Tag Archives: Cold Cold Cold

Latest Study Warns “Day After Tomorrow” Ice Age Closer Than We Think

When the apocalyptic film first released, critics from both the entertainment and science communities ridiculed the movie over the possibility of climate change having such an extreme affect on the world. However, a recent study by researchers from the University of Southampton has found that we are closer to a “Day After Tomorrow” scenario than we thought.

In the film, climate warming results in the collapse of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) – a major current in the Atlantic Ocean that has a northward flow of warm, salty water in the upper layers of the Atlantic and a southward flow of colder water in the deep Atlantic. This leads to New York being flooded, tornadoes in Los Angeles, and finally the north hemisphere freezing and experiencing an Ice Age.

Researchers discovered that if global warming and the collapse of the AMOC occur at the same time, the Earth will cool for a period of 20 years. After the 20 years, global warming would continue as if the AMOC never collapsed and the global average temperature would offset by approximately 0.8 degrees Celsius. They used an advanced climate model at Germany’s Max-Planck Institute to simulate the conditions.

“The planet earth recovers from the AMOC collapse in about 40 years when global warming continues at present-day rates, but near the eastern boundary of the North Atlantic (including the British Isles) it takes more than a century before temperature is back to normal,” Professor Sybren Drijfhout, from Ocean and Earth Science Department at the University of Southampton, said in the release.

The AMOC depends on a connect of the warm north waters and the cool southern waters that flow deep in the North Atlantic. Due to global warming, the Greenland ice sheet has begun to melt into the AMOC, affecting the balance of the warm and cold waters. Currently, it is causing the AMOC to slow down, but it will eventually collapse.

While the climate sequence in the movie is sped up and exaggerated, the researchers still noted that the consequences from the AMOC collapse would be no less cause for worry.

The simulation showed that Western Europe would be hit the hardest by cold temperatures but America would have to contend with floods. Sea levels on the U.S. East Coast would rise more than three feet, and the UK, Denmark, and the Netherlands would see a 35-degree temperature drop.

“This would affect hundreds of millions of people,” Drijfhout said, “At least temporarily, Europe would suffer conditions that would look like the Little Ice Age of the Middle Ages.”

“When it comes to climate change, we are playing a dangerous game,” he added.

February Could Show Record Setting Cold

Meteorologists say that February 2015 could end up as one of the coldest months in Detroit history with an average temperature of just over 13 degrees.

“I’m doing some calculations but I think we are on track here to have the coldest month ever in Detroit, the way things are looking,” said AccuWeather’s Dean DeVore. “And it’s going to be brutally cold here today.”

“It’s like an open spigot from like Barrow, Alaska down to the Great Lakes. Meantime, they can’t buy a drop of rain on the west coast for the past month or so,” AccuWeather’s Dave Bowers added. “It’s been wicked. It really is quite a contrast. The western half of the country is having an extremely warm winter, and here it really is more like the Northwest Territories in our backyard.

“We’re running about almost 12 degrees below normal his month.”

Other cities across the U.S. have been setting records for cold temperatures.  Cleveland fell to -5 on Monday breaking a record set in 1873 and the first time since 1889 it was below zero on February 23rd.  The temperature hit -17 on Friday, shattering the previous low and was just 3 degrees short of the all time record for low temperature in the city.

Ann Arbor, Michigan hit -7 on Monday which broke the previous record for the date set in 1900.

Boston To Be Hit With Fourth Major Snowstorm In Weeks

The city of Boston is preparing to be hit again with a massive winter storm after having over 70 inches of snow in the last few weeks.

The latest storm will strike this weekend with up to 15 inches of fresh snow.  The storm could also bring 60 mile per hour wins and coastal flooding with waves of 20 feet or higher.

The National Weather Service has issued a blizzard watch for the Massachusetts coast through Sunday night.  A winter storm watch has also been put in place for non-coastal areas.  Those non-coastal areas could see a foot of snow.

The temperatures are also causing problems with average highs around 15 degrees and wind chills as low as -22 in some areas.  Officials say that if the storm brings power outages, elderly folks and shut-ins could face problems with freezing in their homes.

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said the city’s public transit system, already under heavy criticism for poor performance during the previous storms, would be shut down over the weekend during the new storm.

At least 170 pieces of snow removal equipment from other states has come to the Boston area to assist government workers.

Storms Threaten Christmas Travel

A series of storms across the nation are threatening to make Christmas travel a mess.  Thunderstorms across the south, rain in in the east and snowstorms around the Great Lakes could bring serious flight delays and dangerous road conditions.

Up to three inches of snow is predicted for the areas around Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway International airports.  Delays and cancellations at two of the nation’s biggest Midwest airports would have repercussions throughout the country.

“I’d be nervous about the possibility of not being able to get out,” Chicago area meteorologist Charles Mott told the Associated Press. “I would definitely make plans about possibly staying put or doing something else.”

Over 4.2 million travelers are expected to go through the Chicago airports during the Christmas season.

Storms across the Rockies caused blowing snow that blocked major highways and even Hawaii is feeling the winter punch as a blizzard warning was issued for the summits of Mauna Kea and Mauna Loa on the Big Island.  While snow is common, a blizzard is considered unusual by meteorologists.

