[ale] unusual global warming experiment

[William Fragakis]

Snowfall is not an indicator of temperatures, necessarily. Rather it's a
better indicator of the jet stream, ocean temperatures and currents
(think, el Nino). Most of the tundra of Alaska and Canada is actually
desert, it receives very little precipitation. However, with less ice in
the Arctic waters, more can evaporate causing more snow. As residents of
the Midwest can tell you, the amount of snow on your front door tells
you more about the prevailing wind and where you live in relation to the
Great Lakes than the temperature outside.

Much of the snow, iirc, in the Eastern US is caused by el Nino and a
much stronger southerly jet stream which is carrying weather systems
further south than usual. Much of the snow on the ground came from
warmer Pacific waters and the Gulf of Mexico. And, as I mentioned
before, snow in your neighborhood, doesn't mean snow in places it
usually occurs, like Vancouver.

"
Kirk Mellish's Weather
Commentary


El Nino powered jet stream puts weather in the news"

http://wsbradio.com/blogs/kirk_mellishs_weather_commentary/2010/01/el-nino-powered-jet-stream-put.html

regards,
William



On Thu, 2010-02-11 at 05:12 -0500, Paul Cartwright wrote:
> On Wed February 10 2010, Greg Freemyer wrote:
> > Anyway all of these show 2009 globally as cooler than most of the last 10
> > years.
> 
> 10 years? the DC area just set a record snowfall of 65 inches! broke a record 
> from the 1800's!! New York broke a record older than 10 years. It seems like 
> all I've heard so far this winter is " 10 degrees below normal"... it's DAMN 
> cold out there!!
>