24 F. high on Sunday in the Twin Cities.
24 F. average high on December 28.
47 F. high on December 28, 2013.
4" snow on the ground in Minneapolis - St. Paul.
5.6" snow so far in December.
10.8" average December snowfall as of the 28th.
15" snowfall so far this winter season at KMSP.
20.7" average snowfall as of December 28.
Glancing Blow?
"Let's
get some sushi!" meteorologist and Penn State classmate Mike Seidel
texted Sunday. When Mike's in town it's a signal that our weather is
about to turn toxic. He's the roving correspondent for the Weather
Channel, in town covering the upcoming onslaught of bitter air.
Except
the latest models suggest more of a glancing blow of polar air early
next week - the core of subzero air aimed at New England, not Minnesota.
We'll see.
We get a taste of the Great White North into
Wednesday; two nights below zero before a rebound later this week. One
bright shining silver lining from these rude Canadian fronts: our
coldest days tend to be sunny. Yes, your teeth may be chattering as you
hunt for your shades.
No thaws are brewing, but 20s will feel
surprisingly good later this week, before the next big scoop of Arctic
Chunk brushes Minnesota early next week.
Previous runs of the
ECMWF (European) brought this gusher of bitter air into Minnesota,
hinting at 3-5 days in a row below zero. Latest model runs nudge the
cold wave farther east, with less polar pain close to home.
We won't run out of cold fronts here anytime soon. But this winter they'll be alternating with a mild Pacific breeze.
Temperature anomalies
valid Sunday morning, January 4 obtained using Climate Reanalyzer
(http://cci-reanalyzer.org), Climate Change Institute, University of
Maine, USA.
Light on the Snow.
Estimated snow cover shows 2-4" across most of the metro area, but only
1" at St. Cloud, and close to a trace at Brainerd. Even the Duluth area
has little more than 2-4" on the ground right now, with 8" for parts of
the Minnesota Arrowhead. Bare ground from Morris and Alexandria to
Wadena and Bemidji? Yes, that's odd for the 28th day of December.
Source:
NOAA NOHRSC.
Current USA Snow Cover. According to
NOAA
40.5% of the lower 48 has snow on the ground, up from 29.9% on November
28. The amount of snow on the ground is fairly light, although the
approach of much colder air will probably spin up more significant snow
events over the next 2 weeks.
48 Hour Outlook.
NOAA WPC shows the leading edge of Arctic air pushing into the Plains
and Upper Midwest, sparking a period of snow from the Rockies southward
to the Texas Panhandle by Tuesday evening. A little lake effect is
likely downwind of the Great Lakes, a sloppy east coast front pushes out
to sea late Tuesday.
Cold Enough.
Not exactly polar cold, but the next 72 hours will be a poignant
reminder that the coldest weather of winter usually comes at the very
end of December and the first 3 weeks of January. Lows dip below zero
tonight, again Tuesday night, before recovering into the 20s later this
week. The next, even stronger push of Arctic air arrives early next
week, European guidance hinting at -12F in the metro next Tuesday
morning, but the thrust of the coldest air aimed at the Great Lakes and
New England. We'll see.
One Week From Today.
ECMWF (European) guidance valid next Monday evening, January 6, 2015,
shows polar air drilling into the Great Lakes, a glancing blow of frigid
for Minnesota and the Upper Midwest, but not as persistently numbing as
earlier model runs. It's still early to predict with any confidence,
but there's little doubt that we'll experience a cold bias into the
second week of January. Map credit: WSI Corp.
2014: An Above Average Year for Iowa Tornadoes.
Minnesota experienced only 23 tornadoes this year, about 2/3rds the
normal number, but just to our south it was a different story, according
to a story at
wcfcourier.com; here's an excerpt that caught my eye: "...
The
year will also be remembered for severe weather. “In fact, the 55
tornadoes recorded in 2014 is more than 2012 (16) and 2013 (28) combined
and above the 46 tornadoes that Iowa sees in a typical tornado season,”
according to meteorologist Craig Cogil..." (Image above:
NOAA SPC).
Malaysia, Thailand Hit With Epic Flooding; Landslide Danger Looms. Here's an excerpt from CNN: "Even
by Malaysian standards, this flooding is epic. Neighborhoods turned
into islands surrounded by a sea of murky brown water. Streets doubled
as rivers. Cars were swept away and toppled over. The flooding has
forced more than 132,000 people to evacuate, Malaysia's official Bernama
news agency said. Strong currents and interrupted power supply are
adding to the chaos, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak told
reporters..."
Photo credit above: "
In this Wednesday, Dec. 24, 2014 photo, numbers of houses and buildings along a flooded river stand in muddy water in Malaysia National
Park in Kuala Tahan, Pahang state, Malaysia. Malaysian Prime Minister
Najib Razak said Friday, Dec. 26 he was cutting short his U.S. vacation
to deal with the worst floods in the country in decades that have killed
five people and displaced more than 100,000." (AP Photo).
*
The BBC has more on Malaysia's flooding, which has been described as the worst in 30 years. Social media covers the extreme flooding
here.
The Benefits Of Being Cold.
Want to lose some holiday weight? Turn down the thermostat 10-20
degrees. You may be able to shiver away some of those extra pounds,
according to a fascinating tale at
The Atlantic; here's a snippet: "...
Fascinated,
Cronise began a regimen of cold showers and shirtless walks in winter,
and he lost 26.7 pounds in six weeks. He began measuring his metabolism
during and after cold exposure, and found that his body was burning a
tremendous amount of energy. Rather than storing energy as fat, his body
was using it to sustain his core temperature..."
