Since we talk about record cold events with regularity here, I thought I’d talk about some record heat events that occurred near me.
Here’s a roundup of some highs:
SXUS76 KSTO 210038 AAA RERSTO RECORD EVENT REPORT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SACRAMENTO, CA 530 PM PDT MON APR 20 2009 ...RECORD HEAT ACROSS INTERIOR NORTHERN CALIFORNIA... A STRONG HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE HAS SETTLED OVER CALIFORNIA. THE HIGH PRESSURE...COMBINED WITH VERY LIGHT WINDS AND ABUNDANT SUNSHINE HAS RESULTED IN ANOTHER DAY OF RECORD BREAKING HIGH TEMPERATURES ACROSS NORTHERN CALIFORNIA. TODAYS HIGH OF 96 AT REDDING RECORD BROKE THE RECORD AT BOTH THE AIRPORT AND AT THE OLD REDDING CITY LOCATION. THE OLD CITY RECORD WAS 93...SET IN 1931. THE HIGH AT RED BLUFF AIRPORT REACHED 95...WHICH ECLIPSED THE OLD RECORD HIGH OF 91 SET IN 1950. THE HIGH AT THE SACRAMENTO CITY STATION REACHED 94 DEGREES... BREAKING THE OLD RECORD OF 92 SET IN 1931. THE RECORD AT SACRAMENTO EXECUTIVE AIRPORT REACHED 93...THE OLD RECORD WAS 90 SET IN 1950. A RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 96 DEGREES WAS SET AT STOCKTON CA SUNDAY. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 90 SET IN 1950. A RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 97 DEGREES WAS SET AT MODESTO CA SUNDAY. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 92 SET IN 1986. TUESDAY WILL BE ANOTHER WARM DAY WITH NEAR RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURES FORECAST. TEMPERATURES BEGIN TO COOL BY MIDWEEK...BY THE WEEKEND TEMPERATURES SHOULD BE NEAR NORMAL.
While note mentioned by the NWS, the weather station I operate for my local Newspaper, The Chico Enterprise-Record set a new record high:
There were a bunch set in Southern California also
A RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 87 DEGREES WAS SET AT LOS ANGELES AIRPORT TODAY. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 83 SET IN 1986. A RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 94 DEGREES WAS SET DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES CALIFORNIA TODAY. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 92 SET IN 1914. A RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 97 DEGREES WAS SET AT LONG BEACH CALIFORNIA TODAY. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 88 DEGREES SET IN 1986. A RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 96 DEGREES WAS SET AT SAN GABRIEL TODAY. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 93 DEGREES SET IN 1999. A RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 92 DEGREES WAS SET AT U.C.L.A. TODAY. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 84 DEGREES SET IN 1999. A RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 96 DEGREES WAS SET AT CAMARILLO TODAY. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 86 DEGREES SET BACK IN 1958. A RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 96 DEGREES WAS SET AT OXNARD TODAY. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 86 DEGREES SET IN 1958. A RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 87 DEGREES WAS SET AT SANTA BARBARA AIRPORT TODAY. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 86 DEGREES SET IN 1958. A RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 94 DEGREES WAS SET AT SANTA MARIA TODAY. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 91 DEGREES SET IN 1938. A RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 95 DEGREES WAS SET AT PASO ROBLES TODAY. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 93 DEGREES SET IN 1950.
And here comes the requisite mention of “global warming” from the media, such as this story from the Post Chronicle:
California’s Cities Hit Record Hot Tempertures – Global Warming In Effect?
by Jack Ryan
Maybe it’s global warming but a record storm of heat has hit Californians extremely hard on Sunday. According to reports, a record of 101 degrees in Santa Ana was reached. Originally in 1916 apparently, a 94-degree record had been in place.
According to the AP, “Record heat is forecast statewide again Monday with the National Weather Service posting a heat advisory along the coast from San Francisco Bay south to Big Sur. Thermometers registered record highs Sunday across Southern California.”
