This is something you don’t see every day. We recently heard that Canada had a white Christmas EVERYWHERE, the first time in four decades. Here we see that the USA has an increased albedo (surface reflectivity) for about 1/2 of it’s land area. The increased albedo combined with low sun angle this time of year conspires to keep ice and snow unmelted.
Look for a long and extended winter weather pattern as we head towards the spring equinox, which can’t get here fast enough.
Here is a more colorful view of snow depth on Dec 25th from the National Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center:
Click for larger image
Jim G reports in comments:
On Dec 18th, the coverage was 59.4%
h/t to Ron de Haan and Fresh Bilge
Published December 26 2008
The ice cometh, earlier than usual
If the big lake seems to have an unusually placid appearance off Duluth’s shores these days, it’s because you’re looking at ice. The western tip of Lake Superior has frozen over in December for the first time in recent memory….
http://www.duluthnewstribune.com/event/article/id/108135/
Corrected: “This is something you don’t see every Christmas Day.”
Let’s see. Dec. 18th, coverage 59.4%, Dec. 26th 49.7% ??!!?? From this url http://www.nohrsc.noaa.gov/nsa/index.html?region=National&year=2008&month=12&day=18&units=e
posted above by Jim G (22:34:34). Does this make sense? The record snowfall for Aspen Mtn. in Dec. is about 80″. They’ve had over 100″ this year, so far. Expecting another 5-10″ today, with about 15″ yesterday. I’ve got 2-3 hours of work to clear my drive this AM, time for a hearty breakfast.
Chemical Engineers Know AGW is Bunk
Not only scientists are skeptics. Recently Dr. Pierre R. Latour, world-renowned PhD and professional licensed chemical engineer, offered this scathing analysis of the entire matter.
http://www.hydrocarbonprocessing.com/index.html?Page=14&PUB =22&SID=715446&ISS=25220&GUID=D5E78EC9-18EA-4C76-9A48-D4D92 79140FB
The downside of alternate and renewable, clean energy technologies. The reality of “new-old” technologies sets-in.
New opportunity for entrepreneurs: Solar panel and turbine blade defrosters.
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Solar Meets Polar as Winter Curbs Clean Energy
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/26/business/26winter.html?_r=4&adxnnl=1&partner=rss&emc=rss&adxnnlx=1230300295-m38cWwO1E79yQnnfwx6riA
Old Man Winter, it turns out, is no friend of renewable energy.
This time of year, wind turbine blades ice up, biodiesel congeals in tanks and solar panels produce less power because there is not as much sun. And perhaps most irritating to the people who own them, the panels become covered with snow, rendering them useless even in bright winter sunshine.
” Still hoping for a paralyzing snow storm in Washington DC for Inauguration Day. ”
I second the motion. A blizzard so bad that the swearing in must be done indoors and the speech as well, forcing Obambi to strike out the passages about global warming and the need to combat it.
“So what about the record warmth being forecast?..”
Paul
Didn’t you know? This is warm Global Warming snow….
Speaking of albedo, here’s a plan to increase it mechanically. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081222114546.htm
Looks like its time to buy stock in aluminum foil companies.
What about the 10 degree drop in wintertime temps we got this year?
Alright, who’s the wise guy? Who shrunk the ionosphere?
All that darn warming, and our winter is back to what it was 100 – 150 years ago.
The sign says “Welcome to Freezerville”.
We had a welcome bout of thawing yesterday, but there’s still a lot of snow left, and the snowploughs haven’t reached our little corner of Vancouver Island for the past three days so travel is still difficult out here in the boonies. Sidewalks on the way into Nanaimo are up to three feet plus deep in snow, and snow is still coming down.
“Weather isn’t climate.” Well next time there’s a nice warm day and the pro AGW crowd are clamouring that it’s the ‘nth warmest on record’ and ‘we should do something’, maybe those of us on the skeptical side of the fence should remind them; it’s just weather, the cyclic behaviour of which we have little or no influence over.
Last Canadian White Christmas in 1971? Oh well, the next one won’t be back for another forty or so years and maybe we can have a nice Christmas barbeque instead as usual next year. In the meantime; back to shovelling.
Roger Sowell (22:45:46) :
Agree, it is rather snowy….
“If it were not for global warming,
We would all be living in igloos.”
The really good news is that Global Warming may be over.
The really-really bad news is that Global Warming may be over.
Nobody here is thinking ahead much. What will happen in spring when all of this snow/ice accumulation starts thawing out?
If that were so we’d never have gotten out of the first ice age which occurred. There are forces which drive the albedo, not the other way around, IMHO. Albedo, CO2, they’re followers not leaders.
Our nearest lake has about 8 inches of ice already. Thank goodness we live in one of the “banana belts” of Montana or it would be thicker. It has been horrific over East and North of Billings with lots of sub-zero and wind.
David Segesta (08:52:17) : Covering that much desert with foil and expecting it to stay in one place with wind and all? I think those guys are wearing aluminum foil hats.
Dell Hunt: Without Global Warming, I’m not sure many of us would be living at all. Food production depends on being able to grow food. 🙂
In southern CO, some of our snow has evaporated, but we are supposed to get more this afternoon. Last year I had 130 consecutive days of some snow in the back yard, beating the old record of 76 days. Only 26 so far this year.
Back into the 80’s this weekend here on the southwest coast of Florida. Sorry.
problems with mass of atmosphere calculations:
assume 90 percent of the atmosphere is within 20 km.
the volume of the 20 km is 8000 *4/3 *pi or about 32000 km^3
this is about 3 e18 liters. Since the average density in those 20 km is about about .4 there is about 40 liters per mole or about
7.5 e 16 moles of gas in the total atmosphere. this is about e3 to e4 different than the usual 10^20 moles of gas quoted in the literature. what am I doing wrong?
Pretty soon you are going to be telling us because only 1/2 the country is covered in snow, it’s a sure sign of man caused global warming.
Europe is just starting into one of thire coldest weather patterns in decades right now as well, after near record snow this autumn in the Alps, Pyrenees and North Africa.
Jeff (06:05:20) :
Jeff, that is one strange looking curve.
http://nsidc.org/data/seaice_index/images/daily_images/N_timeseries.png
Note, those who like to follow these things should capture that image. I think it’s volatile.
Roger Sowell’s link doesn’t work [it appears that a subscription is required], but there is a fascinating exchange in the Letters to the Editor section: click
Dr. Latour’s deconstruction of AGW is well worth reading [see “Author’s reply” following the first letter].
It’s called global warming people. Since the glaciers are melting, there is more moisture and that turns into snow.
Heavy snow forces cancelation of flights, trains in Japan
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5gjPqXXp60QOWHEnixj_GTI61vHPQ
As a native of one of the farthest northerly states, blanketed with snow, I am now happy to be a transplant to one of the most southerly states…without snow! Sorry family!!
the Day After Tomorrow… it’s happening!