6 Things Warren Buffet Says You Should Do With Your Money in 2015.
GoBankingRates has the story; here's an excerpt: "...
In
his 2014 letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders, Buffett revealed
his estate plan, reminding readers to keep their investments safe,
low-cost and long-term. Turns out, he’s planning on leaving all of the
cash for his wife in a product that’s as old, stodgy and lucrative as
himself.
“My advice to the trustee could not be
more simple: Put 10% of the cash in short-term government bonds and 90%
in a very low-cost S&P 500 index fund. (I suggest Vanguard’s.) I
believe the trust’s long-term results from this policy will be superior
to those attained by most investors — whether pension funds,
institutions or individuals — who employ high-fee managers...”
The Retraction War.
The 'net is changing how scientific findings are communicated, and
increasingly, retracted. Is the scientific method under fire? Here's an
excerpt of a very interesting tale at
Aeon: "...
Despite
this kind of snafu, a relentless storm is reshaping the way science is
conveyed and received today. Fraud and error are harder to hide, because
of the democratising influence of technology and the world wide web.
Plagiarism-detecting software, which can scan a paper and give a report
within minutes, is widely available. Replication or manipulation of
images is easier to sleuth out, because most papers are now widely
available in digital versions viewable from any computer. The rise of
online post-publication peer review is also reshaping the scientific
endeavour before our very eyes..."
A Haunting Look Inside Some of America's Abandoned Shopping Malls.
Slate has an interesting story about what happens when malls die; here's a clip: "
Photographer Seph Lawless had been traveling the country photographing a variety of “abandoned and broken” buildings for his book, Autopsy of America,
when he came across two buildings from his past: Rolling Acres Mall in
Akron, Ohio and Randall Park Mall in North Randall, Ohio. Growing up in
nearby Cleveland, Lawless spent lots of time in both of the malls during
their heyday with friends and family. “The malls were great. They were
thriving and vibrant—much like the economy at the time. That was a happy
time for most Americans. The malls were filled with shoppers and
tenants,” he said..."
Photo credit: Rolling Acres Mall, courtesy of Seph Lawless.
TODAY: Peeks of sun, a bit chilly. Feels like -5. WInds: North 10. High: 10
MONDAY NIGHT: Mostly clear, second subzero night of winter so far. Low: -4
TUESDAY: Bright sun. Feels like -15. High: 8
NEW YEAR'S EVE: Increasing clouds, still windy. Wake-up: -7. High: 14
NEW YEAR'S DAY: Clouds, period of flurries. Wake-up: 9. High: 25
FRIDAY: Mostly cloudy, average temps. Wake-up: 15. High: 26
SATURDAY: Patchy clouds, more flurries. Wake-up: 17. High: 26
SUNDAY: Cloudy, seasonably cold. Wake-up: 20. High: 24
Climate Stories...
In 83 Speeches, Senator Pushes For Climate Change. When
it comes to a D.C. politician who understands the implications of
climate change, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse is in a league of his own.
Here's an excerpt from
ABC News: "...
Whitehouse,
now in his second term, is a former federal prosecutor and Rhode Island
attorney general. His wife, Sandra Thornton Whitehouse, is a marine
scientist who helped him see the importance of the oceans in everyone's
lives, he said. "On a personal level, I have a deep fear of being
ashamed," he said. "I don't want, 20 years from now, when this is way
past our current discussion, to be ashamed that I didn't do my best when
we still had a chance to fix this problem..."
Photo credit above: "In
this Oct. 9, 2014 file photo, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI). left,
talks about rising sea levels with Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) in a bayfront
neighborhood of Miami Beach, Fla., that in recent years frequently was
flooded by seasonal high tides. The Rhode Island Democrat’s
ever-changing, ever-present floor speeches make him the Senate’s
loudest, most persistent voice on the dangers of climate change." (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)
Pope Francis's Edict On Climate Change Will Anger Deniers and U.S. Churches.
I like this guy - he's not afraid to speak his mind, even when he's
swimming upstream. Is sustainable capitalism even possible? Here's an
excerpt from
The Guardian that caught my eye: "...
An
economic system centred on the god of money needs to plunder nature to
sustain the frenetic rhythm of consumption that is inherent to it. “The
system continues unchanged, since what dominates are the dynamics of an
economy and a finance that are lacking in ethics. It is no longer man
who commands, but money. Cash commands. “The monopolising of lands,
deforestation, the appropriation of water, inadequate agro-toxics are
some of the evils that tear man from the land of his birth. Climate change,
the loss of biodiversity and deforestation are already showing their
devastating effects in the great cataclysms we witness,” he said..."
File photo: AP Photo/L'Osservatore Romano.
The Dystopian Craze May Be Society's Way of Coping With Real Doom. From The Hunger Games to Divergent to Snow Piercer, are we channeling our inner gloom and doom into popular culture and film?
BostInno has a story worth reading - here's an excerpt: "...
In
other words, the framework for our favorite genre of blockbusters and
novels isn’t that far off. The difference between the storyline of our
reality and the fantasy is — we still have time to fix it. However,
Klein emphasized that the wave of dystopian fiction, in both film and
book form, may actually be a worrying sign that we believe doom is the
only possible outcome. And with so many arguments clouding the climate
debate, Klein is concerned that we’ll never realize the severity of the
circumstances..."
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