Guest essay by Eric Worrall
As much of the USA experienced an abundance of the white stuff, CNN picked this as a good time to make an “end of snow” prediction.
Climate change is threatening winter sports’ very existence
By Derek Van Dam, CNN Meteorologist
Updated 1904 GMT (0304 HKT) February 29, 2020
(CNN)A warming planet has major ramifications on winter snowpack across the globe, including a long-term drying trend for many. That’s a concern for winter sports enthusiasts and communities that depend on snow throughout the year.
Not many understand this better than the climate advocacy group known as Protect Our Winters (POW). The group is an organization of professional athletes and like-minded individuals fighting for policy to protect winter sports and mountain communities.
“Increased temperatures are melting away both my sport and my livelihood,” professional ski mountaineer and POW representative Caroline Gliech told the US Senate late last year.
This year has been a prime example of what is becoming more common. Snowfall has been abysmal in California this winter. The state-wide snowpack is running far below average to date and there is little relief in sight before the season ends. This is a stark comparison to last year when California was walloped with above-average snowfall and ended the season 175% of average by April 1.
It’s this variability that leaves many wondering what the long-term trends are indicating. If climate science holds true, this winter whiplash could put many out of business as the low-snow years mount.
What a difference a year makes! Left: 2019, Right: 2020. Sierra snow pack is below normal for this time of year, at about 58% statewide. Dry weather is expected to continue. #CAwx pic.twitter.com/yjxR5JceCp
— NWS Sacramento (@NWSSacramento) February 18, 2020…
Read more: https://edition.cnn.com/2020/02/29/weather/climate-change-threatening-winter-sports-pow/index.html
Climate catastrophists just can’t help themselves. Their models predict a hothouse world in their lifetimes, so they see every glitch or variation in conditions as evidence the great temperature acceleration has begun, and endlessly embarrass themselves with their wild “end of snow” predictions.
“Climate change is threatening winter sports’ very existence”
Yes sir. I have that in my climate impacts research page.
https://tambonthongchai.com/2018/06/21/climate-change-impacts1/
All it takes to be quoted as a “group” these days is a Facebook page. No credentials or evidence whatsoever.
The media, of course, neither knows nor cares the difference.
Anyone who thinks we humans control the weather is the dupe of weaponized antiscientific “education.”
Great work, chaamjamal. The opening statement on your page needs to be spread far and wide:
No, the last bit needs to be changed from “…AND THEN SOLVED SIMPLY BY CUTTING EMISSIONS.” – to – “…AND THEN SOLVED BY STEALING MONEY FROM POOR PEOPLE IN A RICH COUNTRY AND GIVING IT TO RICH PEOPLE IN A POOR COUNTRY.”
Does that mean an extension to the length of the golf season?
“Climate catastrophists just can’t help themselves. Their models predict a hothouse world in their lifetimes, so they see every glitch or variation in conditions as evidence the great temperature acceleration has begun, and endlessly embarrass themselves with their wild “end of snow” predictions.”
Just quote AR 5 at them. The science says no end to snow, projecting instead, a small decline in
spring and summer snow, and uncertainty about winter snowfall
Mate, you agw moderates need to put a leash on your greek chorus of doomists in the media if you want to preserve any credibility you may have ever had.
Just trying to help Steve 🙂
When the leaders of the movement take steps to rein in the lunatics, then I will believe that they are being serious about the science.
So far they seem to taking the position that any support, no matter how insane is good.
“When the leaders of the movement take steps to rein in the lunatics, then I will believe that they are being serious about the science.”
who knew the truth of science depended on thought police.
Last year 175% above normal. This year 58% below normal. Add them together and you’re still @15% ABOVE normal over past 2 years. So Sierra Nevada region has less snow than last year? How much money did they save last year by NOT having to make snow? Seasonal variability from one year to next is normal. The only thing that doesn’t change is CNNs continued doubling down on this issue.
“Mate, you agw moderates need to put a leash on your greek chorus of doomists in the media if you want to preserve any credibility you may have ever had.”
its hard to herd cats as any skeptic should know. This argument reminds me of the folks who reject
all skeptical arguments because of skydragons who deny that c02 is a GHG
Oh I get it.
