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Climate Change

U.N. announces independent review of climate agency

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File - Rajendra Pachauri,the head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Many climate ministers are growing increasingly concerned about the IPCC and Pachauri ability to lead the panel. (World Economic Forum, Flickr)
File - Rajendra Pachauri,the head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Many climate ministers are growing increasingly concerned about the IPCC and Pachauri's ability to lead the panel. (World Economic Forum, Flickr)

Faced with falling public confidence in climate science, the United Nations announced it would conduct a review of its climate arm, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The panel’s work has come under heavy fire in recent months and its leader, Rajendra Pachauri, now is lacking support from international climate ministers themselves.

Dozens of errors have been discovered in the IPCC’s seminal AR4 report in recent weeks. Claims of disappearing Himalayan glaciers, threatened Amazonian rain forests and more have all been discredited. The report which was supposed to be a shining example of peer reviewed science cited dozens of questionable sources from climate advocacy groups.

At a meeting held by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) in Bali, ministers recognized the many errors and are seeking to reassure the world their science is sound. Privately, ministers have expressed embarrassment at the errors and frustration at the handling of the issues by Pachauri.

Nick Nuttall, UNEP spokesman, told reporters that details of the review would be announced next week. The makeup of the group “will be senior scientific figures,” he said. “I can’t name who they are right now. It should do a review of the IPCC, produce a report by, say, August and there is a plenary of the IPCC in South Korea in October. The report will go there for adoption.”

In a private meeting with the governing council, Pachauri did little to reassure them of his ability to lead the panel going forward. He expressed ‘regret’ for the errors but did not apologize, adding to the frustration of the leaders. The IPCC’s leader further only admitted to the Himalayan glacier error calling the dozens of others ‘misunderstandings.’

There's more to this story on Examiner.com!There is much more to this story.  Privately, ministers are expressing doubt about Pachauri’s ability to lead.  Get the details from the Climate Change Examiner.

Natural Disasters

National Weather Service modifies hurricane scale

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Hurricane Ike bears down onto the upper Texas coastline with category 2 wind speed of 110 mph, September, 2008. (NOAA)
Hurricane Ike bears down onto the upper Texas coastline with category 2 wind speed of 110 mph, September, 2008. (NOAA)

Beginning this hurricane season, NOAA’s National Weather Service will use a revamped hurricane rating system that does away with storm surge effects of each category. The new scale, called the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale will use wind as its only determining factor.

Herbert Saffir and Robert Simpson developed the original Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale as a way to communicate the threat of hurricanes based on their power and released it to the public in 1973. In addition to wind, the scale used storm surge as a factor when determining a storm’s category rating.

Since then, scientists have realized that the amount of storm surge generated by a hurricane can vary greatly, well outside the wind guidelines of the original scale. According to NOAA, the storm intensity, size, pressure and the underwater topography near where a hurricane is going to make landfall make a large difference.

In announcing the new scale, NOAA pointed two recent storms to convey the problem with the old scale. Hurricane Ike made landfall along the Texas coast in 2008. While only a Category 2 storm, it produced storm surge of 15 to 20 feet. By contrast, Hurricane Charley in 2004 was a Category 4 storm that struck Florida but only generated a 6 to 7 foot storm surge.

Storm surge is extremely dangerous and flooding resulting from it and the tremendous rains generated by hurricanes claim more lives than wind. As such, storm surge forecasts will continue however they will be independent of the hurricane ratings. Beginning this year, when discussing surge, it will be expressed in height above ground level to help residents understand the potential for flooding in their area.

The revamped scale also was accompanied by new descriptions of wind impact while retaining the same wind speeds that were previously used.

There's more to this story on Examiner.com!To view the new scale, a summary of what each of the categories means and examples of each, please visit the Natural Disasters Examiner.

Climate Change

Weather Channel founder continues assault on manmade climate change theory

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Global Warming: Meltdown is the latest television special from Weather Channel founder John Coleman that discusses the problems with the manmade climate change theory. (KUSI)
"Global Warming: Meltdown" is the latest television special from Weather Channel founder John Coleman that discusses the problems with the manmade climate change theory. (KUSI)

There is little doubt that John Coleman, founder of the Weather Channel, has strong feelings about manmade climate change. He has long railed against the theory calling it “the greatest scam in history.” Now a meteorologist for KUSI in San Diego, Coleman has continued his assault with a series of television specials, the latest of which aired last night.

