From the Saudi Gazette
In one of the rare occasions, Saudis enjoy the snowfall in Al-Baha city south-west of Riyadh, Tuesday. Torrential rains pouring down on Al-Baha accompanied by gusty winds were accompanied by snow capping the mountains and covering the valley areas and the forests of Al-Zaraeb and Khayrah.
The last report we had like this in mid January said that the snow and cold was the “worst in 30 years“. In January, snow isn’t unexpected in Saudi Arabia, it has happened before. But in May?
While the report says “snow”, the possibility exists that it could also be small hail from thunderstorms.
Looks like it is warming up fast though. The forecast calls for 93 degrees. Just remember, weather is not climate.
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pee sized hail…..
LOL.
Let me second OilIsMastery (22:12:20) !
“Climate Chaos in Action!”.
(Couldn’t be a spot outcome from a cooling trend could it?)
If the Catlin Team makes it off the ice (without becoming the swimming three) they can truck on over to Al-Baha city and continue their snow and ice measurements. Maybe they can transplant a few polar bears so when the Arctic populations are gone there will still be a colony to repopulate from when the ice returns. Also, I’m curious about the forests of Al-Zaraeb.
All of the above is in jest; I love snow – just not on my sidewalk. It is just a simple weather event.
From Your text:
Looks like it is warming up fast though. The forecast calls for 93 degrees. Just remember, weather is not climate.
Oh! Don’t worry; here the National Meteorological Service has forecasted 122 F for the coldest states. 🙂
I remember a frost on May in Monterrey when I was younger, about 40 years ago. These meteorological events are not atypical, but clear indication that weather is not climate.
Is this perhaps a recent pic from the Easter Egg hunt at Al Gore’s house?
I know, I know … weather is not climate. So when does weather become climate? When the ice sheets start grinding down on Germany and France … or return to Central Park in NYC? Guess we’ll have to wait a few hundred years for that return to happen again — and all the CO2 we do/do not spew into the atmosphere will do nothing to stop it.
If we’re going for captions again the Kiwi fruit one might be applicable here too for the bloke near the car.
Didi you see or hear anything about the WWF’s statement today. Worth a laugh.
http://nonmodern.blogspot.com/2009/05/textbook-example-of-alarmist-fear.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8047138.stm
OT but it bothers me because its happening again just when NH ice is within 1SD (please see past records NOREX, NSIDC, etc… here at WUWT and
http://mikelm.blogspot.com/2007/09/left-image-was-downloaded-from.html
why always when it is within normal?
Nearly all the ice measuring sites are not reporting since 1 May! Except DMI
http://ocean.dmi.dk/arctic/icecover.uk.php
maybe someone can find out why at least….
In this case, to be clear, I am not assuming they are going to adjust down. If they are reporting new data please let us know. Thank you
More alarmist proof that cold is the new warm?
Looks like hail, not snow. In Southern Australia I have started lighting my fire place a month earlier than normal. Looks like a cold winter coming.
Isn’t that Al Gore’s SUV. Must be the Gore effect at work again
Whilst we’re on odd facts and interesting figures…
Alaska’s Hubbard Glacier is advancing at the rate of seven feet per day!
(Down at the base of the page.)
OT, but please do have a look at this garbage: Belgian city goes veggie.
Note the kindergarten maths of the statement that farming gives off “a fifth of global warming emissions.” I should think drinking a crate of good Belgian strong beer would probably offset Ghent’s entire effort. Idiots!
Not strictly relevant, but according to the BBC, the Chacaltaya glacier is disappearing because of ‘Global Warming’:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8046540.stm
Someone ‘on the ground’ has another view:
http://www.made-in-southamerica.org/2009/03/reconciling-melting-glaciers-and.html
It says nothing of the temperature in the article but the gentlemen in the picture do not looked dressed for freezing temperatures, my guess is hail.