Fight junk science with more IPCC junk science.
Pass.
With today’s poorly educated public, you’d be better off just saying the current Sierra Nevada’s low snowpack is because that pesky GroundHog Phil said so back on 2nd February, that Winter 2020 was over.
Capisce?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2020/02/02/groundhog-day-2020/
In fact, in the IPCC reports, they make it pretty clear that there’s nothing to worry about.
SPM’s, written by politicians, they squeal abot catastrophic forecasts.
In the MSM, they ratchet these up to 11.
And people wonder why we don’t take it seriously?
I almost can’t believe how naïve I was originally about the IPCC “Summary for Policy Makers”.
I actually thought it was written to help policymakers who didn’t have time to read the report, not something ordered by the policymakers as the official statement about what the report said.
I guess I’ve always had a gullible streak when it comes to assuming the honesty of others.
“In the MSM, they ratchet these up to 11.
And people wonder why we don’t take it seriously?”
you should see the MSM rachet up the dangers of corona virus.
therefore don’t the virus seriously.
Gosh I remember when the press ratcheted up the soviet threat. Therefore, we should have ignored
it.
Now silly me, when the press says it could be a disaster, I dont
A) accept it on face value
B) knee jerk reject it.
I try to think for myself rather than just “reacting”
Come on mosh, usually you just say, “some places will get more snow, some will stay the same, and some will get less.”
“ust quote AR 5 at them. The science says no end to snow, projecting instead, a small decline in
spring and summer snow, and uncertainty about winter snowfall”
How many of their “projections” have been accurate?
I’ve been skiing for almost 4 decades in Colorado and the past 2 years have been among the best. Most Colorado resorts opened early this season and closed late last season. Three weeks ago I was skiing in fresh powder up to my thighs.
I skied on July 4 at Arapahoe Basin last summer and they opened their terrain park the following weekend.
I have no idea what the future will be like, but as far as winter sports in Colorado goes, it’s good.
Tasmania had its first fall of snow a couple of days ago. Down there it’s still officially summer!
Tasmanian here. This past summer is the first that I have had to wear a jumper/sweater during December, the nights were especially chilly. Hopefully it’s not just because I’m not a spring chicken any more. The rest of the country not so lucky but down here definitely much cooler than normal.
Here in Tucson Arizona my typical last use of heating in between 15 – 20 February. I’m still running the heat now, and Monday-Tuesday temps are forecast to look like typical January temps.
Meanwhile weather.com can’t seem to stop talking about how warm this winter has been. Well not here. If that’s the case then for the rest of the US , then a whole lot of middle America has a lot more cash in their pockets than usual, money not spent on heating bills or snow removal.
In Tasmania we had a gloomy first half of February and only three warm days in the entire month, only one of them was over 30C. Those three warm days dragged the average maximum up a little so that the month was not the coolest since 1996 but was the second coolest of the present century. A recent article in the news claimed that a sea turtle seen on our east coast is evidence of global warming. There’s a certain irony in that. The persistent easterlies that drove warmish water, carrying the turtle, from the Tasman Sea, also produced a hundred percent cloud cover for days on end and for most of the month it looked liked we wouldn’t achieve an average max temperature of 20C. All that cloud produced bugger all rain. Now for the good news: 17 mm of rain fell overnight and the southwest wind has kicked up a swell for the geriatric gentry like me to enjoy when the sun comes out.
Early February snow falls in the Bozeman, MT area set records. Bridger Bowl & Big Sky ski areas had about 3.5 ft as I recall. February 1-9 accumulation of 17.2 inches in Belgrade was a record with 1.3 inches average.
Children just aren’t going to know what science is.
“Pat Frank February 29, 2020 at 8:48 pm
Children just aren’t going to know what science is”
Brilliant. And the truth.
Science has been corrupted to serve activism needs. Would like to use that with your permission.
ad libitum, chaamjamal
Pat is bang on! The real victim of this war is the truth. And sadly indeed, many with the credentials of a scientist have become nothing more than prostitutes for the UN warmist agenda presumably for the shallow logic of the next gravy train they are selling out science. Very sad!