The latest hour long special titled “Global Warming: Meltdown” walks through the arguments on both sides of the issue. From recent revelations of errors within the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) reports to discussions of faulty climate computer models, Coleman lays out the doubts about man’s influence on the climate reassuring viewers that, “Mankind is not destroying our planet.”

A brief recap of his previous special that aired last month, “Global Warming: The Other Side” kicks off the show and jumps into the IPCC errors. Al Gore, a favorite target for climate change skeptics, receives a jab or two and Coleman refers to the former vice president as “the pied piper of global warming.”

The seriousness of the debate however is clearly seen in the video as are some of the many questions that make the foundation of the manmade climate change theory. From climate computer models that have failed to account for recent cooling to extensive problems with surface temperature monitoring stations Coleman covers it all.

I guess you could have it both ways if you don’t have a very well defined theory.
~ John Christy on the claim that recent snow storms support the global warming theory

In an interview with John Christy, director of the Earth System Science Center at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, Christy addresses satellite data that does not support warming. He further discusses the recent severe weather that has seen snow records across the eastern United States. In response to some who have said those events actually support global warming, Christy said, “I guess you could have it both ways if you don’t have a very well defined theory.”

Anthony Watts, owner of the climate blog Watt’s Up With That, appears on the program to discuss the problems with surface monitoring stations. Watts and a team of volunteers discovered that the vast majority of these stations in the United States fail to meet the minimum requirements for the site on which they reside. Similar problems have been discovered in other countries as well.

While not appearing directly on the show, although they were offered the opportunity, the other side makes appearances through interviews from other sources.

Dr. Richard Somerville from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography outlines the basics of the foundation of the anthropogenic global warming theory saying, “once again this is solid, settled science. No reputable scientist, no expert in this field would dispute anything I’ve just said.”

Tom Peterson with the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) in Asheville, North Carolina admits the problems with surface stations records. He however contents that corrections have been made in the data to compensate.

Be sure to visit the Climate Change Examiner for all the latest climate change news!

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Climate Change

Got snow? Northern Hemisphere snow extent at second highest level in 44 years

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Winter snow extent for the Northern Hemisphere has been steadily increasing for the past 10 years. (Steven Goddard / Watt’s Up With That)
Winter snow extent for the Northern Hemisphere has been steadily increasing for the past 10 years. (Steven Goddard / Watt’s Up With That)

This winter has seen record-setting snow across parts of North America as well as Europe and Asia. Climate scientists have been quick to remind the public that the storms were short term events and not indicative of a lack of global warming. However, they have neglected to point out that winter snow extent in the Northern Hemisphere has been steadily increasing for more than 10 years.

Rutgers University’s Global Snow Lab is the definitive source for information on snow coverage of the globe. According to the unit’s latest statistics, 20,141,729 square miles (52,166,840 km2) of the Northern Hemisphere is covered in snow.

That puts the week as having the second highest snow extent in the 44 years that Rutgers has been gathering data. The only week out of the last 2,277 in the record with more occurred in 1978 during the second week of February.

Across the hemisphere, cold and snow has seemingly been appearing with greater ferocity and frequency this winter. The Mid-Atlantic states have seen record-setting amounts of snow while places in Texas and Florida that rarely see snow have had it more frequently this year. In Europe and Asia, snow as well has made numerous appearances above and beyond normal.

In the wake of the recent blizzards that struck the East Coast, many climate scientists took to television and print media repeating the mantra that ‘weather is not climate.’ They point out that short-term weather phenomena do not disprove manmade climate change and global warming. Many even said in recent weeks that the extreme cold actually supports the global warming theory.

There's more to this story on Examiner.com!Is that true?  How can global warming account for more snow AND less snow?  Find out more in the complete story from the Climate Change Examiner.

Climate Change

Climategate scientist admits faults in manmade climate change theory

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Most will concede the globe is warming but what is responsible. Even a scientist that is a climate change alarmist admits it may not be man.
Most will concede the globe is warming but what is responsible. Even a scientist that is a climate change alarmist admits it may not be man.

Dr. Phil Jones has gone from relative obscurity to worldwide prominence as the central figure in the Climategate email scandal. His actions and those of other climate scientists as revealed by the messages have cast a pall over the state of climate science and the manmade climate change theory. In interviews conducted in recent days, Jones shockingly reveals his own doubts about the science.

The world has been told the ‘science is settled’ and the ‘consensus’ of the scientific community is solid – man is the primary driver of climate change on the earth. Skeptics that have pointed out problems with the data and climate computer models. They have said that the lack of warming in the past 10 years despite increases in carbon dioxide show the science is not as solid as it has been portrayed.

