Trio of storm systems could have devastating impact on U.S.

[Minstrel Boy]

Trio of storm systems could have devastating impact on U.S.

By SETH BORENSTEIN
Knight Ridder
Jan 4

WASHINGTON - Moisture-laden storms from the north, west and south are likely to converge on much of America over the next several days in what could be a once-in-a-generation onslaught, meteorologists forecast Tuesday.

...

"It's a situation that looks pretty potent," Ed O'Lenic, the Climate Prediction Center's operations chief, told Knight Ridder. "A large part of North America looks like it's going to be affected."

...

The converging storms are being steered by high-pressure ridges off Alaska and Florida and are part of a temporary change in world climate conditions, O'Lenic said.

Over equatorial Indonesia, east of where the tsunami hit, meteorologists have identified a weather-making phenomenon called the Madden-Julian Oscillation. It's producing extra-stormy weather to its east. Similar oscillations in the north Atlantic and north Pacific are changing global weather patterns. Add to the strange mix this year's mild El Nino - a warming of the equatorial Pacific - which is unusually far west, Redmond said.

http://www.sanluisobispo.com/mld/sanluisobispo/news/nation/10565429.htm

[Lydia Leftcoast]

1. Meanwhile, Minnesota is having the dryest winter since

records were first kept 115 years ago. We have had something like 1 inch of snow this season.

I actually hope that storm hits us.

[phusion]

2. Very wet in Albuquerque...

We've already hit the average rainfall mark for January and we're only halfway through the storm that hit the Sierras with 8+ feet of snow.

Strange stuff...

[NMDemDist2]

5. we are flooding in AZ --- our normally dry river bed is a torrent

of clay colored water

usually they have large bladders to hold water for a "lake"




they had to deflate them cuz it looks like this now

[ThoughtCriminal]

9. Amazing waterfalls in the Superstitions

Only seen this once before. Earlier this evening there was a Tornado Warning in Maricoapa County (Golfball size hail and funnel cloud spotted)

[SheilaT]

29. I have a book of photographs

of Tucson called "Tucson Then and Now". The Then photos were taken mostly in the 30s and what is most obvious to me (aside from the population growth) is how much higher the water table used to be. There are many, many more trees in the earlier photos.

[Cooley Hurd]

92. Every city had more trees in the '30's than now...

Dutch Elm disease wiped out millions of urban trees in the 1960's.

[SheilaT]

95. Trust me, these would not have been

Elm trees. It's the cottonwoods that were all along the Rillito River on the north side of the city, and the Santa Cruz on the southern side. Plus the native flora is much denser on the land that has never been developed in all those years. Aside from the fact that I know from other sources that the water table has dropped by tens, maybe hundreds of feet over time, it's clear from the photographs.

Actually, I love looking at photos of particular places taken years apart. I have another similar book about Washington DC, only those photos are sometimes separated by over 100 years.

[duhneece]

133. Water had been 'purchased' by cities, leaving rural areas drier

For years, cities in the West & Southwest have been buying water rights from the rural communities surrounding them. Los Angeles, El Paso, Tucson and Phoenix...you name a city and I'll tell you where water tables have dropped around them.

Privatizing water.

[DoYouEverWonder]

58. I can't imagine waterfalls there

that is a beautiful area, it must be a very strange sight.

[ThoughtCriminal]

85. Uploaded pic (large)

This is several miles away so it's a bit hazy. For scale, the Saguaro cactus probably average 20-30 feet high.

[frictionlessO]

94. Oh Man! Thanks for the pic! I grew up on Williams AFB

And used to just stare out across the desert at the Superstitions all the time.... you just brought back puberty to me!!

I cant believe it waterfalls in the Superstitions... weird!

[Media_Lies_Daily]

112. Upper 60s in north-central Alabama....was in the 70s in New Orleans....

...over the weekend.

[leftynyc]

131. I went to Arizona State (around 20 yrs ago)

Waterfalls in the Superstitions?!! I can't even picture it - must be amazing.

[HuckleB]

14. It used to run every Winter and Spring.

The long drought has made a lot of folks forget that.

[Igel]

101. Salt River? n/t

[Pathwalker]

106. THIS IS NOTHING NEW! I grew up along the Salt River,

and MANY times as a child, we would go down to see the Salt River flowing and watch houses floating down the river! Idiots would always assume that the dry river bed meant it was safe to build there, only to have their houses float away when the rains came. Even my Grandfather thought it was stupid to build there, said he never could understand why man was so stupid as to build ANYTHING there.

THIS IS NOTHING NEW!

[SuperDem1776]

116. "Salt River? n/t"

[King Coal]

99. Send some of that over here to San Mateo, Phusion.

:hi:

[Withywindle]

3. Supposed to get dumped with snow in Chicago tomorrow

...which I'm frankly looking forward to. The last few winters have been suspiciously mellow.

