North American snowcover greatest since 1991!

[sandlapper]

http://intellicast.com/DrDewpoint/Library/1417/

Well the latest weekly snowcover data shows that for week 44 of this calendar year is in from the Rutgers site (http://climate.rutgers.edu/snowcover/monthchart.html), and the snowcover had reached among the highest levels since records began in the late 1960s. The Northern Hemispheric snowcover is the third largest behind 1976 and 1972 and the North American snowcover the second largest behind only 1991.

[RobertSeattle]

1. Hmmm. Does this Bode Well for Democrats?

1991 > Large snowcover > 1992 > Clinton Elected
2003 > Large snowsover > 2004 > ???

:evilgrin:

[NewGuy]

2. I blame global warming for this alarming trend

[Porcupine]

3. It could be Global Climate Change.....

adding heat to the system creates more variability. Or you might say that the climate is "sloshing" due to the pulse of added energy just as water in a bathtub would.

One of the unknowns of adding excess greenhouse gasses to the atmosphere is whether this could trigger a slowdown of the arctic conveyer. http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/template.cfm?name=BigFreeze

We could be freezing our buts off.

Nature bats last.

[ChemEng]

5. That's what I like about GW theory...

You can be right no matter what actually happens. Too hot? Global Warming!!!! Too cold? Global Warming!!!!

[enki23]

7. what the hell is "global warming theory?"

there's no such thing. it doesn't require a "theory." unless this is your theory: "if the ratio of solar energy retained to energy lost by the earth's atmosphere is increasing, it will get warmer." now *there's* a controversial theory for you. we've measured the system. it's warmer. you do the math. are humans causing it? better to ask "how much effect have humans had on this." we've caused *some* part of it, the question is *how much* effect have we had? another question is "what will happen in the future" and "what the hell can we do about it?"

or do you mean the "greenhouse theory?" if you're thinking to attack that one, you may as well throw "the theory of gravity" into the mix. the existances of the two phenomena are about equally controversial.

[milliner]

11. Solar energy

has been on a steady increase for more than 500 years Hence more solar energy means temp on the rise

[treepig]

12. what do you mean by "solar energy"?

if you mean the construction of devices to capture and harvest the energy of sunlight, then you're probably correct (but how this applies to global warming is a bit mysterious . . . )

but if you mean the intensity of sunlight reaching the earth, you might wish to re-think your timeline:

from: http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/solarsystem/solar_cycle_011116.html

The cycle of sunlight intensity roughly follows a 1,500-year pattern, based on analysis of the past 12,000 years. But the difference from the top of the cycle to the bottom is very small, with less than a 0.1 percent difference in energy levels, he said.

Bond and his colleagues believe this is enough to trigger severe climate changes, such as the Little Ice Age, a 490-year period starting in 1400 that dramatically chilled Europe and the North Atlantic.

what this infomation implies is that during the first 390 years of your "500 years" is that "solar energy" was waning and a significant increase has only occurred over the past century or so.

[milliner]

13. suits me

The energy from the sun is rising and thus global warming,
Might be the answer

[On the Road]

14. Only in Headlines

can you be right no matter what.

I haven't seen any anti-GWers who do much more than lob grenades at GW arguments. Meanwhile, every year, climate scientists are getting a more and more nuanced understanding of how climatic systems operate.

[citizen snips]

4. SNOW

That sounds cold.

[booley]

8. snow is also precipitation

and precipitation needs a certain amount of warmth to happen.

you will notice that while it can snow several feet of snow in New york and Missouri..it very rarly ever snows in places like antartica.

Global warming is about the tempurature of the earth rising. it doesn't mean the north pole is going to become like Jamaica. Nor does it have too.
Not only did we get more snowfall in some places, this year was also one of th hottest on record.

[enki23]

6. wow. the highest in twelve years. f**king phenomenal.

anyone who uses something like *that* push their agenda, *whichever* agenda that may be, is either deceptive, or an idiot. that's true even if what they're trying to prove is real.

anyway, the globe is warming. that's easily measured, has been, and is only negotiable for mystics and idiots. how the pattern works, what pushes it, and what it will do are the questions we are now asking. that, and the one about whether we can do anything about it.

[treepig]

9. increased snow cover results in warmer ground temperatures

as any gardener in cold weather climates will tell you, if there is alot of snow, the ground stays warmer, and perennials are less likely to freeze to death.

more scientifically, there's an article in the October 2003 issue of Scientific American, specifically

Meltdown in the North
Sea ice and glaciers are melting, permafrost is thawing, tundra is yielding to shrubs--and scientists are struggling to understand how these changes will affect not just the Arctic but the entire planet

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa006&colID=1&articleID=0000DD68-BBE5-1F5C-905980A84189EEDF

that describes how increased snow cover at high latitudes is contributing to the melting of the now-inappropriately-named permafrost. that's because when the temperatures are really cold, the air holds less moisture, and less snow falls, and the ground freezes really, really solidly during the winter. now that the winter temps are higher, the air holds more moisture and more snow falls as a result. the extra snow provides insulation and the ground doesn't freeze as solidly in the winter, allowing the permafrost to melt during the summer.

[ochazuke]

10. Bad News: It won't happen before the election

Good News: global warming will probably self-correct! Like, a few thousand years from now when that extra snow cover starts forming glaciers up in Canada which in turn push down south and reflect heat energy back into space.

Another thought: Have you ever noticed that the anti-environmental whackos like Penn & Teller and Michael Criton (see recent posts in the Environment section of DU) are most likely to own coastal property?

They must be in denial.