It is OT however, I feel sort of relevant in regards to what get’s reported in the media and how far too many people take things at face value these days.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Irish-student-hoaxes-worlds-apf-15201451.html
I was in Baghdad last winter (2007-2008) when we had the 510 thickness line dip all the way into the Gulf and Baghdad received snow…1st time most residents can remember. I went outside and caught some big flakes on my tongue and then remembered that we were down wind from a burn pit…so I stopped.
But those flakes were huge and the snow stuck on the ground. It was awesome.
Anthony,
You just got paid by:
http://www.arabmatchmaking.com/?gclid=CIX-7I6BuZoCFQkzawodKBNJbg
just because I found the ad annoying… No real person looks as good as the girl in the ad looked… (partial confirmation of the ‘subject line leads to ad’ thesis.. still holding out for “Halle Barry Hot Antarctic Images” article.. 😉
While it looks a bit like hail to me, don’t we have “official” reports?
FWIW, had 2 sunny days; now have a few tomato flowers (still no tomatoes) and it’s back to cold nights… Wind has a peculiar “blustery” quality to it and has for weeks. More chaotic and more total strength than usual. Very typical March end / Early April weather …
Can’t make a hailball. That’s snow.
I remember snow flurries in June down in Bricktown NJ back in the 80s. Temps are low 40s here past few mornings near West Point NY (no GISS warming trend). Very cold for mid May. Weather is not Climate. Weather is not Climate.
„Weather is not climate“!?
But what is CLIMATE; when WMO defines climate as: the average weather over a longer period of time, and the UNFCCC (Climate Change Convention, 1992) has not any definition on climate, but defines instead in Article 1 the following terms:
1. “Adverse effects of climate change” means changes in the physical environment or biota resulting from climate change which have significant deleterious effects on the composition, resilience or productivity of natural and managed ecosystems or on the operation of socio-economic systems or on human health and welfare.
2. “Climate change” means a change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods.
3. “Climate system” means the totality of the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere and geosphere and their interactions.
Is it possible to define ‚climate change’ if CLIMATE is not defined in the first place? Discussed in detail at: http://www.whatisclimate.com/
OT: From what I can tell, according to this map on CT, NH ice is on a dramatic INCREASE (or NOT melting at all) as of 10th May, 2009. We of course are not able to compare anymore with 2009 at CT for some MONTHS now (not WEEKS “to be fixed” as alluded on the site), but if I recall this ice extent is quite greater/and thicker than May 1980
http://arctic.atmos.uiuc.edu/cryosphere/NEWIMAGES/arctic.seaice.color.000.png
I’ve experienced something similar when working in Saudi in the mid 90’s. Riyadh had a tremendous thunderstorm that resulted in hail stones the size of golf balls. The damage to cars and other soft skinned vehicles was tremendous. But most of the hail was small and the city was left with a covering that looked like snow. It all started to melt quite quickly, overwhelming the drains and flooding large parts of the city. Many cars were stopped in underpasses on the roads for protection from the hail, only to be lost from the flooding and large chunks of the city ground to a halt in the gridlock.
So this is not unknown in these parts even during the so called warming 90’s. During the summer of 96 the temperature regularly got to 50 C during June and July, causing all sorts of issues for mechanical equipment and humans alike. Of course the press were not in warming hysteria mode then.
I think too much has been emphasised about upper temperature records over the past 10 years in the media, so that we could be in danger of over emphasising snow hail etc as a sign of cooling. I think that best sign that a subtle shift has occurred in the “weather” is that I am sitting here in Mid May in England and it is still cold, with no hint of the BBQ summer so foolishly predicted by the met office.
As a keen gardener I’m very tuned to the “weather” or “climate” and it is defiantly NOT good at present with many of my plants damaged again by cold weather and late frosts. So this season has started cooler than the previous 2 wet summers of 07 & 08. This summer is showing all the signs of being a summer of promise and hints of impending heat, interspersed with days of extensive cloud and disappointing temperatures.