Until this past year those that had their doubts were largely ignored. The email scandal and recent revelations of significant problems with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) reports have given rise to new doubts.

In interviews with the BBC and “Nature” over the past week, Jones gives credence to many of the arguments of skeptics and acknowledges the science may not be as solid as the world has been led to believe.

The BBC asked Jones about how the rate of warming from 1975 to 1998 was identical to warming recorded previously from 1860 to 1880 and 1910 to 1940.

Jones acknowledged that the warming in earlier periods was at nearly identical rates as later periods. “The warming rates are not statistically significantly different,” he said. The fact similar rates of warming were recorded before significant CO2 emissions casts a doubt on the argument that CO2 is driving the warming.

Jones admitted that there had been ‘no statistically significant’ warming over the last 15 years. He however maintains that is simply an interruption of warming that will continue.

There's more to this story on Examiner.com!That wasn’t all Jones said.  He continued Medieval Warm Period and questions about the accuracy of climate data.  Be sure to visit the Climate Change Examiner for the complete story.

National Weather

Amazing winter allows 49 states to record snow on the ground

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More than two thirds of the United States recorded snow no the ground on Friday. (National Weather Service)
More than two thirds of the United States recorded snow no the ground on Friday. (National Weather Service)

It seems so improbable that no one was sure whether or not it has happened before but there was snow on the ground in 49 of the 50 states on Friday. The unlikely event was possible thanks to snow that hit unusual places like Texas and Florida.

According to the National Weather Service, 67.1 percent of the United States’ total land area was covered by snow yesterday. That far exceeds the 40 to 50 percent normally seen this time of year.

Dallas, Texas recorded an improbable 12.5 inches of snow breaking records for the date and pushing the city to its second snowiest winter on record and its snowiest in 32 years. Not to be left out, snow was on the ground in Arkansas, Alabama, Georgia and even the Florida Panhandle.

Residents in some places in the United States are wishing things weren’t nearly as snowy. The Mid-Atlantic region has experienced record setting snowfalls this year.

Baltimore, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Wilmington and Atlantic City have all set new records for seasonal snowfall. Many of those cities have experienced more snow than their counterparts in the Rocky Mountain region.

So what was the one state that held out without snow? Hawaii. This is actually unusual as the Mauna Kea volcano peaks at 13,800 feet and often times has snow on it. Research meteorologist Tiziana Cherubini at the Mauna Kea Weather Center told the Associated Press the mountain had been without snow for a few weeks and none is in the forecast.

Officials at Rutgers University’s Global Snow Lab and with the National Weather Service are trying to determine if all 50 states have recorded snow on the ground at the same time. They have verified that 49 states have previously on January 19, 1977 when South Carolina was the lone holdout.

National Weather Service meteorologists attribute the snowy conditions to a moderate El Nino event in the Pacific Ocean and the Arctic Oscillation. In El Nino seasons, moisture streams across the south. The Arctic Oscillation brings colder air from the north dropping temperature and allowing any precipitation that might fall to turn to snow.

There's more to this story on Examiner.com!For a complete look at the crazy winter weather across the nation, be sure to visit the Natural Disasters Examiner.

National Weather

It’s finally over – Mid-Atlantic digs out from record-setting snowstorms

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The history making snowstorm that pushed many East Coast cities’ snow totals into the record books has moved out. Now residents begin the monumental task of digging out from snow depths the likes of which have never been seen.

Philadelphia, Washington D.C., and Baltimore were just some of the major cities on the east coast to be struck by what some have called ‘Snowmageddon.’ Last week a major winter storm dumped over two feet of snow on major cities in the Mid-Atlantic. Residents had just finished digging out from that event when Mother Nature delivered another wallop Tuesday and Wednesday.

Separately, the two storms in the past week and a previous one in December ranked each in many cities’ ‘top 10’ snow events. Collectively, the storms have dumped more snow than the region has ever seen in a single season.

How much snow fell?  Check out the astounding snowfall totals at the Natural Disasters Examiner.

Climate Change

NOAA announces new climate change portal

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NOAAs new Climate.Gov website is supposed to provide a single point-of-entry for NOAA’s climate information, data, products and services. (NOAA)
NOAA's new Climate.Gov website is supposed to provide a 'single point-of-entry for NOAA’s climate information, data, products and services.' (NOAA)

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has announced its new ‘portal to climate information’ at the web address Climate.Gov. The site is to serve as a consolidated home to climate information from across all of NOAA’s various departments.  The site has potential but despite the announcement, some of the information on the site is already out of date.