Note, the headline typo is NOT mine, click link to see the original. By the way, this is what the Santa Ana weather station looks like. It’s a great place to set records. Story here.
Santa Ana Station looking North. Click for a larger image
And finally, I had to laugh at this headline:
Only in California…maybe the headline writer for the Post Chronicle was there?
The “quiet sun” story even got a 15-second soundbite on BBC TV Breakfast this morning. All I caught was something about the sun’s magnetic/sunspot activity being very low, according to “scientists”. I sat up and paid attention at that point, but they ended by saying that “it won’t save us from global warming, though” (or words to that effect). Phew, so that’s all right then. Got me worried for a moment. :o)
Replying to…
Flanagan (01:50:29) :
Does anyone know if that could be related to the present PDO phase (as was mentioned before)? Was it the same in the 30ies?
I’m not 100% certain, but I think the PDO was in a warm phase in the 1930’s. I think it switched to the cold phase between 1942-1945.
Weather’s a funny thing…You can have record high temp’s in cold PDO’s and you can have record lows in warm PDO’s. Average global temperatures only oscillate a few tenth’s of a degree C with each phase. The cumulative effect leads to more hot days in the warm PDO and more cold days in the cold PDO.
As an aside…Over Easter I visited family in Connecticut. My 94-year old aunt never remembers it being as cold as it has been the last couple of winters. Up until a couple of years ago, most people my age (50) never remember it being warmer than it had been in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. My conclusion is that the typical person’s climate “memory” is about 30 years. The PDO shifts phases about every 25-30 years. I think the PDO shifts are fairly obvious on the HadCRUT3 data…
http://i90.photobucket.com/albums/k247/dhm1353/HadCRUT3_Segments.jpg
Since most people’s climate “memories” fall entirely in one PDO phase or the other…It’s always going to be getting either warmer or colder than it ever was before. This makes people very susceptible to believing that something unnatural is causing the climate to change.
The picture of the weather station in the article is interesting. It appears that the A/C unit is working hard, because there is standing water on the roof from the condenser.
That is deferred maintenance, and it will lead to problems if the standing water condition isn’t fixed.
Typically, Stevenson screens are sited next to air conditioner exhaust vents, and often on asphalt roofs. No doubt the same principle in nature applies that causes tornadoes to zero in on trailer parks in the midwest.
The U.S. surface station network should warn its employees of this danger when they are setting up the weather stations. There is a natural affinity between A/C exhaust manifolds and weather stations. How else to explain the fact that three-quarters of the surface stations are reading 1° – 5° Centigrade higher than the true ambient temperature?
Update in the sun: Catania is counting another spot that does not exist but that will count by the SIDC!… waiting for NOAA:
http://72.14.221.132/translate_c?hl=it&sl=it&tl=en&u=http://daltonsminima.wordpress.com/2009/04/21/speriamo-di-no-sarebbe-una-beffa-una-macchia-li/&prev=hp&usg=ALkJrhhhuf4mip48sZBGbYI9wT4w6FaIug
Terry J (22:22:36)
Thanks for that story from P.A. 🙂 I lived there for a couple of years when my husband served aboard the USCG Cutter Active. It was the most beautiful place I have ever lived.
Captain Tommy sounds like a true adventurer, so refreshing after the Pugh/Catlin political stunts. I wish him fair winds and following seas.
Pierre. No need to be rude at all, is there? And I did say it tongue in cheek, which is why I put “So last century” as Alicia Silverstone might have done in ‘Clueless’. Celcius is used by the science community, that’s why – and we’re talking science when we’re talking weather (well, some of us). All the ‘customs’ you list have nothing to do with science. For reasons of science, the US should fully adopt Celcius and the metric system of measurement. Here in the UK many of us (yes, me included) will measure a piece of wood in inches, but refer to the speed of light in kph. So you see, you can retain your quaint customs – but not in science.