No. Children aren’t going to know anything outside the approved curriculum/history/facts. That’s how the “dumbing down” starts. Then, Govn’t destroys industry and jobs and said children grow to be come welfare dependent. Then, they grow to voting age and vote for the same. Catch 22.
Pat, your comment rings a bell with me. Today, I read a piece by the late Chris Booker which seems to cover what our children will believe, and why: https://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/debate/article-8060751/CHRISTOPHER-BOOKER-tyranny-woke.html
Brilliant quip! I object to your schedule, though. I believe we’ve already passed the point where “children are no longer learn what science is”.
POW used to mean Prisoner of War but now after years of World Peace and idle hands deflecting interest to Climate Catastrophe, it means Protect Our Winters (POW). It is a clear slight to those Veterans who want to go to the beach.
Yeah…lemme know when I can put the snow shovel away and stop chipping ice dams off the roof…
This has been a year for near-record snowfalls at the ski resorts, and more snow shoveling in our home in the Front Range than we’ve seen since 1994…when we arrived.
In current parlance Unprecedented snow shovelling at yours.
“. . . an organization of professional athletes and like-minded individuals . . .”
What the hell is that supposed to mean?
Some athletes are more equal than others … ?
Some athletes have something like minds, but not quite.
Are you sure I thought it was those professional athletes on the Autism Spectrum helping each other?
So hard to keep up with the latest in Politically Correct double speak these days.
“Like-minded people would have to mean people who don’t pay attention to data. Northern hemispheric snow mass is well above its 1982-2012 average.”
Now you’ve done it! You have injected facts into the conversation! And you have pointed out that “like-minded [alarmist] people” means people who don’t pay attention to data.
Thanks for doing that. 🙂
Like-minded people would have to mean people who don’t pay attention to data. Northern hemispheric snow mass is well above its 1982-2012 average.
This may not work
And if it doesn’t
Some astroturfer with a Facebook page. Full stop!
Caroline Gliech either skipped or slept thru Statistics 101.
She doesn’t understand “mean” or “variance”.
Much less does she understand what an eventual “reversion to mean” implies after 2 of the last 3 years were well above the “mean.”
Unless she is just being dishonest and realizes when it’s an abundant snowpack year (like last year and 2017), it’s just a “weather” message. And like now, when it’s a below snowpack year, it’s “Climate Alarmism and the End of Winter Sports” Climate Change.
But take heart, with the 1st of March now at hand, there is at least one significant winter storm hitting the California Sierra Nevada’s tomorrow and Monday.
https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/basicwx/bawx_nav.php?imgtyp=ndfd&arrval=2&vtime=Sun_18Z&ptime=Sun_12Z&ntime=Mon_00Z
And then the long range forecast to 7 days shows another significant winter storm for the Sierra Nevada’s next Saturday (7 March).
Winter ain’t done yet.
I will also say this about the Climate scammers and their, “…, this winter whiplash could put many out of business as the low-snow years mount” claim:
Making gasoline very expensive and thus recreational trips out of reach for the middle class, and further impoverishing the middle class with sky high energy bills, is by far and away the quicker way to put the winter recreation industry out-of-business. But then that **IS** the intent of the GreenSlime.
But at least Clinton News Network Meterologist Derek Van Dam had the good sense to preface his statement with, “If climate science holds true…”.
He probably knows it’s actually junk climate science… all the way down.
It sounds like she may not be too bright. She catches grief from fellow skiers; one guy called her “cross-eyed” and a “silver-spooned spoiled bitch” after she intentionally triggered an avalanche.
https://www.outsideonline.com/2247211/caroline-gleich-fights-back-against-cyber-harassment
Ms Gleich has been scammed by the climate hustlers as even NOAA admits lower 48 US temps (unadjusted) have been declining since the 1950’s. And UHI is not a concern for winter mountain sports. Snow Skiing in well into July 2019 in Colorado should have been a clue.
She’s just been used by the slick climate hustlers and their climate propaganda. She and most of her generation doesn’t have the underlying education in either science or history to understand that. Getting to testify in Senate is a rush that feeds an ego and exploited by Democrats there.