[Pirate Smile]

51. It is snowing in Iowa now - on top of a layer of ice. Can we say

snow day?

[MARALE]

104. My kids have been out all week!

Sounds like they will be out tomorrow as well. Snowing pretty heavy right now, looks like 8 inches in our area.

[dweller]

4. Meanwhile in NC

we just had our 4th (5th) day of 70's for a high. . . in January. Predictions are for 2 more weeks of the same.

it feels like Sept/Oct except it's dark by 5pm or so.

or maybe early Spring. I expect trees to be prematurely budding very soon, and then a normal return of cold weather will kill the blossoms.


dp

[comsymp]

113. Yeah, hasn't it been nice?

Spent the weekend in a tank top and shorts, doing some work in the yard.

Almost had to turn the A/C on last night, though- SO, understandably, had put the down comforter on during the cold snap a couple weeks ago. So hot and uncomfortable that I finally ended up going to sleep in the guest room.

[Carni]

6. OK- The hell with sounding like a crackpot!

"The converging storms are being steered by high-pressure ridges off Alaska and Florida and are part of a temporary change in world climate conditions, O'Lenic said.

Over equatorial Indonesia, east of where the tsunami hit, meteorologists have identified a weather-making phenomenon called the Madden-Julian Oscillation. It's producing extra-stormy weather to its east. Similar oscillations in the north Atlantic and north Pacific are changing global weather patterns."

WTF? ACK!

Exactly what is the "Madden-Julian Oscillation"?

Maybe I just don't want to know! :(

[jimshoes]

13. Sounds like technobabble

for hang on to your ass!

[nashville_brook]

17. those things jumped out at me too,

the weather in nashville has felt like the beach in central florida for more than a week now. we've had the windows open. birds singing. wshhhh of tires on wet pavement. it's tornado weather.

man, it'd be so cool to see thunder snow!

[Stinky The Clown]

24. I had a Madden Julian Oscillation once .... I think it was at a convention

in Mexico. She charge quite a bit for it, as I recall.

[Mira]

38. Rolling on the Floor....

[HeeBGBz]

55. Yeah, I saw that and was hesitant to think what that means

Dig in deep

[Carni]

68. Maybe I can find some left over Y2K water in my basement

Kidding -- LOL

[jbnow]

83. "Madden-Julian Oscillation"

I read these and I still can't tell you just what it is, but this is what is says

This is the general description
http://www-das.uwyo.edu/~geerts/cwx/notes/chap12/mjo.html
<snip>
Structure of a Madden-Julian wave
Within the center of suppressed convection, clear skies associated with a stronger-than-normal trade wind inversion allow more shortwave radiation to reach the ocean surface (Figure 2), causing a slight SST increase as the wave travels eastward (3). The Trade winds too are stronger than normal, explaining enhanced evaporation from the sea surface.

Easterly winds (and the evaporation rate) weaken near the western edge of the suppressed convection region, and this leads to low-level moisture convergence. This triggers deep convection, leading to the other half of the OLR oscillation, i.e. the region of enhanced convection.

This is how it affects the US
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/intraseasonal/intraseasonal_faq.html
<snip>
What are the impacts of intraseasonal oscillations on the U.S.? When do they occur?

The strongest impacts of intraseasonal variability on the U.S. occur during the winter months over the western U.S. During the winter this region receives the bulk of its annual precipitation. Storms in this region can last for several days or more and are often accompanied by persistent atmospheric circulation features. Of particular concern are the extreme precipitation events which are linked to flooding. There is strong evidence for a linkage between weather and climate in this region from studies that have related the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) to regional precipitation variability. From these studies it is known that extreme precipitation events can occur at all phases of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) cycle, but the largest fraction of these events occur during La Niña episodes and during ENSO-neutral winters.

[Mist]

7. Looks like global warming is kicking in fast

That ridiculous movie starting to come true? I've got the windows open and a fan on now--in JANUARY????

[joeunderdog]

53. Nope. A "temporary change" only. Repeat--NO GLOBAL WARMING

in this country. The President Himself said so. The rest of the planet has formed a world-wide conspiracy fabricating Global Warming to bankrupt the United States in the unlikely event we have any money left after Iraq.

Now excuse me while I fill up my LandCrusher.

[NV Whino]

8. Napa Valley reporting in

Feels like Siberia here. Cold dank fog lifted to show snow on Mt. St. Helena today.

[joeunderdog]

50. Head south to Paso Robles. n/t

[kineneb]

127. Lake Co. CA -burrrrr

And to the north of Napa, it is cold and rainy, with snow on the higher hills.
Now if I could only keep the office warm...

