67 degrees in Alaska? Climate change continues to topple temperature records
Source: Yahoo News
On Sunday, the temperature in Kodiak, Alaska, hit 67 degrees Fahrenheit, setting a December record-high for a state that has become used to them as climate change continues to rewrite history.
The temperature readings in Kodiak did not merely edge out some previous record by a degree or two; the 65 degrees reported at the airport was 20 degrees higher than the previous high temperature record of 45 degrees set on Dec. 26, 1984, the National Weather Service reported.
According to the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration, Alaska is warming faster than any other U.S. state and twice as quickly as the global average since the middle of the 20th century.
Read more: https://news.yahoo.com/67-degrees-in-alaska-climate-change-continues-to-topple-temperature-records-193405514.html
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Being a multi-generational PAer, we never really had that kind of fantasy Vermont-style winter weather here in SE PA (although there may have been more of that on the western side of the state and up in the Poconos).
Our "white Christmas" chances were always 25% or less. I know despite the winter blizzard spikes that have happened over the past couple decades, the "average" seasonal snowfall here (at least in Philly) is around 23", with 19" in actual winter and 4" in spring (as of the updated 30 year data from NOAA's NCEI (National Centers for Environmental Information)).
The month where we climatologically tend to get the most snow was in February, which was when the ground was pretty much frozen and any precipitation had a tendency to be of the frozen kind.
The reason for this? That GIGANTIC Atlantic Ocean that influences the temps around here and it takes time for the ocean water temps to cool down enough after having late/summer early fall water temps in the 70s and even 80s.
The distance straight across Jersey from Philly to Tom's River by the Jersey coast is about the same distance as going from Houston to Galveston to the GOM (~50 miles).
Last spring, WaPo mentioned what has happened even in the D.C. area with respect to the "normal" (average) snowfall there -
Washington’s ‘normal’ snowfall is about to fall further
By Ian Livingston
March 4, 2021 at 10:45 a.m. EST
Out with the old and in with the new. A fresh set of data, incorporating the latest decade of weather statistics, shows Washington’s long-term decline in snowfall continues.
Washington’s new “normal” snowfall, based on average amounts between 1991 and 2020, has dropped to 13.8 inches. During the three decades from 1981 to 2010, it was 15.4 inches. This recent decline reflects a steep downward trend that began a century ago. For comparable 30-year periods in the late 1800s and early 1900s, Washington’s average snowfall was 20 inches or more.
This most recent drop in Washington’s snowfall will become official when the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration releases its new 30-year “climate normals” in May, its decadal update of average weather conditions for every location in the United States.
While NOAA hasn’t finalized D.C.’s snowfall numbers, they’re easy enough to calculate. Below, we preview what they’re expected to show and discuss their implications. (Note, minor discrepancies between our numbers and NOAA’s final numbers are possible due to differences in analysis methods.)
https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2021/03/04/washington-dc-normal-average-snowfall/
(and yes, all of the "one of the worst places to live in the U.S." rankings are justified)
it's much warmer than it was when I moved here in the mid-2010s. My deciduous trees no longer drop their leaves. The MAGAt locals (red don is quite popular here) keep commenting on this "weird" winter warmth but not one I've asked believes it's from anthropogenic global warming. Global warming and science deniers abound here.
Response to Alexander Of Assyria (Reply #17)
Response to Old Crank (Reply #18)
She tries.