As Anthony pointed in an earlier WUWT, the only way NOAA could come up with a global warming story for January was to use the massively UHI contaminated Russian temp data.
“….. was to use the massively UHI contaminated Russian temp data.”
Then the Ruskies must have eliminated those ubiquitous steam-pipes (at last the ones next to thermometers) during previous years from the record, as the steam pipes are not new.
And as such will be present in the historic temperature record.
Thus a current anomaly would be a departure above similarly stream heated Russia wide temps.
Result – a real positive anomaly caused by weather/climate.
Which is a conclusion you could have arrived out with the conspiracy ideation.
Think about it… and let your bizarre conspiracy theorising come up with an explanation for that.
Perhaps they went back in time and switched heating off in order to come up with the anomally for this winter.
The configuration of the jet streams pretty much explains all the weather we see on Earth.
Next we need to figure out what governs how the jet streams move.
Anthony Banton,
You need to go read Anthony Watts post here:
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2020/02/29/noaa-relies-on-russian-collusion-to-claim-january-was-hottest-month-on-record/
Cheers.
Here in south Reno, NV, it’s snowing right now, and there’s about 5″ in my yard. Yes, I fear we’ll never see snow in the Sierra ever again. Until it snows again….
Welcome to the Great Basin, where decades long droughts are the norm. (see Lake Tahoe tree stumps)
https://www.scahome.org/publications/proceedings/Proceedings.05Lindstrom2.pdf
Yawn… Like I care that rich people can sky ruined mountainsides covered in ugly sky lifts?
I am more upset that my children will never see snow again. Oh, wait, they already did – this winter. Another FAIL by climate alarmists.
Just to highlight the hypocrisy and dis-ingenuity–the Vancouver crowd and media is actively promoting the city’s applying to hold the 2030 winter Olympics again in BC (they were here in 2010). One more group that demonstrably doesn’t believe in their own BS.
Some of us wish it would end. It always seems to be people who live where there’s little to no snow and cold, that want the rest of us to have snow and cold.
Wow! The weather isn’t EXACTLY the same year after year, year in and year out? How DARE Nature be so … unpredictable. Why, the temperature in my 4th floor studio apartment, set by my NEST thermostat, never fluctuates! How DARE Nature “fluctuate”! Mommy and Daddy raised me to never have been inconvenienced or uncomfortable. They attended my every need. I DEMAND Nature accommodate my needs. My every desire!
/sarc.
There was very little difference is CO2 levels between last year (175% of average) and this year (Woe is me, the snow is not so good).
How is it that this bird believes CO2 only causes the poor snow years?
Idjit!
That’s right!
Last year it rained on March 1st. This year it rained on February 29!
CLIMATE CHANGE!!!
(Kenji, can I borrow your “/sarc” tag?)
However, it rained on the same day of the week as 1st March would have been had we not had a leap year. 🙂
CALENDAR CHANGE!!!!!!
(Y2K all over again.)
I love it when you get wound up, Kenji! You can be a very funny person. Thanks for the laugh. 🙂
“Not many understand this better than the climate advocacy group known as Protect Our Winters”.
Oh right, new age “scientists”.
The demise of the Australian ski fields (which to be far are marginal anyway) has been confidently predicted for the last 30 years. They remain stubbornly persistent.
No surprise there with ski fields no more than 2050m in altitude in Australia.
I’m going to throw away my snow shovel.
Mike in Houston
The POW refers to the brand Ka-POW. Well known from NCIS. Stick with good coffee to warm you up when the temp is -40!
Well, I’m impressed that they put the apostrophe in the right place, at least…
We’ve been having these apocalyptic predictions forever. link Anyone who has lived long enough should realize that.
For those who haven’t lived long enough to be properly skeptical, there is Fox News. Its viewership numbers are very healthy. link
In Scandinavia we have not had too much snow this year. A week before thousands of skiers were going to the Vasalöb in Sweden, there was now snow, but there was a bit of frost, so they paved the 60 miles route with artificial snow.
At the start today it has been, and still is, snowing heavily. Everybody are glad now, probably with the exception of Greta.