[KalicoKitty]

10. We are supposed to get dumped on with snow tomorrow in SW Michigan

Possible sleet-I hope not!!!

[PROGRESSIVE1]

11. In Connecticut, we have had 50 degree weather for the last week.

It will snow/sleet tomorrow (high temp of 32) and then back to the 50's again on Thursday.

[KalicoKitty]

15. It was in theupper 50s on 12/31 here in SW MI!

But almost the entire month of Dec., the furnace seemed to never stop running, it was so cooooold!

[Carni]

39. I feel your pain!

I am in MI as well! :(

[Rose Siding]

12. WA State- Gorgeous, Bright and Cold today. Sno-showers forecast

[Barrett808]

16. Snowpack is down near 2001-drought levels

http://www.cityofseattle.net/light/ctracks.html

[ilovenicepeople]

71. Vancouver Island, British Columbia.

was the same as you Rose Siding:hi: ,it is currently -5 Celsius(24 for my southern buddies) I think coastal BC is in for a few weeks of arctic outflows and clear skies:scared: :scared: :scared: I'm predicting that Nanaimo will have a new record low this winter (-19(-3 Fahrenheit?)is the record low here (1986 and some other year:shrug:

[HuckleB]

18. Gorgeous, chilly, windy day here in Portland, Oregon.

We get plenty of these mixed in with the usual rain every January and February. Froze my fingers off riding the bike home today.

The NWS just pulled the prediction for snow in Portland on Friday. Looks like it won't be as cold as they thought when the wetness gets here. At least we're finally getting some snow in the Cascades.

[DS1]

19. That might explain why I was wearing a TShirt outside in Massachusetts

today. I should have frozen in place in minutes :shrug:

[cyberpj]

20. Delaware - feels more like our usual Spring weather -

40's to 50's with lots of cloudy and rainy days. The super storm is projected to go just over our heads and smack Pennsylvania and New England, giving us mostly rain for the next few days.

[yorkiemommie1]

21. raining here in SoCal n/t

[Stinky The Clown]

Its April in Maryland

Mid 60's and damp

[elehhhhna]

25. Sugar Land, TX. One inch of snow on Christmas Eve...78 for a high today.

[TexasLawyer]

45. We Made A Snowman in Houston!

Actually more like a snow midget, since we were scraping snow that had collected on cars and had to work with limited materials. But he lasted a day.

[goclark]

26. Los Angeles is cloudy with a little rain

I grew up in Baltimore.

[WildClarySage]

22. great. love this part:

"Wagner was worried about the Ohio and Tennessee River valleys as the places where the three nasty storm systems could meet, probably with snow, thunderstorms, severe ice storms and flooding. Some of those areas already are flooded."

Although, according to weather.com, the rain and warm days are expected to continue through the next two weeks here.

[KingChicken]

23. Metro detroit, mostly normal....

Two extremely cold spells, and one warm one which just lifted yesterday. So far it's been between 1 f and as high as 50 f in one week.

[kckc]

27. prepping for major ice storm

here in Kansas City area. Started freezing rain around 3pm and that is to continue, mixed with sleet, overnight, before turning to snow. A great start to the new year! :eyes:

[SheilaT]

30. Yep, freezing rain here.

All the schools are closed tomorrow, and my 17 year old son is rejoicing. My husband who works out in Lawrence is spending the night there. This morning I told him to pack an overnight bag and he's grateful I suggested it.

[tblue37]

140. I live in Lawrence, KS.

My yard and my neighbor's are filled with huge branches (really, enormous ones) that have broken off under the weight of the ice glaze. One of the branches has completely crushed her chain-link fence.

My son's friend's car was totaled by large falling branch--just before she was going to trade it in on a new car. She only has liability insurance.

One tree branch that fell to the ground just before I walked right there was so frozen it actually shattered into a zillion pieces.

Usually when we get an ice storm it's sunny the next day and the ice is melting off the trees. But we got two ice storms in a row this time, and no warming, so the ice glaze got thicker, heavier, and more damaging--and that much harder to melt off.

My best friend was planing to come in Tuesday evening from Overland Park, but I told him not to because he would be trapped here if he did. Now he is glad he listened to me!

But during the week before Christmas, when my adult son was visitng here from the depths of cold, snowy Pennsylvania, the Kansas weather was sunny and warm, mostly in the 60s.

[tapper]

28. Ice in Kansas City region

Started this afternoon, supposed to keep building up through tomorrow.

And me with a dead tree too close to the house for comfort (just died last year, and has been shedding small branches all afternoon and evening...)

And to think last week hit, it was a balmy almost 70 ...

[HeeBGBz]

56. Southern Missouri - heavy rain

For the last two days. Temps are supposed to drop and we may have to worry about icing tomorrow. Blech. Better than an oscillation, I suppose...

