Weather, or Not category archive

Last night, we got a tornado warning on our phones.

I grew up in these parts. Tornados are things that (at least used to) happen in Kansas and Oklahoma, not here. Hurricanes were more our thing.

Anyone who denies that the climates are a-changing is a liar, an ignoramus, a charlaton, or a combination thereof. (Mostly I’m betting on lying charlaton, but ignoramus is a strong second.)

. . . and west, it is a drying.

. . . and the Colorado River, it is shrinking.

And pretending won’t make it stop.

Mark Gongloff hears a rhyme that sounds like

I’ve heard of the Dust Bowl. You have too.
Now get ready for Dust Bowl v. 2.

____________________

*Mark Twain.

. . . and pretending that they aren’t won’t change that.

When I was a young ‘un, growing up not far from where I sit as I type this and reading the Pilot as my daily newspaper, headlines like this would have been unimaginable.

And pretending isn’t going to make the changes go away.

At the Colorado Sun, Michael Booth offers “10 signs we can see right now” from his home state. Here’s one item that my eye, probably because I live next to a gold course:

Loveland banned golf carts and ordered duffers to walk because the dried-out turf couldn’t handle any more damage from tires.

. . . and the occasional snow storm doesn’t mean that they aren’t. A snippet from the report by WHYY, my old NPR station in Philly:

In fact, it may seem like a paradox, but (UMass Professor Matt–ed.) Barlow said that scientists think the biggest winter storms — like the one that hit a large swath of the U.S. this past weekend — are becoming more intense due to climate change.

A warmer atmosphere can hold more water, so that increases precipitation overall, Barlow said.

When conditions are right, snow is still possible. And in some cases, climate change can even drive heavier snowfall.

As an aside, we got off easy, a little bit of snow washed away by rain with highs in the low 40s F yesterday.

It’s the night before Thanksgiving
And all through the place I’m living,
I had to turn on the A/C–
The climate ain’t what it used to be.

And I know. I grew up about 40 miles north of here. By this time of year, I’d have been wearing my heavy coat and gloves and looking at frosts in morning, not a wearing a short-sleeved shirt and opening windows to let in warm fresh air in in the afternoon.

And the coral reefs they are a-dying.

Methinks we are past the tipping point and burning more coal and oil is just going to hasten things along.

If you don’t believe me, believe the stone crabs.

For the first time on record, adult stone crabs have been caught in the Chesapeake Bay, according to researchers at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS).

Stone crabs are native to Florida and other southern waters and have historically been observed only as far north as North Carolina. VIMS Professor Rom Lipcius, who also teaches at William & Mary’s Batten School, is currently holding four adult stone crabs collected this summer by a Virginia waterman.

(snip)

. . . and pretty soon there may be no more icing on the cake.

Glaciers around the world are vanishing faster than ever before. Last year, all 58 global reference glaciers across five continents tracked by the American Meteorological Society lost mass for the second year in a row — the greatest average ice loss recorded in the report’s 55-year history.

Follow the link for more on the melt-down.