And on the other side of the Arctic, snow and temp conditions for this year’s Alaskan Iditarod Dog Sled races appears to be ideal. Lots of snow and it’s snowing again overnight this weekend.
The Idiarod Jr race is running right now in ideal conditions, as good as anyone could ever hope for to run a sled race.
But you wont hear the media talk about that.
Sorry, in my previous comment I mention Vasalöbet, which is actually called Vasaloppet in Swedish.
https://www.vasaloppet.se/en/
Vasaloppet”, yes!
Thanks to Danmark.
This year so much snow, but late, that many participants could not even reach the starting Place.
And in Minnesota.
There are some good records of actual conditions, recorded month by month, of – mostly European but some US reports – to be found at :-
https://howtheatmosphereworks.wordpress.com/observations-2019/
and :-
https://howtheatmosphereworks.wordpress.com/observations-2019/observations-2020/
‘Not many understand this better than …’ had me rolling with laughter on the floor.
Hey, this is great. Canada has lots of snow. This means we can export it!!! Maybe even promote snowcations!!!
Alberta snow pack is over 2sigma avg for most of the front ranges with two months left in the season. Last year we had heavy snow in May and then a heavy snow with killing frost in mid-September. The self indulgent babies whining about no snow are also myopic. With blinders. When I skied back in the 70’s and we had a poor snow year it was weather. Now it’s… well you know.
I forgot. It is my RIGHT to have snow where and when it is convenient for ME.
“If climate science holds true, this winter whiplash could put many out of business as the low-snow years mount.”
It is far more likely that the downfall of business hinges on the possibility that the Corona Virus could be introduced into the homeless population of L A and San Fran. That would end the hope of control of the virus.
Your comment made the Metallica song “Sad but True” start running through my head.
Relatively warm of late here in Minnesota. Significant snow cover is still on the ground, we have just over a foot on our lawn right now though it is melting. Snow conditions at one of the popular ski areas look normal. Most runs are open and good depth of packed powder.
March is a snowy month typically, the High School State Tournaments are notorious for taking place in snowy conditions. We will see. I suspect that winter is not quite done with us yet.
https://www.lutsen.com/winter/conditions-map/?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI18eOhbb55wIVEtvACh1zoAFVEAAYASABEgJGAPD_BwE
Wow. It looks like the climate changes from year to year. As in it oscillates between cold and snowy to not so cold and not so snowy. Just 3 years ago it was sooooo cold that pipes were bursting in houses and buildings all over New England. That’s when the term “polar vortex” was popularized. Well it’s the first I ever heard of it, anyway.
Variety is the spice of life. Who wants the same weather year after year? There are places you can move to in order to satisfy that need.
“CNN End of Snow: “Climate change is threatening winter sports’ very existence”
Yea! That’s why Squall Valley set a new record for late closing of the slopes last year and Winter Park opened earlier this year than ever before. Several resorts out west had July skiing last year.
You really have to watch the timing of the regular ongoing rollout of the dooming and glooming-
https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/world/british-ski-resort-visited-by-2million-a-year-buckling-due-to-climate-change/ar-BB10AN9A
and keep an eagle eye on the weather-
https://www.msn.com/en-au/travel/tripideas/peak-conditions-reached-at-one-of-scotlands-top-ski-resorts-heavy-snowfall-results-in-a-layer-of-white-stuff-over-15-inches-deep-on-cairngorm-mountain/ar-BB10uH1w
If this keeps up children aren’t going to know what mud looks like.
“If this keeps up children aren’t going to know what mud looks like.”
Already true here in Southern California where we have this “permanent drought”.
Gotta go check for my umbrella since it’s raining again today.
If the snow goes away then there is no need for the whole sports/industrial complex that sees northern ski teams fly to the southern tip of south america for training in our summer and also obliterates the whole edifice of world sport federations flying clouds of people around the world to compete, so getting rid of snow will eliminate masses of CO2 emissions.
success
Too right! Try to come up with a sport which is more CO2 intensive than downhill skiing and its spin-offs: SUV to get to the hill every weekend, second home on the hill, synthetic materials in every article of clothing and piece of equipment (replaced every few years), lifts, snow-making, etc. Hypocrisy unleashed.
https://apple.news/ACWggrhjkSV6aKq1fwREe0Q
This just in! Arctic ice free by 2034!