[celestia671]

31. Central Louisiana- 64 and cloudy

It's been in the 70's here for over a week now. We'll have two colder days (Thurs and Fri) then it will be back to the 70's. So much for winter!

[booksenkatz]

32. Scary: 100s of ROBINS spotted today in Metro Detroit!

Are they coming or going? We birders know that you DO. NOT. EVER. see robins up here at this time of year. Something is fucked up. Even my non-tinfoily hubby has the hairs on the back of his neck standing up over this.
:scared:

[pantouflard]

36. Last year there was a huge invasion of Robins here

in Northern California - on one afternoon I counted 53 in ONE of my trees.

This winter, zip. Haven't seen one. Instead we have hundreds of Pine Siskins, for some reason. ???

Have you heard about the thousands of birds that didn't nest this past summer, in the Dakotas and also the N. Atlantic? Yikes!

[underseasurveyor]

75. Here too

In north west IA. I have not ever seen robins in huge numbers together like that :wow: It really caught my attention in an unsettling way. Kinda made me look all around, gulp and say to myself, "UH OH, sumpin' is up" :scared:

Didn't see the usual numbers of water fowl passing through either, last spring or last fall.

[Habibi]

37. Have any local ornithologists weighed in yet?

That *is* scary.

[Carni]

40. I'm in your same area -- and we saw a mosquito the other night!

I believe it was Sunday night we spotted a mammoth sized mosquito flying around.

It was a little surprising to say the least!

[dweller]

62. perhaps that was a Mayfly?

just as out of season tho...

:shrug:
dp

[Carni]

67. It was one of those bugs that looks like an oversized mosquito

But I believe you are right it isn't actually a mosquito per say!

[hatrack]

111. Wingspan of about 2" - maybe a tad less?

Probably a crane fly - we get scads of those every year.

[Carni]

114. Probably close to that size

I see those things all the time in the summer and have never known what they are.

[KingChicken]

41. I keep seeing a flock of thousands of blackbirds in troy...

There are so many that they actually blacken the sky, sometimes the road slicks up from their droppings. Usually everything standing in the area is covered with the birds, its like watching Hitchcock. They keep showing up from time to time in the last month...

[amazona]

54. this is normal winter behavior where I live

Blackbirds like to gather in winter, especially Red-Wings but others can be seen also. I'm afraid I'm geographically handicapped and have no idea where Troy is. I live in SE Louisiana.

[Divernan]

42. Robins at my Pittsburgh bird feeder for past month

And I don't recall seeing them in the winter before. I'm stocked up on bird seed - in feeders for the little critters and on the ground for the mourning doves, jays, cardinals and big guys.
'

[amazona]

52. sounds like the Robins have been shortstopped

Snow and cold don't bother them. They migrate to find food and water. Like the California poster, I am not seeing Robins this year in Southeast Louisiana either. Sounds like if they are staying up north in such places as Detroit and Pittsburgh, then they are finding food. Keep those feeders up.

One time years ago Robins stayed in my yard and raised babies over the summer, I was so excited! But not many pairs will tolerate our summer climate.

on the ground for the mourning doves, jays, cardinals and big guys.

What are "Big Guys?"
Crows?

[Minstrel Boy]

44. In the past couple of weeks in Toronto we've seen flocks flying north.

My non-tinfoily wife has even pointed them out.

I don't think geese are expected to do that in December.

[Pallas180]

76. Flying North?? not making me feel good - I'm in South Florida & we

have an unusually cold winter for us so far. We ususally have one week cold...this has been december and January ---70 days even 60's and 50's at night mostly - although there have been some night time lows 40's low 50's. Hasn't been real sunny either, somewhat gray, which is also unusual here.

Last two or three days sunny though.

Now that doesn't sound like much to you, but somehow, maybe because of proximity to the ocean, cool here is really cool - so we break out
our flannels and socks and bathrobes and blankets to sleep in. I refuse to turn on the heat which is quite expensive, although I have used an electric space heater.

It's been a nice change from sweating...but it is highly unusual to be cool so long.

Wearing sweaters and jeans which would be intolerable usually.

dramatic weather changes ?

[Zenlitened]

82. Saw one flock flying north over Massachusetts this week, too.

Odd, huh?

[HeeBGBz]

59. Damn we had flocks of sparrows or small birds clustered in our trees

That was yesterday. My nephew and I were wondering about them. I thought they were acting like before a major snowfall but we were not expecting anything like that.

I have gotten a lot of strange signs from birds. Flocks of about a hundred some buzzards circling near my town before Christmas.