Snow Forecasted For Scotland In Coldest August In Almost 100 Years

Scotland is looking at the possibility of breaking out the snowplows.

IN AUGUST.

A wave of bitter Arctic cold is predicted to descend over the British Isles and bring the coldest wave of weather in August since 1919.  Temperatures are forecast to be near freezing overnight and there is a chance of snow and sleet over parts of Scotland.

The high temperatures are not expected to climb about 48 degrees with high winds bring wind chills to well below freezing.  The Met Office reports that it’s possible some areas will not even reach 40 degrees during the cold wave.

The normal high temperatures for the region in August run from 75 to 78 degrees.

Complicating the situation is heavy rain that is predicted to hit the islands for the next few days. With the land already saturated from a hurricane that came through weeks ago, the likelihood is high for flooding on top of the frigid temperatures.

‘The weather is certainly looking disappointing for the next couple of weeks,” forecaster Billy Payne of MeteoGroup said, tongue firmly in cheek.  “It’s going to be cool and rather unsettled – there’s not much to be optimistic about.”

Record Cold Hits Eastern U.S.

April is less than a week away but many cities across the eastern United States are seeing temperatures that are closer to January.

Arctic air is making another plunge into the eastern U.S. driving temperatures toward record lows.  The cold brought below zero conditions as far south as the Alabama panhandle and northern Florida.

The record conditions were as far south as Macon, Georgia, which set an all time low temperature record for the day at 26 degrees.

Toledo, Ohio and Detroit were also confirmed to have cold temperature records.

A blizzard that was predicted to possibly hit New England moved into Atlantic Canada but it brought high wind and cold to the northeast.  Temperatures on Cape Cod, Massachusetts hovered near 0 degrees and winds throughout the region were gusting to over 70 miles per hour.

A warm up is expected to begin on Thursday.

Arctic Blast Returning Despite The Calendar Showing Spring

The calendar says spring but the thermometers will likely be showing winter temperatures to a majority of the U.S. as another arctic blast sweeps in to start the week.

Forecasters say that temperatures could be as much as 20 degrees below normal in parts of the Midwest and Northwest and 25 degrees below normal in the upper Midwest.

Northern Minnesota cities such as Duluth and International Falls could see high temperatures this week that will stay in the teens and lows well below zero.  Cities as far south as St. Louis and Cincinnati could see highs only around 30.

In addition, upper New England faces the strong possibility of a blizzard striking around mid-week.  Parts of Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Maine could see upwards of a foot of snow before the weekend.

Other parts of New England could see several inches of snow as the bulk of the blizzard will just miss their areas.

A warming trend is expected to start over the weekend.

St. Patrick’s Day Snowstorm Blasts D.C.

Winter ends on Thursday but it’s not going out quietly.

Another winter storm struck the nation’s capital on Monday dumping over 7 inches of snow and shutting down all federal offices because of the road conditions.

The storm was the third highest snowfall in history for the second half of March.  The official snowfall for the city was 7.2 inches, the highest amount since 1942.  The record is 12 inches set in 1891.

The storm was also the largest March snowstorm since 1999.

The storm also raised the amount of snowfall in Philadelphia this winter to the second highest in the city’s history.  The city has officially recorded 67.4 inches of snow.

Thousands of flights throughout the mid-Atlantic were canceled or delayed because of the storm system.

Another Arctic Blast Striking Northeast

Forecasters say that another arctic blast is going to drive temperatures in the northeast to frigid levels.

This week temperatures rose into the 50s or higher for most of the northeast with Philadelphia reaching the 60s and Washington DC into the 70s on Wednesday.  By Thursday morning, the cities will see temperatures in the 20s.

Officials are warning drivers that roads which have been wet or slushy because of melting snow and ice from recent storms will quickly freeze in the early morning hours because of the rapid temperate fall.  The possibility of dangerous conditions for early morning commutes have many communities encouraging people to plan extra time to head to work or school.

A spokesman for Accuweather said the sudden cold after the unusually high temperatures could bring unexpected problems including broken water mains.  The possibility also exists that roadways will crack from the conditions and create more potholes than usual.

Great Lakes Facing Significant Recovery

Federal experts are putting a positive spin on the record cold and ice that is covering the Great Lakes will help replenish levels hurt by low rain levels.  The lakes hit a low in January 2013 and the increased rainfall will help the shipping industry who has been fighting low water levels.

However, the same officials had to admit that it was possible some areas could see flooding because of the high levels of ice and snow surrounding the lake and rivers that feed into it.

The Lakes are now over 91 percent covered, the highest total since 95 percent coverage in 1979.   Ice coverage in surrounding rivers and streams could also cause flooding issues if they create ice dams as the ice pack starts to melt.

“Any additional rainfall on top of that snowpack would add to that flood threat,” said Keith Kompoltowicz, hydrology branch chief with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers told the AP. “We’re certainly paying very close attention to the weather in the next few weeks.”

The forecast from the Army Corps of Engineers says that Lake Superior will be more than a foot higher than last year.  Lake Michigan and Lake Huron are also expected to be over a foot higher.