Cold started way up north, took a long time getting south, but now its here. You try getting from Alaska down to Florida at a fast walking pace ;-)

This is just a taste of what’s to come. Still no sunspots again today…

It will be fascinating watching this slow motion ‘arctic express’ sweep over Washington D.C.

But climate is never that easy. Scientists are just now realizing how the combination of long term oscillations in both the Pacific and Atlantic can determine short term to decadal climate variations. The Great Plains Dust Bowl years during the 30s, many scientists believe, was caused by a warm Atlantic (postive AMO), and a Pacific that either had a neutral change in temperatures or a slightly cooling at the Equator. By the mid 1940s, both the Atlantic Basin were cooling and La Ninas began to dominate the Pacific. The 1930s saw record heatwaves, droughts, and tropical cyclone activity.

I was told by the History Channel (on a show with Hansen and Gore) that the dust bowl of the 30s was caused by humans.

http://www.weather.gov/climate/index.php?wfo=pdt

I think it may depend on your grape variety. Here in northern IA, the ground certainly freezes in the Winter, but you can get grapes and there are (some, really!) vineyards.

To continue the weather topic, we turned from very nice in the morning to nippy during the last 24 hours. Leaves have been turning and dropping for over a week. No frost yet, but getting close.

Mike86

Not all atmospheric oscillations render predictable results in all areas. El Nino can cause droughts in the Northeast Plains, but flooding in California, and winter snowstorms in New England. In Texas, La Nina is most evident in late Winter and Spring (in the form of severe thunderstorms), but normally does not effect temperatures (with the exception of West Texas high country during the winter). During periods dominated by La Ninas, the “cooling” is gradual and not very noticeable for people living in the Southwest. But what you will see is changes in precipitation patterns.

In a regime dominated by El Ninos, the dynamic synoptic weather patterns that give the eastern half of the US its major midwest snowstorms, deep freezes, and severe weather are shifted significantly northward. Winters become warmer, night time lows not as cold, and many areas become drier. There is also a better chance of long term drought/summer heat waves.

But climate is never that easy. Scientists are just now realizing how the combination of long term oscillations in both the Pacific and Atlantic can determine short term to decadal climate variations. The Great Plains Dust Bowl years during the 30s, many scientists believe, was caused by a warm Atlantic (postive AMO), and a Pacific that either had a neutral change in temperatures or a slightly cooling at the Equator. By the mid 1940s, both the Atlantic Basin were cooling and La Ninas began to dominate the Pacific. The 1930s saw record heatwaves, droughts, and tropical cyclone activity.

I also sympathize with gfish – here in Texas I’m waiting for the recently-changed PDO, the imminent La Nina, and the decline and solar activity to amount to some cooling that I can feel. All we’ve got right now, however, are highs that are 5-10 degrees above average. And it blows.

Your site is fantastic, and I will continue to be a daily visitor long after Cycle 24 disappoints us all and picks up to relatively normal levels. Thank you!

One cannot legitimately use tactics of gotcha politics when it comes to to things like climate science. you need to put together 50 to 100 years of measurements across the world, average them together and compare them over long stretches of time. Individual weather can be and is erratic, following local fronts and atmospheric conditions. Climate is much bigger than that.

REPLY: Who said anything about “climate” in the original posting? The post is tagged as “weather”. I posted it because I found it interesting, and because weather is my passion and my livelihood. I think you are reading too much into it. – Anthony