[Lady Effingbroke]

86. I live in the Houston area, and this evening I saw a huge flock of

blackbirds which had staked out the parking lot of the local grocery store, as well as perching along the power lines next to the store for about half a block. I guessed a couple thousand birds, easy - they were gathered in the center of the lot and had commandeered the roofs of surrounding cars. There were so many birds that people were driving around them and parking elsewhere, and the birds didn't seem the least bit fazed - they weren't budging! I know that blackbirds tend to congregate in large flocks, but this was ridiculous!

The weather has been strange here the past few weeks - it actually snowed on Christmas Day for the first time in 15 years. I got about 1 1/2 inches of snow at my place, though cities further south received more - for the first time in recorded history snow fell in the Rio Grande Valley, with some locations in the Valley receiving up to a foot of snow.

For the past several days it has been unseasonably warm and humid, even for Houston - upper 60s at night and eerily foggy, and high 70s during the day. I actually had to shut the windows!! and run the AC yesterday, as my recently-mopped floor would not dry - too warm and humid! It is now 12:30 in the morning, and the temperature is 70°.

Creepy.
:scared:

[Ariana Celeste]

121. Indiana here-

None of our geese or ducks have migrated yet, couple weeks ago when the weather was halfway normal and we had snow and the lake was frozen, they still hung out on the ice- now the lake is unfrozen and we have been having temps in the 40's and 50's. The other day my man was out on the porch shirtless, unheard of around here for January

[Habibi]

33. Wow.

And yet our local weather forecast is predicting a fairly mild next few days, here in Rochester, NY. Some chances of snow and rain, but they're rated fairly low chances.

Yikes. Makes me want to run out the grocery store and stock up!

[fudge stripe cookays]

34. Pouring rain/drizzle in Dallas...

but temperate. Mid to high 60s.

FSC

[Career Prole]

46. Fogged in west of you in Abilene.

A pea-souper!

[TOhioLiberal]

35. We've got a mixed bag coming in tonight....

...here in NW Ohio. Snow, sleet and freezing rain starting (if you believe the weather forcaster) around midnight. Yippee! <---sarcasm

[laruemtt]

43. 55 and light rain in WV at 10 p.m. on january 4 -

:wtf:

[AngryOldDem]

47. Something ain't right here

The weather here in SW Ohio has gone from about 2 feet of snow to high temps near 60 in the space of two weeks.

We are expecting flooding.

The weather seems to get weirder every year.

[stepnw1f]

48. Holy Fire and Brimstone

This would be less alarming if hadn't just watched "the Day After Tomorrow", and no I don't believe it's the "End Times". I believe man is largely to blame. Sorry for blaming the victim here, but it's true. We allow corporations to do what they do.

Is "part of a temporary change", in reference to the mild El Nino?

And finally, how far "east of where the tsunami hit" is this "Madden-Julian Oscillation"?

[karlrschneider]

49. Been raining & warm (60s) here in Okla for 3 days, another day rain expect

tomorrow. Then down to 15 degrees tomorrow night, back to 60 within 2 days. Totally crazy weather even for here, where the motto has been for decades "if you don't like the weather, wait a few minutes."

[Behind the Aegis]

87. where in OK are you?!?

It has been raining for three days here in Bartlesville!! Hell, last night, we got slammed! We are still under a flood watch and expecting more rain! You must be further south...but it is coming for you!!!!! :)

[MileHiStealth]

57. Anyone else get the feeling ...

Mother Nature is about to
bitch-slap mankind ???

[earthtime]

64. Feeling Spanked!

Mother Nature has been kindly bitch-slapping us from time to time.
NOW it's Father Times' turn to put the spank down. He's tired of waiting for everyone to wake up.

[Lorien]

69. I don't need a "feeling"

I've got knowledge. My friend who has been studying climate change in the Antarctic for the past 40 years doesn't think that we have much more time; 20-50 years at best. What he told me when I was in my early 20s has kept me from ever having children.

I've tried to warn others, but even my fellow liberals don't often rank "the environment" as a top concern. Now we'll all pay for being distracted.

[earthtime]

78. feeling the knowledge

The knowledge you speak of, i've been studying for over thirty years now. The end result is the same - we're going to get spanked because not enough people are taking any of this seriously.

[donheld]

89. So mother nature is a spanker is she?

:spank: Well welcome to DU anyway :hi:

[earthtime]

100. Thanks from Mother Nature but....

... i think we'll leave the heavy stuff to Father Time. Over time it's fair to say that many feel the weight of the overall neglect
of our sptitual connection to nature. Then we neglect or deride the science that says "wake the hell UP."

" to speak truly, few adult persons can see nature. Most persons do not see the sun. At least the have a very superficial seeing. The sun
illuminates only the eye of the man ,but shines into the eye and the heart of the child. The lover of nature is he whose inward and outward senses are still truly adjusted to each other." -
Ralph Waldo Emerson -
1832

[gristy]

60. This just in...

Winter has been cancelled. But, please, continue to shop.

