England Buried In Snow – image from The Times
According to the Rutgers University Global Snow Lab, last month had the second greatest December Northern Hemisphere snow cover since records were started in 1966. Snow extent was measured at 45.86 million sq. km, topped only by 1985 at 45.99 million sq. km. North America set a record December extent at 15.98 million sq. km, and the US also set a December record at 4.16 million sq. km.
Source: December Snow Cover from Rutgers University
Source: December Snow Anomalies from Rutgers University
This is not an isolated event for 2009, as can be seen in the graph below. Seventeen of the last twenty-one Decembers have had above normal snow cover.
Source: December Snow Cover Anomalies from Rutgers University
Nor is it an isolated trend for the month of December. January, 2008 was the second snowiest January on record, and six out of the last eight Januaries have had above normal snow.
Source: January Snow Cover Anomalies from Rutgers University
October, 2009 was the snowiest October on record in the US, and sixth snowiest in the Northern Hemisphere. Twelve of the last fifteen Octobers have had above normal snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere, similar to the pattern of the 1970s.
Source: October Snow Cover Anomalies from Rutgers University
A favorite mantra of the global warming community is that reduced snow cover will reduce the albedo of the earth and provide positive feedback to global warming – causing additional warming. Clearly that is not happening, at least not during the October through January time period.
2010 is also getting off to a fast start. Most of Europe and North America is covered with snow, as is much of Asia.
Daily Snow Cover from Rutgers University
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While you’re off topic on sea-ice; when the Arctic Oscillation dropped and brought snow to Copenhagen the ice extent growth was unusually slow. You can clearly see the circle from the Beaufort gyre on the October charts. Less ice extent but much thicker ice I’m guessing.
http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/2009/110309.html
Oops, sorry, I had written a long boring post, meant to cut out the Copenhagen part too. AO was negative in October too :\
If the globe keeps warming like this we will all freeze to death.
Dr A Burns (22:16:23) :
Strange that the Arctic sea ice extent is still rather low.
REPLY: well, that’s where you’d be wrong for example http://igloo.atmos.uiuc.edu/cgi-bin/test/print.sh?fm=01&fd=01&fy=1999&sm=01&sd=01&sy=2010
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Given the fact that most of the Northern Hemisphere is freezing its collective butt off, I can kinda see the good Dr’s point. Without more detailed analysis, you might expect more sea ice extent.
Upon further examination though, there are explanations – for example, the link on Tips and Notes showing the unusual gulfstream flow up the West Coast of Greenland.
What I’m amazed at though is the fact that the Denmark Strait IS going to freeze over completely this year.
http://arctic.atmos.uiuc.edu/cryosphere/NEWIMAGES/arctic.seaice.some.004.png
I’m predicting that the JAXA sea ice extent will be higher than ever measured previously come late February. They started measuring in 2001/2 right ??
Anthony; I checked out the above sea icesite, WOW! took a while to digest the information presented. People out there you have got to see this. or maybe WUWT will post an article.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2010-01/11/content_12787170.htm
and it continues to worsen in China.
as Marie-Antoinette Gore would say, if they can’t have fish, let them eat cake…..
regards
Frank (19:34:45) :
What are the predicted effects of AGW? Is it colder and more snow? Or warmer and wetter?
Yes.
And colder and less snow, and warmer and drier.
I think I’ll get a pair of these.
http://www.icebike.org/images/inuit_large.jpg
It’s cold in Chicago…the Chicago Carbon Exchange, that is…
The green line is temperature…no, wait, it’s the price of carbon credits…my bad.
http://www.chicagoclimatex.com/market/data/summary.jsf
Ten cents a ton????
If you look at the state of the world when all of this started, I don’t think that the creators of the AGW scare considered the idea that the Internet would allow people to share information to the extent that it has. I think they were living in a world where the main media outlets controlled what people knew about things. Think about it … what was YOUR email address in 1989?
What has derailed “the plan” was the ability for people to make an end run around the people who controlled information flow at the time the idea was being put forward. Nobody at that time had any inkling that the “unwashed masses” would be allowed access to the Internet and be able to exchange information and opinion freely to anyone who cared to read it.
