September Sunset
This has been the hottest September on record thus far for many locations in the Northeast. The sultry and arid conditions have worsened a drought for much of the region. The blazing sunset here may be one of the last hot days of the year as today’s cold front should bring much more seasonable conditions for the week, albeit still a little above average in terms of temperature and far below average for precipitation in the near future. All of this is coming after a historically cold winter. What was that we used to say about climate change and the future…extremes, and more of...
Read More“Warming Oceans Putting Marine Life ‘In a Blender’ “
The title of this article is very well put! But “[a]ccording to a 2013 study, marine species are pushing their range boundaries poleward, away from the Equator, at an average speed of 4.5 miles a year,” which is beyond mind blowing when one considers the history of the Earth and its evolution in hundreds of millions or billions of years. They are moving at the speed of light. The climate has always shifted, but it happens slowly over thousands upon thousands of years instead of decades as it is now due to humans. Even then it often meant extinction for those who had flourished...
Read MoreAir Pollution in New York and Connecticut
Here’s the view from Stratford Point in Stratford, Connecticut on a recent March morning. There was no wind to speak of, even here on the coast, or throughout the Long Island Sound region. This lack of mixing in the surface air and atmosphere meant that haze and abundant air pollution was remaining directly over land and readily apparent. It did not take long for a sea breeze to develop as the day warmed followed by a light regional southerly flow, cleansing what was sitting on top of us. Nevertheless, it is stark reminder of what we are putting into the air we breathe while...
Read MoreCrazy Climate Maps
One benefit of the continual and seemingly never-ending cold and snowy winter (also known as spring now!) is that it provides us a tremendous opportunity to engage and educate people. The topic of our weather invariably comes up in every day life, especially now, and when someone complains about their heating bill or their aching back (thanks, shoveling!) you can mention to them that all of this may likely be due to our changing climate. The above graphic shows our globe and the general temperature percentile categories for meteorological winter, December through February, via NOAA’s...
Read MoreRecord Shattering Cold & Historic Snow
To be entirely honest I meant to write this blog entry a couple of weeks ago. Yes, I have been busy during that time with meetings, gearing up for spring and summer projects, surveying, and much more. Nevertheless, I could not get myself too excited to write about the unbelievably and astonishingly historic cold we have had this winter, especially in February, or the feet of snow dumped on the region, rewriting more records for some locations. After feeling the first signs of spring in the past week I feel renewed, ready for the thaw and once again energized about our weather and climate....
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