Thank you, and we now return you to our regularly scheduled programming...

[dweller]

63. just how much time did we lose

due to the Earth wobble caused by the latest earthquake/tsunami?

dp

[NYC]

70. Fraction of a second.

I read that the day had been shortened by a fraction of a second. I got the feeling they were indicating there would be no real change in weather as a result. Can't remember where I read that.

[Lorien]

73. That's nothing

Such things have been happening for millions of years (Continental drift, anyone)? Climate change is causing these storms, climate change that we caused; don't let corporate owned "scientists" from the other side convince you of anything else.

[Pallas180]

80. That's right. The earth wobble. That could also be affecting weather n/t

.

[colorado_ufo]

61. Western Colorado reporting -

Last night, at 11 p.m., it was pouring rain! And we are just under 4,000 ft. elevation. Raining again today. Local paper reporting two species of hummingbirds rare to here - one possibly never seen before here - WINTERING OVER. They were captured, banded, and released. One was first seen during a snow storm, and people are keeping them alive with heated feeders. Other rare birds spotted in Denver.

On the other hand, we had day after day of subzero weather in NOVEMBER - set records daily for cold temperatures.

The weather here is screwed.

[Gman]

65. Meanwhile I worked outside New Year's Eve in shorts and no shirt

and got a bit sunburned in South Texas. Played golf New Year's day in the same clothes I would wear on the 4th of July.

[jbnow]

79. I worked outside

in short sleeves on new years eve day too and would comment to people in similar garb as they walked by about either knowing summer hadn't really ended or spring starting.

But I am in Michigan, it's not always in the 60's then. I think it should be. I love the seasons but winter should last for just 1 week.

We were warmer then my family in San Diego that day...

And it does after all rain in southern California.

[Lorien]

66. 77 and sunny in Orlando today

but since I STILL haven't fixed/ cleaned up everything after the three hurricanes that battered my property a few months ago, I'm not gloating.

[onager]

72. Los Angeles is drowning

Heard this morning that we've received more than the total YEARLY average rainfall. We already have between 15 and 16 inches, with more on the way.

We started getting heavy rain back in October, which is nearly unheard of here. Usually the Xmas season is sunny and the serious rains don't start until January or February. The last time I saw rain like this was during El Nino a few years ago.

It is all my fault, so you can send the insurance bills to my attorney, Kneel Bu$h. The temp was about 70 degrees here on Xmas Eve and Xmas Day. I was walking around muttering, "It sure would be nice to have some overcast and a little rain."

[magellan]

77. Hey, Lorien, I'm just south of you in northern Osceola Cty

Still cleaning up here, too. Let's hope hurricane season '05 doesn't shape up to be like last year. If it does we're sticking a steering wheel on our mobile home and heading...somewhere else.

[Lorien]

119. I use to live in Kissimmee

now I'm Downtown. I've been wanting to move back north for years, but these past storms have given me the kick I need to get going on that! I'm worried that if the planet continues to heat up and the oceans remain warm, we'll see more of the same next year :scared:

[magellan]

126. We're in Kissimmee :)

And DON'T SAY THAT! You tempt the fates! ;) We love it here; family is nearby in S FL and GA...and anyway, no place is safe if we all don't get global warming under control.

Have I mentioned how much I loathe BushCo?

[virgdem]

74. It's in the upper 60's here in Virginia Beach...

just thinking about going down to the beach to take a quick dip, but the water's probably colder than the air temp. This weather is nuts. Temps predicted to be in the 50's and 60's through mid month. Hello global warming!

[goforit]

81. Well I guess things would have been diferent under Al Gore.

We would have been 4 years in the better direction.

Welcome Global warming plus the inhumanity of MAN!

[alfredo]

84. In the Bluegrass region we are having rain, lots of it. Its been like

that for some time now.

[aikido15]

90. We are drowning in Missouri also and...

are supposed to get a winter mix of snow and ice tonight. I haven't heard this on the news, has anyone else?

[alfredo]

107. We have dodged the bullet this time.

all the real bad weather went north.

[xpunkisneatx]

88. Interesting...

Its been in the 50's and 60's in Lancaster, PA for the past couple weeks. We are expecting a mix of snow and rain tomorrow evening...my local news channel called it a "nuisance" storm.

But lets take a deep breath everyone. I have just finished reading Michael Crichton's new book called "State of Fear" (which I highly recommend). This book opened my eyes to some things that I never thought of before in regards to global warming and the actual effect it is having on our planet. Do you all know that in many places in the world, the glaciers are actually increasing in size rather than melting? Not to mention that the increase in carbon dioxide in our atmosphere is so minute that it can't possibly have as much of a climate effect as scientists say. Now, i am not saying the world isn't in danger of destroying itself with pollution and such, but I think the latest media craze in global warming has only created a paranoid bunch of Americans. The glaciers that are melting have been melting for 6,000 years. Its nothing new. So anyways...flame away. Its just an interesting view point on the theory.