Wiki…
“Throughout the world, except in the U.S. and a few other countries (for example, Belize), the Celsius temperature scale is used for practically all purposes. The only exceptions are some specialist fields (e.g., low-temperature physics, astrophysics, light temperature in photography) where the closely related Kelvin scale dominates instead. Even in the U.S., almost the entire scientific field and most engineering fields, especially high-tech ones, use the Celsius scale, and the metric system in general. However, most Americans remain more accustomed to the Fahrenheit scale, which is the scale that U.S. broadcasters use in weather forecasts. The Fahrenheit scale is also commonly used in the U.S. for body temperatures.
Why do we have to drag you Americans kicking and screaming into the 21st century? Again, Pierre, tongue in cheek.
Off topic, we have all been told how global warming causes tropical storms but now it seems that tropical storms cause global warming.
“Cyclones Spurt Water Into Stratosphere, Feeding Global Warming”
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090420121421.htm
The more i read about the climate the more i think that everything is connected in unexpected and wonderful ways, making it such a complicated and unpredictable beast that the co2 explanation for everything is just wrong.
“Dave Middleton (04:14:34) :
As an aside…Over Easter I visited family in Connecticut. My 94-year old aunt never remembers it being as cold as it has been the last couple of winters. Up until a couple of years ago, most people my age (50) never remember it being warmer than it had been in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. My conclusion is that the typical person’s climate “memory” is about 30 years. The PDO shifts phases about every 25-30 years. I think the PDO shifts are fairly obvious on the HadCRUT3 data…”
Old people, no disrespect, feel cold more so is not a good “proxy” to use.
Just looking at the color coding of the map, the 75 in Miami is light orange but the 78 in Los Angeles and the 81 in San Francisco are both dark orange.
Apparently the 3 degree difference between Miami to Los Angeles is greater than the 3 degree difference between Los Angeles to San Francisco. Also look at the color coding between Boise and Los Angeles. Apparently the 78 in Los Angeles is hotter than the 78 in Boise. Must be “mountain air” that makes it different.
Mike Bryant (02:24:58) I’m surprised that along with the replacement program they don’t recommend proper maintenance of one’s thermometer by mounting it upside down. It should only be righted for the moment it is read. Thus, the tube will enlongate over time and keep up with the ever-increasing temperatures. :~)
Just wanted to share the Google quote of the day for today…” If a man is offered a fact which goes against his instincts, he will scrutinize it closely, and unless the evidence is overwhelming, he will refuse to believe it. If, on the other hand, he is offered something which affords a reason for acting in accordance to his instincts, he will accept it even on the slightest evidence. The origin of myths is explained in this way.”
– Bertrand Russell
AndrewWH – re the BBC story. I make no comment on the role of the sun in climate (!), but there’s an interesting example of cognitative dissonance in the article. Firstly it mentions the Maunder Minimum and that it led to a mini-ice age. It then goes on to pooh-pooh the notion that the sun could have a major influence on climate. Having your cake and eating it, methinks.
Anyone want to comment on the notion that the sun’s “activity” peaked in 1985?
“And here comes the requisite mention of “global warming” from the media, such as this story from the Post Chronicle:”
Indeed – I hope those who rightly complain here about short term record cold events not being a sign of global cooling are equally as vigorous about chiding the media about ascribing short term record heat events to global warming…
Barry Foster (00:45:50) :
“I want to know why you Americans are still using Farenheit! It’s so last-century.”
And inches/feet/pounds/psi/BTUs. We call them “British Units” here in the US :^)
Anthony, didn’t you get the memo from the climatologists of earth? Someone called the gavinator ruled that all meteorologists have been banned from interpreting the weather in a public forum unless they are issued govt. climatology qualification certificates.
Seriously though you guys don’t need the warm, send it to Illinois. We’re cold.
Just as last weeks “record cold” event was related to a deep trough, this heat event is the flip side of the coin related a strong ridge. Record cold & heat events are very commonly related to these ridging & troughing events (except for maybe the summer months) & really speak to their strength more than anything else.
