All I can argue would be the same reason European cities break heat records every summer lately too. And now its not just one or two day 110 plus days, for weeks at a time. Mostly I think of Italy these past few summers.
Scientists are calling this a "Thundersnow". A rare event where a large thunderstorm has snow instead of rain. Its a blizzard, but theres alot of thunder and lightning too. Just something that won't amaze us anymore once there becomes more and more.
I don't think that the record snowfall was a result of global warming, it was just a powerful nor'easter. The Eastern Seaboard is reguraly slammed by powerful storms. 10+ inch snowfalls are a lot more common in New York than they are in Chicago.
I'm just pointing out another weather record being broken. Plus I just watched that movie so it was weird seeing NYC buried in record snow.
Well Mike, explain the record ice melt and glacial retreat?
Yes, Europe and Asia were in record cold, but should I jump the gun and say that We're in global cooling?
You can't argue the fact that CO2 is increasing in the atmpsphere, and you can't argue that CO2 absorbs energy on the 9 to 14mm wavelength spectrum. Thus an increase in CO2 will lead to an increase of absorbed shortwave radiation and thus a warmer atmosphere.
I am not sure as to which way to lean on this issue. I remember back in the late 80's the frenzy over the hole in the ozone layer. I thought to myself, oh crap, this is not good, we need to do something right now to stop this. Some scientest prediected we all would be walking around with skin cancer by the year 2000. Well, its 2006, and I certainly don't have skin cancer.
I really don't look forward to it affecting us more but I would say by the end of the year SOME sort of record will be broken again.
My prediction is a Cat 5 'cane making U.S. landfall at least once this year. Again, not that I'm looking forward to it but somethings going to give again.
UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- Extreme weather has plagued the globe this year, a U.N. agency says, causing some of the highest temperatures on record.
The World Meteorological Organization said "global land surface temperatures for January and April will likely be ranked as the warmest since records began in 1880," according to the United Nations.
WMO said temperatures were 1.89 degrees Celsius (3.4 degrees Fahrenheit) higher than average for January and 1.37 degrees C (2.45 degrees F) higher than average for April.
The agency found that climate warming was unequivocal and most likely "due to human activities such as the burning of fossil fuels."
Here are some of the extreme instances the United Nations cites:
Four monsoon depressions, double the normal number, caused heavy flooding in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. On Monday, floodwaters receded in parts of South Asia, but the death toll rose to 347, officials said.
Millions remain displaced and homeless, and authorities fear waterborne disease could spread. Indian officials say more than 1,200 people have died in their country alone since monsoon season began in June.
England and Wales have experienced their wettest May-to-July period since record-keeping started in 1766. In late July, swollen rivers threatened to burst their banks. At least eight people died during weeks of torrential rain, and thousands were without tap water.
Late last month in Sudan, floods and heavy rain caused 23,000 mud brick homes to collapse, killing at least 62 people. The rainfall was abnormally heavy and early for this time of the year.
In May, swell waves up to 15 feet high swept into 68 islands in the Maldives, causing severe flooding and damage. Also in May, a heat wave swept across Russia.
Southeastern Europe did not escape the unusual weather. The area suffered record-breaking heat in June and July.
An unusual cold southern winter brought wind, blizzards and rare snowfall to various parts of South America, with temperatures reaching as low as 7 degrees below zero Fahrenheit (-22 degrees Celsius) in Argentina and 0 degrees Fahrenheit (-18 Celsius) in Chile in July.
In June, South Africa had its first significant snowfall since 1981, as almost 10 inches (25 centimeters) of the white stuff fell in some parts of the country.
And in the United States, temperatures climbed into the triple digits this week in Midwestern states.
