Inauguration day 2005: 35 °F Mostly cloudy with some sunny breaks. Northwest wind 14 mph. Around 1″ of snow lay on the ground. More inauguration day weather history is available here
By Anthony Watts and Steven Goddard
There is much speculation about the weather on Tuesday, January 20th, which is the inauguration day of president Obama. Particularly it is being conjectured widely on the blogosphere that a colder than normal day might have some chilling effect on climate change thinking in Washington. After all, it is not unlike politicians to grasp onto ancillary topics and use them as the focal point for forming opinions.
For example, as reported here, The last time Dr. Roy Spencer testified before Congress, committee chair Barbara Boxer appeared more interested in discussing Rush Limbaugh than she did in discussing science. That is not necessarily a sensible way to weigh trillion dollar policy decisions.
Here is another example. When Dr. James Hansen testified before Congress in June, 1988, on the topic of global warming, Senator Timothy Wirth took several deliberate steps to make sure that the room was oppressively hot. This excerpt below is from a PBS Frontline interview:
TIMOTHY WIRTH: We called the Weather Bureau and found out what historically was the hottest day of the summer. Well, it was June 6th or June 9th or whatever it was. So we scheduled the hearing that day, and bingo, it was the hottest day on record in Washington, or close to it.DEBORAH AMOS: [on camera] Did you also alter the temperature in the hearing room that day? TIMOTHY WIRTH: What we did is that we went in the night before and opened all the windows, I will admit, right, so that the air conditioning wasn’t working inside the room. And so when the- when the hearing occurred, there was not only bliss, which is television cameras and double figures, but it was really hot.
That is going to be a lot tougher now, after two more decades of unprecedented global warming.
As of Saturday morning, NCEP is forecasting severe cold along the East Coast for the end of the month, and well below normal temperatures for the inauguration of president Obama. Perhaps the chill will freeze out some the early political rhetoric in Washington? Some prominent members of Congress now claim that they can legislate the climate, which requires that they also are able to control volcanoes, ocean circulation patterns, and solar activity.
Here is the NCEP CONUS temperature forecast for now to election day:
Click for a larger image
One wonders though, it the weather patterns were shifted west to east in the anomaly graph below, and we had a warmer than normal inauguration day in Washington, would it provide lawmakers with a personal confirmation bias much like that day in June, 1988?
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In his first speech today Obama brought up the warming Earth as one of the great dangers America faces right along with the wars and the economic meltdown.
I’m praying for a blizzard on January 20, 2009…. 🙂
It’s been one heck of a winter here in the Upper Midwest, and it looks to continue, even into early spring IMO. “Classic” is a good adjective. Doesn’t seem like much of a coincidence that solar mins help produce stout winters around here. Obviously there are more factors than that, but it’s a piece of the puzzle IMO.
Maybe Obama can have an ice skating party as part of the celebration on lake Erie since it is now frozen over.
http://www.natice.noaa.gov/pub/Great_Lakes/5_Lake_Composite/East_Composite/el090115color.jpg
http://www.nohrsc.noaa.gov/nh_snowcover/
REPLY: Better look at that top link again, at full magnification, the white area has dash marks in it, indicating the center of Lake Erie is ice free. A truly bad choice of color scheme on their part. – Anthony
Unfortunately a Washington blizzard on the 20th will be used as an example of “climate change”. Doesn’t mean I wouldn’t wouldn’t enjoy watching it from here in So Cal.
I am certain that one cold winter should be enough evidence to draw meaningful conclusions.
Im not seeing any white area, only blue and no dash marks. Lake Erie is the bottom one right? I’m from the Northwest.
I expect that Big Al will be in attendance, so the “Gore Effect” might play a role.
It would be too delicious to see the new President wax eloquent on the subject of Global Warming with snowflakes piling up on his head.
Too bad they didn’t hold the inauguration in northeastern Indiana during the last 3 days. Thursday, Friday and today yielded lows of -13, -18 and -14 respectively. I can’t recall how long it’s been since we’ve seen a string like that. The last time it hit -18 was in December, 1989.