The fact that we still record record highs & record lows on regular basis worldwide shows that our world wide surface data set is still very immature – the data records are still not long enough to record what the possible expected range is – which does come back to AGW & that we are dealing with a less than ideal dataset to characterize atmospheric temperatures over time – even without the measurement errors referenced.
Mike Bryant (02:24:58) :
In related news..
You’re a bad man, Bryant. Keep it up!
Mike Bryant (02:24:58) wrote: “It seems that the older your thermometer the more likely that it is failing to rise to the proper temperatures.”
Mike; would you consider re-writing the last part of that sentence as “…rise to the occasion.” …?
Me too (tired that is). Another thing I am finding interesting these days, and I suspect I may not be the only one beginning to get tired of this one, is all the “green” crap on TV. For example, now Walmart is telling me that even when I turn my electronics off they are emitting CO2, or, how if 200million of their customers would just buy “this”, then they would save 2ounces of “that” and save the planet. Last night, NBC’s multicolored peacock was green. I’m getting to the point where “green” just makes me want to puke. I have this gut feeling that the combined bombardment of “green” by the MSM and marketeers, is going to eventually turn most everyone off of “green”. They’re simply going to wear “green” out…
Sorry a little bit O/T.
Here in the Kansas City area, fully 1/3 of the high temperature records were set in the 1930s, and approximately 1/3 of the low temperature records have been set since 1980. This comes from the National Weather Service (sorry, I don’t know how to insert hyperlinks). The official station changed in the early 1970s from the downtown airport (along the Missiouri river) to the new KCI airport to the north. I don’t know how much of an impact that had, but it must have had some.
Well, since the media loves a crisis, all they need to do is get a whif of the notion that a quiet sun could create a true crisis and they’ll be all over it.
In other news, it was 74F here (Seattle) yesterday, a record by 1 degree over the same day in 1993. That would be 24C and at least 218 Gorenheit. Back down again today. It’s only been running 10-20F under average thru the winter.
Here’s a conversion equation for Fahrenheit to Gorenheit: G=F+144.
Sorry for the off-topic and possibly politically incorrect post (and the numbers missed by one order of magnitude, but it’s too close not to be funny!).
President Obama tasked his Cabinet to cut $100M from their budgets. Many have railed that this level of spending cuts is completely ridiculous considering the $3.6T budget the president has proposed. But I think that’s not being very considerate. After all, Democrats have believed climate scientists for years when they are told that 280 ppm is a lot!
(ok, $100M is only 28 ppm of the budget, but you’ve gotten love the irony!)
Yep. 96 here in Fresno. A new record. But curious. For the last few weeks, the temps have been a bit cooler than usual, and after this heat wave dissipates, the temps may approach record lows. Anyone wanna bet those won’t be reported as signs of “Global Cooling”?
Good stuff. I wonder what the Alarmists make of this definitive mud-core data—if anything.
But do you have a link to a site where the video displays larger, so you can see the graphs and other images? This one is so small that they are unreadable.
/Mr Lynn
The PDO, when in its cool phase, pushes the main driver of weather pattern variation (the jet stream) to the North. Here in the North, with cooler air, we get more snow in the winter and dryer air in the Summer. California, especially in the southern end, burns in a hellish dry heat. However, if out in the cactus regions of that state, night time temps will be quite cold. And in some places too cold for warm PDO, moisture loving plants to do much. The dust bowl era was a cold PDO with cold winters and snow in the North and dry desert conditions further South.
The opposite is often referred to as the pineapple belt. That is when the jet stream is further South and brings warm, moist air onto the land and greens everything up in California.
Dave Middleton (04:14:34) :
Replying to…
Flanagan (01:50:29) :
Does anyone know if that could be related to the present PDO phase (as was mentioned before)? Was it the same in the 30ies?
If you look in WUWT archives to this post:
Revisiting Bratcher and Giese (2002)
10/04/2009
Guest Post by Bob Tisdale
you will see that the PDO shifted to the cool phase around 1930. So the hot temps we are having in CA and will have in the desert southwest and central great plains are predicted by previous non-AGW weather events. Be aware, this data was computer generated :~P.