Winter arrived early this year for many parts of the Northern Hemisphere.
Winter has arrived early this year for many parts of the Northern Hemisphere. Much of the U.S. is forecasted to experience record cold temperatures this week.
Reports indicate that most states have a high chance of experiencing below-freezing temperatures in this week, as much as 10 degrees (Fahrenheit) lower than the usual lows.
Last month, the forecasts for Halloween week did come true as Milwaukee, WI received 5.4 inches of snow on Halloween, making it the record highest. Some areas near Amarillo, Texas received as much as 12 inches of snow on October 24, making it one of the earliest winter snowfalls in recorded history. The 5.5 inch snowfall in October broke the snowfall record set in 1935.
On October 26, the National Weather Service declared that a record lowest maximum temperature was set at Dallas-Fort Worth, overthrowing the previous record from 1957. On the same day, Colorado’s ski resorts announced that they will have the earliest openings in two decades as result of unusually heavy snow.
In Europe, Residents in North and East Iceland were advised not to travel as a severe blizzard ripped through the country. 41 all-time record low temperatures were registered in just two days across British Columbia, Canada during October.
It is to be noted that the U.S. has already registered more than 3,575 all-time low temperature records so far this year and the number is likely to go up as we are headed into this week.
Are these signs that our world is not warming as extremely as it is portrayed in our news media?
Does Early Winter mean an Absence of Global Warming?
Many assume that the cold conditions disprove global warming. But, some scientists believe that extreme snowfall is a symptom of rapid warming.
But these are not the right way to deduce the on-going changes in our climate. Hot and cold weather events do not necessarily prove or disprove global warming. Both extreme hot and extreme cold conditions can occur within a much longer colder or warmer climatic epoch.
The current warming trend began much earlier before humans began burning fossil fuels. A very strong cooling period existed during the 17th century. However, in the 18th century it eventually died, paving the way for the onset of a warming period that continues to this day. Numerous extremely cold and hot phases of weather at different points of time in different regions of the world have occurred during the last 250 years.
Unlike the exaggerated claims in the news media, the current warming period has not been dangerous. Instead, it has displayed unpredictable changes in its intensity.
More recently, there was an observed slowdown in the warming rate (2000 to 2014) and scientists have no explanation as to why this slowdown occurred.
There was a very pronounced El Niño weather phenomenon in 2016, sending temperatures soaring all over the Northern Hemisphere. As the El Niño began to fade away towards the end of 2016, temperatures went back to a stable warming rate and have even displayed phases of extremely cold weather.
The great winter of 2017-18 was one such period with hundreds of record lows and record highest snowfall occurring all over the Northern Hemisphere. This year’s cold phases suggests that winter will be severe, but we will have to wait until January to see if it lives up to the promise of being more severe than 2017-18.
Regardless of its intensity, winter alone cannot determine if there has been a global level change in warming trend.
While the record lows do not disprove global warming, they do however prove that the global average temperatures have not been warming at a rate they were predicted to warm by climate model forecasts.
The climate continues to remain oblivious of the skyrocketing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration levels and has its own unpredictable long-term and short-term behavior.
So, do not let climate extremists from any side of the climate-change debate hijack your peace of mind based on record cold and record hot weather patterns respectively. However, do pay attention to the lack of dangerous warming which has been attested by nature year after year.
Weather.com reported, “October 2019 was among the 10 coldest Octobers in 12 states from the Northern and Central Plains to Washington and Oregon.” The pattern continued into November. “The first half of November has been dominated by record-shattering arctic blasts in the central and eastern United States,” Weather.com said, and that forebodes colder-than-normal temperatures for December through February as well.
By November 12, Dubuque, IA, had received 13.9 inches of snow—an amount not normally reached until December 29—and October 22–November 11 was the coldest three-week period in its 147 years of data. Huron, SD, recorded three times as much snow as average for the period. All but one of nineteen straight days leading up to Veterans’ Day for Madison, WI, were colder than average. October was the coldest ever for Grand Junction, CO, and Pocatello, ID, recorded its coldest October in 80 years and shattered its previous low-temp reading by 13 degrees.
Some areas near Amarillo, Texas received as much as 12 inches of snow on October 24, making it one of the earliest winter snowfalls in recorded history. The 5.5 inch snowfall in October broke the snowfall record set in 1935.
On October 26, the National Weather Service declared that a record lowest maximum temperature was set at Dallas-Fort Worth, overthrowing the previous record from 1957. On the same day, Colorado’s ski resorts anticipated the earliest openings in two decades because of unusually heavy snow.
In Europe, residents in North and East Iceland were advised not to travel as a severe blizzard ripped through the country. Forty-one all-time record low temperatures were registered in just two days across British Columbia, Canada, during October.
By November 10, the U.S. has already registered more than 3,575 all-time low temperature records.
Are these signs that our world is not warming as extremely as it is portrayed in our news media?
Does Early Winter Mean an Absence of Global Warming?
Many assume that the cold conditions disprove global warming. Some scientists, however, believe that extreme snowfall is a symptom of rapid warming.
But hot and cold weather events, or heavy or light snowfalls, do not necessarily prove or disprove global warming. Both extreme hot and extreme cold conditions can occur within a much longer colder or warmer climatic epoch.
The current warming trend began long before humans began burning fossil fuels. A very strong cooling period existed during the 17th century. However, in the 18th century it eventually died, paving the way for warming that, punctuated by shorter cycles, continues to this day. Numerous extremely cold and hot phases of weather at different points of time in different regions of the world have occurred during the last 250 years.
Contrary to the exaggerated claims in the news media, the current warming period has not been dangerous. Instead, it has displayed unpredictable changes in intensity.
After fairly rapid warming from the late 1970s to the late 1990s, warming slowed from 2000 to 2014. Scientists have no explanation as to why.
A very pronounced El Niño in 2016 sent temperatures soaring all over the Northern Hemisphere. As it faded towards the end of 2016, temperatures went back to a stable, slow warming rate punctuated by phases of cold weather.
The great winter of 2017–18 was one such period. Hundreds of record low temperatures and high snowfalls occurred all over the Northern Hemisphere. This year’s cold phase suggests that winter will be severe, but we will have to wait until January to see if it lives up to the promise of being more severe than 2017–18.
Regardless of its intensity, winter alone cannot determine if there has been a global change in warming trend.
While the record lows do not disprove global warming, they are difficult to reconcile with the rapid global average warming rate predicted by climate models.
The climate continues to remain largely oblivious to the skyrocketing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration and has its own unpredictable long-term and short-term behavior.
So, do not let climate extremists from any side of the climate-change debate hijack your peace of mind based on record cold or record hot weather patterns. However, do pay attention to the lack of dangerous warming, which has been attested by nature year after year.
Photo by Osman Rana on Unsplash.
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