One would truly hope that with the financial and credit crisis, climate change legislation will be put on the back burner (pardon the pun).
Obama Inaugural A CO2 Disaster About to Happen
http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/7645
Celebrities, politicians, and bigwigs using 600 private jets will produce 25,320,000 POUNDS of CO2
Personal vehicles could account for 262,483,200 POUNDS of CO2
In the parade, horses alone will produce more than 400 POUNDS of CO2
It would take the average U.S. household 57,598 years to produce a carbon footprint equal to that of the new president’s housewarming party
It is interesting that the folks that claim to be the best, most mean and green, tree hugging, global warming priests around are going to be responsible for this conflagration of globalony destruction.
Shawn Whelan:
No white left when I looked. Lake Erie has a bit of blue, which is not quite ice free. But it’s about 90% frozen, according to the chart. Give it another week? It rarely freezes over completely, though it’s the shallowest of the five.
We should not confuse weather with climate. It’s disingenuous to mention the cold wave in the East if you do not also mention the record warmth in California.
Better look at that top link again, at full magnification, the white area has dash marks in it, indicating the center of Lake Erie is ice free. A truly bad choice of color scheme on their part. – Anthony
Anthony: I think you may be mistaking either Lake Huron or Lake Ontario for Lake Erie.
Note that at her Senate confirmation hearing for Sec State, Hillary Clinton declaimed, “Climate change threatens our very existence.”
http://www.breitbart.tv/?p=258213
When James Hansen is finally debunked, Tim Wirth will rot in Hell.
==========================================
The Coming Green Tsunami
http://canadafreepress.com/index.php/article/7660
Despite the record-breaking extreme cold that is freezing the Midwest and dropping temperatures close to 50 below in spots, the incoming Obama administration continues to appoint, enlist and enable global warming warriors in the highest echelons of government.
Hillary promised that she would shape foreign policy that would fight climate change.
Lisa Jackson to be administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and Nancy Sutley to be chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality. Jackson tells the committee that cutting emissions of toxic chemicals and pollution that contribute to global warming will be among the new administration’s top environmental goals.
Steven Chu, President-elect Barack Obama’s pick to be U.S. energy secretary, said Tuesday that he will tackle the threat of global warming by seeking a cap-and-trade system to cut greenhouse gas emissions, which would require power plants, oil refineries and other industrial facilities to buy and sell pollution permits to spew global warming emissions. Translation: redistribution of wealth from wealthy countries to poor countries.
Bureaucrats at the EPA are chomping at the bit, eagerly paving the way for more regulation over ever increasing segments of the economy by seeking to have WATER VAPOR classified as a pollutant. This would result in government control over such common activities as watering the lawn, or using a hot tub or swimming pool. Even breathing.
Imagine, the government could soon regulate any conceivable activity under the rubric of either harming the environment or endangering national security.
Another cause for alarm is the fact that all the proposed solutions to this faux crisis just happen to coincide with every issue dear to liberals: i.e.: more government, more regulation, wealth distribution, population control, and global governance.
Eddix (11:25:39) :
Anthony needs to look again. Lake Ontario (eastmost lake) has a big area of open water, Lake Huron (to the NW) does too. Lake Erie (south) is a mud puddle with a maximum depth (or is that average depth?) of only 30 feet and is the first to freeze.
However, the blue patch north of Erie is only < 1/10 coverage, so there might still be some kayaking if anyone needs practice for a trip to the North Pole someday.
For those of you who read the Alice Goretex impression of the cause(s) of the crash of Flight 1549, with a “grain of salt,” Time had an article by a “real” journalist on the true cause of the crash.
————————————————————
The Flight 1549 Blame Game
http://www.icecap.us/
“When word first broke that the remarkable Hudson River emergency landing of US Airways Flight 1549 was caused by a flock of Canadian geese, two thoughts immediately occurred. One – Somehow PETA would focus more on the agony of the geese that were sucked into both of the plane’s jet engines than the safety of the 150 passengers and five crew members, perhaps even suing US Air and hero pilot Chesley B. “Sully” Sullenberger for animal cruelty.”