The whole notion of AGW being used to manage government spending relies on the ability to “manage” public opinion and with the Internet, there is no longer any guarantee that the traditional information outlets will be able to manage that opinion.
Here’s to Liberty!
People are skating on the canals in Amsterdam.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8451006.stm
Fairly rare.
Maybe we should start heating things up a bit.
Anyone for geothermal?
Or, if we are brave, maybe a few thousand nuclear power plants?
We need time to build either system and if we have 20-30 years before an ice age – times-a-wastin!
BTW-wind and solar are not enough to cut it-there is not enough energy there.
I would double check those figures, I know for a fact that it hasn’t snowed in W. Yorkshire for over an hour now.
Mann O Mann (23:25:38) :
People are skating on the canals in Amsterdam.
RRkampen will be ecstatic.
Crosspatch (23:23:5c) I’ll drink to that! One large scotch on the rocks. ‘To Liberty and free flowing dissemination of information.’
Speaking of ice: ‘ Hazardous zone! Menace of flying ice shards on Windmill Hill’.
Maybe if we try really hard… “we can HIDE THE DECLINE”!!!
We had snow down to 1000metres here in canterbury new zealand last night in mid summer.
Alvin (19:43:04) :
Do the Brits have snow tires?
Alan the Brit should answer that question (actually, any Brit will do, but I like Alan the Brit’s handle0.
06/01/2010 | 17:00
Record Heat Measured in Iceland in December
The weather was unusually warm in Iceland last December. On December 12, the temperature rose to 15.1°C (59.2°F) at the automatic weather station at Skjaldthingsstadir, east Iceland, which is a record high for that day since temperatures were first registered in Iceland.
The snow in Akureyri in December 2009. Photo by Eygló Svala Arnarsdóttir.
The previous heat record in Iceland on that day was 14.5°C (58.1°F), Morgunbladid reports. Daily records were also broken in Reykjavík on December 11 and 12, when the temperature rose to 11 and 11.5°C (51.8°F and 52.7°F), respectively.
North Iceland saw significant precipitation in December but south and west Iceland little precipitation. The first day of the month was relatively cold but then a period of heat began, which ended on December 18.
Last December was characterized by cold and still weather. However, on Christmas Eve stormy weather and avalanche risk was reported in northwest Iceland. Wind damages were reported in east Iceland and in the Westman Islands on December 19 and 20.
The highest temperature in December 2009 was 15.5°C (59.9°F) in Siglufjördur, north Iceland, on December 11. The month’s lowest temperature in inhabited areas measured -24°C (-11.2°F) at Mývatn in northeast Iceland on December 28.
Click here to read more about the weather in December and here to read a summary of the weather in 2009.
http://www.icelandreview.com/icelandreview/daily_news/?cat_id=16567&ew_0_a_id=356184
More records on the way?
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1242011/DAVID-ROSE-The-mini-ice-age-starts-here.html
Just found the above article in the Daily Mail of all places
-7 deg C at moment in what is supposed to be the second warmest place in France
David Corcoran (22:21:43)
Luckily the wind isn’t blowing so no flying four foot ice javelins, no electricity either but better safe than sorry (the precautionary principle).
I live in Eastern Oz. The last month and a half has been summer. Apparently. It’s been the coldest wettest summer I can remember.
I fear an ice age is just around the corner and that will be much more dangerous then a warmer world.
The White House in response to a reporter’s question about whether the record-breaking cold is due to global warming:
Someone please get two signatures and a bed for this man!
Hmmm-what happened to the link?
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xbsvib_gibbs-worldwide-record-cold-result_news
Larry (00:01:26)
No but I have got Norwegian socks.
http://www.snowchains.co.uk/main/weisssock.htm
Video is excellent, a pretty girl (with a pink bobble hat) driving an Alfa Romeo in the snow.
But you forgot to mention November, which was a bit mild.
So because of the differential of the linear regression line applied to the RegM calculation we’re actually in the middle of the hottest winter in the last 2000 years.