above average, relative to a 1961-1990 baseline..."[8]
Map credit: Praedictix and AerisWeather.
Republican Senator Endorses "Price on Carbon" to Fight Climate Change. TIME has the details: "Sen. Lindsey Graham endorsed a "price on carbon"
to fight climate change, breaking with much of the Republican
Establishment. Speaking at a climate change conference held by former
Secretary of State John Kerry at Yale University, the South Carolina
Republican called for a "price on carbon," saying he would take the idea
to the White House for consideration. "I'm a Republican. I believe that
the greenhouse effect is real, that CO2 emissions generated by man is
creating our greenhouse gas effect that traps heat, and the planet is
warming," said Graham. "A price on carbon—that's the way to go in my
view..."
File image: Wikipedia.
I'm a TV Weatherman. Here's What Happened When I discussed Climate Change on the Air. Sean Sublette reports for Vox: "...In
2014, after nearly 20 years as a broadcast meteorologist, I saw a
change in both the climate and the broadcast meteorology landscape. On
the climate front, I knew evidence of climate change would only become
stronger. On the broadcasting front, it seemed more meteorologists
wanted to approach climate change on air, although some struggled with
how to go about it. In both cases, my gut was right. The planet has set a
record
for its warmest year for three years running. Intense heat waves and
rising seas have taken a toll around the world as atmospheric carbon
dioxide continues to rise to levels unseen
in the history of human civilization. Evidence of a shift in attitudes
became clear in surveys of broadcast meteorologists. In 2010, a George Mason University survey
indicated that 53 percent of broadcast meteorologists say global
warming is indeed happening. A similar 2017 survey indicated that number
had jumped to 95 percent. However, that same 2017 survey only indicated
49 percent were convinced it has been mostly or entirely due to human
activity, so there is still work to be done to bring the science home..."
Photo credit: ""
Graphic credit: "Climate
models predicted human-caused global warming will boost the proportions
in the highest hurricanes (4-5) compared to the lowest (1-2). The ACCI
is a measure of human-caused warming." CREDIT: NCAR 2013.
Climate Change Brings Melting Ice, and Cruise Passengers, to Canada. USA TODAY has the details: "When
a massive luxury cruise ship docked outside the tiny Inuit town of
Cambridge Bay this summer, it doubled the population of the town for a
day. “It was just jaw-dropping to think that the same amount of people
that are in Cambridge Bay could fit onto that ship,” said Mia Otokiak,
21, a lifelong resident of the small, largely Inuit town in the Canadian
province of Nunavut. The Crystal Serenity, a 13-deck cruise ship
carrying more than 1,700 passengers and crew, stopped there this August
for the second time during a repeat of its historic 2016 voyage through
the Northwest Passage. The Serenity is by far the largest passenger ship
ever to ply the waters of the Northwest Passage, from Alaska through
the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and on toward Greenland..."
Photo credit: "The Crystal Serenity docked at the Boston cruise terminal near the end of its 32-day Norhtwest Passage journey." (Photo: Marco Werman/The World).
Arctic Sea Ice Reaches 8th Lowest Annual Minimum. Arctic Now has details: "Arctic sea ice extent reached an annual minimum of 4.64 million square kilometers (1.79
million square miles) on Sept. 13, according to the National Snow and
Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colorado. This represents the eighth lowest
extent in the 38-year satellite observation era and a slight increase
over 2016 which recorded a low of 4.14 million km2. However, it
continues the trend of substantially reduced ice coverage in comparison
to the 1970-1990s, when summertime minimums were in excess of seven
million km2..."
It Takes Just 4 Years to Detect Human Warming of the Oceans. 92% of the additional warmth from heat-trapping greenhouse gases is going into the world's oceans. St. Thomas scientist John Abraham authors an article at The Guardian: "...According to our analysis, the top 10 warmest years of ocean heat content are all in the most recent decade (following 2006) with last two years being the hottest. The heat storage in the ocean corresponds to 3×1023 Joules (a 3 with twenty-three zeroes after it) since 1960. Prior to the 1980s, values are not as well known, and the global record is unreliable prior to about 1960. In the most recent 25 years, the Earth has gained approximately 0.7 Watts for every square meter of surface area. That may not sound like much but think about how many square meters are required to cover the surface of the Earth. To put these numbers in perspective, the heat increase in the oceans since 1992 is about 2000 times the total net generation of electricity in the USA in the past decade..."
Graphic credit: "Increases in ocean heat content since 1950s. Illustration: Cheng, L., K. E. Trenberth, J. Fasullo, J. Abraham, T. P. Boyer, K. von Schuckmann, and J. Zhu (2017), Taking the pulse of the planet, Eos, Vol. 98."
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