“And Two – Somehow, somewhere, global warming would be blamed.”
Looks like Gore Bay is frozen fast. Perhaps this is an omen.
Shawn Whelan (10:51:46) :
In his first speech today Obama brought up the warming Earth as one of the great dangers America faces right along with the wars and the economic meltdown.
———————————–
I wonder if the word “warming” was reintroduced with some careful thought. It’s probably easier to defend than anthropogenic climate change … for now at least.
Did he say what the great danger was ?? Maybe I should get a transcript.
Nope – That is Lake Ontario. Lake Erie is essentially all frozen, though there is still a small area of mostly open water in the eastern part.
The “weather” in England didn’t stop their Parliment from enacting stupid legislation. Why would anyone believe that committed AGW advocates change their minds, despite conditions?
And – when was the last time our Congress really ever made informed, rational legislation of this import? Personally, I think “never” is my response. Don’t hold your breath. Short of reality, we are a disastrous course led by people who claim to be intellectuals. You have to wonder how such hubris could ever survive the light of true scrutiny.
Okay maybe Lake Erie is not frozen over, hard to tell what blue means on the map, less than one tenth of an inch means what? No ice or really thin ice.
So to be on the safe side for the inauguration lets move the ice skating party to the Bering sea ice. It is bigger than it has been in over 30 years.
http://aprn.org/2009/01/13/sea-ice-in-the-bering-sea-causes-problems-for-crab-fishermen/
Down load the audio and listen, good stuff.
PS This years series on “Deadliest Catch” ought to be interesting.
Perfect timing. Please allow me my part in helping to raise global warming awareness.
– Sea levels are NOT rising. They are actually decreasing in some areas. Our previous sea level rise had only been at a rate of 1-2 mm per year.
– The polar bear population is increasing. Polar bears should not be on the endangered species list if they are thriving.
– Antarctica is expanding. Hi, is this thing on?
– Solar cycle 23 finished eerily quite. Solar cycle 24 will likely be short lived. This will most certainly effect our climate.
– We are still setting record cold and snow conditions, despite a 40% increase in CO2. Keep in mind that these records are also short lived.
– The planet has been warming for the last 10,000 years. The Great Lakes are a result of retreating glaciers.
– 0.01% CO2 has zero toxic effects on human beings. 0.01% CO2 has has zero toxic effects on the rest of our biosphere.
– Despite all of this “dirty” pollution in our atmosphere, the snow is-as white and prestine up here in New Hampshire. The White Mountains are truly spectacular.
– Our planet is a particle, if you will, which absorbs the sun and cosmic energy. Our biosphere and atmosphere are a result of this ‘initial’ absorption, feedback.
– If you sprinkle soot over snow, the snow melts more quickly because of the particles absorbing the suns energy. The snow melts more quickly because of black body radiation and NOT liner amounts of CO2. Radiation generated from the earths absorption of the sun (not gas) is what causes the ice to ‘climate change’ to water. This now welcomes water into our atmosphere and biosphere which will then help to create and sustain life.
– Any sun absorbing region, including water, is what initially warms the oxygen and nitrogen on earth. Co2’s role is truly microscopic.
So relax and take a DEEP breath. See you’re gonna be fine. The planet is not unstable nor is it in peril. The planet is behaving as it should. It’s the people who are unstable.
It’s time to wake up folks. We are now a socialist nation. The Fall of Rome. Greed and corruption have decayed our political and economic structure, leading to a collapse in the banking system.
We did it to ourselves from within. It’s the people who failed the system. Oversight was there, but guidelines for the system were ignored. It’s the people who failed the system.
Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac were commisioned by congress to offer substandard and subprime loans to under qualified borrowers. This was known as wealth or credit distribution. Massive defaults occured which lead to a partial collapse in the housing and banking system. Wealth distributions failure played a key role in our current economic debackle.
But please never mind all of that. Focus on what’s in front of you. The poor polar bears. You people amaze me. Please read from the top again if this did not register.