Well, not really. “Only” one million sq miles left. And the thick ice along the Arctic Islands.
Our model shows…
Correction: Square kilometers
Global ? Like global warming, huh ? How global, how warm ?
Over the pond we’ve just had quite some global weather, who needs summer?
Good news, the wings stood on because icing helped to keep them together.
I’ve spent a large chink of my life in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. For as long as I can remember, we’ve had some winters with lots of snow, and others where so little snow had fallen that radio and TV news programs reported that ski lift operators were turning on their artificial snowmakers more than usual.
It should be obvious that if ski lift operators had artificial snow makers,they had them because some winters had little natural snow.
On and on it goes with the monstering-
https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/australia/cyclone-alley-monster-storm-whipped-up-by-tropical-system-to-send-seven-day-rain-bomb-through-the-heart-of-australia-but-first-sydney-will-sweat-through-one-of-the-hottest-autumn-days-on-record-with-temperatures-of-36c/ar-BB10BffF
Spot the pea and thimble trick from a lefty propaganda unit? They’re weather worrying over a whole continent that separates the Indian and Pacific Oceans and ranges from the tropics in the north down below the Tropic of Capricorn to Tasmania on the way to Antarctica that cops the Southern Ocean lows in winter along with the mainland southern coastline. This whole southern continent has only had a reasonable Stevenson Screen rollout from around 1910 (we don’t talk about those burning 1880s thermometers) but here tis-
“Australian summers are getting longer and winters shorter, analysis of weather data shows.
The Australia Institute has studied two decades worth of Bureau of Meteorology data for the nation’s cities, comparing it to a benchmark from the mid-twentieth century.”
Doomed I tell ya! We’re all doomed!
A strong La Niña will likely start this summer leading to a cold and snowy 20/21 winter, however, it will also likely bring “unprecedented” drought and wildfires to California, so CNN hacks will have plenty of Global-Warming fodder to feed their minions..
It’s getting time for climateers to dust off and trot out the Washington DC Cherry Blossom science
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-51697803
Predictions like this were being made 30 years ago: the industry has not died during the last climate data point, has it?
What may be affected by warming is valley-level cross country ski-ing. I can certainly see traditional loipe in certain lower alpine areas becoming less reliable for snow, but remember that cross country requires far less depth than downhill.
Even if the season did contract a bit, right now ‘high season’ in Europe is really Christmas/New Year (2 weeks), February (4 weeks) and Easter (2 weeks). If the season contracted two weeks at each end, sensibility would suggest shifting holiday dates to January 15th to March 15th, so eight weeks of high season could be compressed into the most snow-sure dates.
Reality is that some lower, more marginal resorts may become uneconomic. The big boys like l’Espace Killy, Verbier, Lech/St Anton, Trois Vallees, Cervinia, Zermatt etc etc will continue to do just fine.
Where I live we had record snowfall this winter.
It’s snowing now in the French Alps (‘heavy snow’). Started about 6 hours ago. And will continue for about 12 hours more. Will be more than enough snow for the rest of the week.
We went back early due to the heavy snowfall. But tomorrow promises to be great because this snowfall is expected to stop by 7 AM tomorrow morning or so, and we’ll have more than half a meter of fresh powder.
As of last week, the Alta ski resort in the Wasatch Mountains (just east of Salt Lake City) had 35 FEET of snow, and the Salt Lake Valley got another 3 inches yesterday, so the total in Alta might be higher now. To any Californians complaining about lack of snow, go east, young man (or woman, as the case may be)!
March comes in like a lion, as usual!
Looks like they cherry-picked a date from 2019 after an usually widespread snowfall to make a deceptively misleading implication.
Also, while it has been a bad snow season in California, places like Utah, Colorado, Washington, Montana, Wyoming and Oregon are getting buried.
Everything is cherry picked, deceptively edited and misleading.
Passing off extensive snowpack throughout metro Reno as normal…
Might as well just use that satellite photo of that one time it snowed in Las Vegas and imply that is normal snowpack.