Oh and El Nino occurs in 4 years cycles. The "big" El Nino event that brought it to attention occurred in 1998. The next is not expected until 2006. I think this weather pattern is just an anomaly and has nothing to do with the earthquake/tsunami. Weird weather happens.

[idealista]

91. Does Chrichton also think the ozone layer has nothing to do with man?

Even if the dramatic and alarming changes in the Arctic are not man-caused (and I have no way of knowing for sure myself, but tend to think we are sure doing alot of crap to this planet and its other inhabitants), even IF, then it behooves us to try as hard as we can to understand what is going on, and what measures we can take to protect ourselves.

First off, stop growing the human population! If climate change is occuring, it is likely to damage our ability to support the vast human population. Instead of 9 billion starving, cold, miserable humans, why not try to make it 5 billion with a reasonable chance of decent survival?

All I see the corporate-controlled powers that be doing is pretending nothing is happening, so they wont have to make one scintilla of change that could affect their short term profits. In the end, we all lose, and they will too. For all their wealth they are complete fools. How do they expect their children and grandchildren to survive?

We should all be working together on this. Religion just screws it up more. Alot of people think God will protect them, so they figure they can just act dumb and helpless. Then there are the bunch who want to destroy the earth faster in the delusion that some paradise awaits them. Insanity stalks the land.

[Radio_free_america]

103. Take a look at that

http://www.realclimate.org/

This website was made by worldwide scientists upset by petrol compagny propaganda and the Michael Crichton's book...

Climate change, and human activities DO HAVE effect on it.

[bobbyboucher]

105. I'll donate to your "clue" fund, do you have a link? Paypal?

Crichton is full of shit and real climatologists have documented his idiocy. He is all about selling books and there are many an idiot out there that want to believe that the weather is just the same as always, who will rush out to buy his scatology. It is not. The weather is changing, no doubt, and most likely for the worse.

[xpunkisneatx]

109. I only said it was interesting...

Never did I say that it was the truth. However, the book is full of references from climatologists and environmental researchers. The facts used in the book are real. The story is a work of fiction. Just because it goes against what the media is drilling into your head does not mean it is absolutely wrong. Many scientists who do research in the field of global warming do so for industries that expect the results to show global warming...therefore, temperatures are skewed, ice melts and everyone is happy. The fact is, no one knows if bad weather is increasing because the weather records only go back to the mid 1800's. Not nearly enough data to make a judgement on the increase in extreme weather. Open your mind and think about some things...Not everything is as it seems.

[bobbyboucher]

123. Keep dancing.

My mind is wide open. The media is not drilling anything into anyone's head as far as I can tell.

Face it, evidence is pointing toward climate change. People like you are parsing words as to why, how much, colder or warmer, etc., all the while sounding eerily similiar to Ruse Limpdick.

Ask yourself this, what would be the motivation of scientists to declare that the climate is getting warmer? What would the motivation be for a scientist to declare the previous scientists are crazy? I know what I think, what do you think?

[tblue37]

141. I am 54 years old.

I am old enough to remember when winters were cold.

But I have not worn any of my beautiful warm sweaters for at least 15-20 years, because it is just too darned warm for sweaters now, except for maybe a small handful of days in late December and early January--and often not even then.

[depakid]

117. If you believe a fiction writer

whose sole purpose is to create "controvery" to sell books, then you deserve to be deluded.

[Lorien]

120. What a crock

Crichton is a man with an agenda; keeping his * tax cut. If it takes a personal disinformation campaign to convince people ignore "they're lying eyes", you bet he'll lay it on thick.

I have a good friend who is one of the world's foremost geologists. He has worked in Antarctica for 45 years studying global climate change. Ice core samples can tell scientists much about the atmosphere over the past few thousand years. Everything he has learned and documented during his lifetime of research contradicts the statements made by that affluent fiction writer.

[NickB79]

128. What PhD does Crichton hold?

Where did he go to school to obtain his degree in climatology?

"Do you all know that in many places in the world, the glaciers are actually increasing in size rather than melting?"

Where are these growing glaciers, exactly? The ones in Alaska, Greenland, the Alps, Tibet, Antartica, Kenya, and even Glacier National Park in Montana are all melting rapidly. Even if a few glaciers are growing, the vast majority of them are shrinking substantially.

"Not to mention that the increase in carbon dioxide in our atmosphere is so minute that it can't possibly have as much of a climate effect as scientists say."