The new site was announced yesterday by Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco. Ironically, the Gore Effect seemed to be in full force as the major winter snowstorm that struck Washington D.C. forced the press conference to be held by telephone.

The NOAA Climate Service Portal will go hand in hand with the proposed NOAA Climate Service, a new branch of NOAA that officials want to become the one-stop-shop for climate information from the U.S. government. “We envision this climate portal as the first step toward making the wealth of climate information at NOAA available in one easy-to-use resource,” Lubchenco said.

  • An interactive “climate dashboard” that lets users see a range of constantly updating climate datasets (e.g., temperature, carbon dioxide concentration, and sea level) over adjustable time scales;
  • A new Web-based climate science magazine called ClimateWatch, featuring videos and articles of scientists discussing their recent climate research and topics that cannot be relayed in charts and graphs;
  • Explanations and exploration of data products available from NOAA and partner agencies, with direct links to the sources of the comprehensive datasets;
  • Educational resources for students and teachers, including lesson plans for the classroom and laboratory, educational games and interactive media; and
  • Easy-to-understand fact sheets and presentations for professionals and the public about climate science, research and climate impacts.

There's more to this story on Examiner.com!The site is a great looking one but there are some problems.  Read about that in the complete story on the Climate Change Examiner.

National Weather

From the Rockies to the Atlantic, cold weather grips the nation

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Calling the recent weather that has gripped the eastern two thirds of the nation a ‘cold spell’ does not do it justice. From the eastern side of the Rockies to Florida and north to New England, much of the nation has seen extraordinarily cold weather in recent days that will continue through the weekend.

To the west, Denver will begin to warm up finally this weekend but that comes in the wake of Arctic cold that saw the Mile High City see high temperatures in the teens on Thursday and a low temperature down to -16. Just a bit further east on the plains, Kansas and Nebraska were similarly cold and were forced to cope with snow and ice that turned roadways treacherous.

In the Midwest, the cold weather had tragic results. On Thursday, an icy highway caused a tractor trailer to lose control and swerve into oncoming traffic impacting a bus transporting disabled adults. Three passengers and the bus driver were killed, six other passengers were injured as was the truck driver.

The nation’s railway system was impacted as Amtrak was forced to cut its daily train between Chicago and Denver on Friday because it could not make it through snow drifts in Nebraska. Passengers on the train Thursday arrived in Denver a day late after having been stuck on the plains for 23 hours. The California Zephyr from California to Chicago finally arrived Friday after being delayed 18 hours.

The southern part of the nation found itself gripped in the cold and unprepared to deal with it. Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana and even Florida saw temperatures dipping into record setting territory. Shelters in the states were packed with the homeless seeking someplace warm to spend the nights.

There's more to this story on Examiner.com!For more on this story and to view some of the amazing photos from the winter weather, visit the Natural Disasters Examiner.

Climatology, National Weather, Natural Disasters

Deadly cold envelops Northern Hemisphere from U.S. to China

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Severe cold weather has enveloped the northern half of the globe from the United States to Britain to China. Across the continents, many places are reporting record setting temperatures and lives have been lost due to the Arctic chill.

The eastern half of the United States saw cold, Arctic air pulled down from the north plunging temperatures below freezing in normally mild places as far south as Florida. The widespread cold gripped most of the nation east of the Rocky Mountains to the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Seaboard.

Across the Midwest, temperatures plunged to well below freezing as parts of Iowa recorded temperatures as low as -15 degrees. Jeff Johnson, National Weather Service meteorologist, told the Des Moines Register, “”We’re a solid 30 degrees below normal.” Minneapolis, Minnesota and Chicago, Illinois were seeing wind chills below 0 degrees Tuesday morning.

In Miami, residents accustomed to short sleeve shirts and shorts bundled up as temperatures dropped to freezing. Further north in the state, Orlando saw a low temperature of 21 degrees.

The National Weather Service issued hard freeze warnings across parts of Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Florida as the cold threatened the agriculture industry in those states. Freeze watches in Tennessee highlighted the severe cold and came on the heels of reports that four people have died in that state from the cold.

There's more to this story on Examiner.com!The United States is not alone as the cold has turned deadly across the globe.  Get all the details and see some amazing photos at the Natural Disasters Examiner.