I wouldn't call a near-doubling of CO2 over the past several centuries minute by any stretch of the word. However, this one does have a bit of truth to it. CO2 increases, by themselves, cannot account for the predicted increases in global temperatures, but it is the starting point. What happens is that atmospheric CO2 increases warm the planet enough to start freeing other greenhouse gases, such as methane, from the frozen tundra and methyl hydrate deposits found in the ocean. These more potent greenhouse gases then cause even more warming, releasing more methane. This increased warming puts more water vapor into the air, itself a decent greenhouse agent. Then we can't forget that CFC's, so good at destroying ozone, are also very effective greenhouse gases.

"The glaciers that are melting have been melting for 6,000 years."

Along with the Antarctic glaciers that ice cores show never melted in any of the previous interglacial warm periods, that are now melting away. Glaciers that lasted for hundreds of thousands of years, now melting away.

[wabeewoman]

137. I'm always interested in alternate views

and I think Crichton's books have been ahead of their time-thinking of the amber DNA and the nanoprobes so I'll read it for entertainment and thought provoking ideas. That said, I think the global climate warming has gotten the 'confuse the issue' treatment from the repugs. It doesn't matter if man is causing global warming, it is happening (that much my repug brother will concede) whether because of natural occurrence or man-made and we should be doing all we can to decrease the damage man is causing.

[dbt]

93. Cloudy, soggy Arkansas reporting.

From 10 degrees and colder (Thank you, Gordon Lightfoot!) with sleet and snow just before Christmas to 65 lately. 20 out of 30 days in June cloudy and/or rainy, a large anomaly here. We ended 2004 substantially above average for rainfall. Cloudy, rainy all the time, it seems. The frogs, which normally are silent in winter, are singing in great numbers.

But when a break in the cloud cover appears, one can see the white jets still puffing out their CHEMTRAILS, (booga booga!) still laying artificial clouds up over the real ones. With an insect-like determination, they continue to spin their cocoon over Mother Earth.

Meanwhile, HAARP arrays merrily cook the ionosphere. Stay tuned; Mother is pissed.

:evilgrin:
dbt

[gulfcoastliberal]

96. 10 degrees above normal in Pensacola

The average for Jan is around 60 degrees, this last week the tems have been low to mid 70s. I have had to turn on the AC.

[Theres-a]

97. Snow day in SE Connecticut

Filled the birdfeeders,there are tons of birds today.An avid birder,I really enjoyed all the bird posts!We live on a river,and saw a great blue heron new year's day.We haven't seen it in quite awhile,is that normal?

[semillama]

102. hey bird reporters

There is a birders thread in the outdoor life group, FYI...

Also for the reports of blackbirds, are they actually blackbirds or are they starlings? I know that it can be easy to confuse the two types of birds. I've heard that actual blackbird flocks are way down, especially rusty blackbirds.

Remember that it hasn't been that harsh a winter, which effects the rate of migration, and we've had some weather patterns that can cause reverse migration, which occurs when weather patterns carry birds with them. As to flocks of geese headed north, if you have "resident" canada geese like here in Ohio, you can see them flying in any direction, simply traveling to the next feeding spot.

I will say that I was up in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan over xmas break, and it seemed normal to me - 100 inches cumulative snowfall, single-digit highs. Although the bird diversity seemed pretty low to me when I went out cruising feeders. I guess the christmas bird count was normal, though.

Here, it's raining. no snow. and they are saying 60 degree-highs next week!!! in January! I'm offended.

We had some records on our christmas bird count for Hoover Resevoir in Columbus, though - a merlin, not seen on the bird count since the 1950s, 5 bald eagles, and a screech owl were among the others. This has been a pretty good year for rarities, it seems, with a golden eagle and Prairie Falcon at the Wilds, some Northern Goshawks up north, and a Rufous Hummingbird at someone's feeder in December, which is rare but not unheard of.

[theHandpuppet]

129. The "Outdoor Life" discussion group....

... should be renamed the "Guns and Ammo" group. I went there on your suggestion and it seems that particular discussion group is overwhelmed by besotted gun lovers. Sorry, but there's more to "outdoor life" than lock n' load. There should be an outdoor life discussion group for those who'd rather observe wildlife than blow it to smithereens.

[Redstone]

118. Blue heron is fairly normal

Don't know which river you live on, but in any mild winter, a few blue herons will hang around on the Connecticut River until it freezes (saw two in Chester on New Year's Day ourselves).

They don't seem to care much about the temperature, as long as there's no ice so they can get to the fish.

PS: We feed the birds, too. Put up some houses hoping to attract some Eastern Bluebirds in the spring--they're a real riot to watch.

Redstone

[Theres-a]

130. Bluebirds

Bluebirds are my favorite!I got a hanging platform feeder and I kept putting mealworms in it.I finally got tired of watching the other birds eat them.Now I put peanuts in it for the titmice.Any suggestions?(Natchaug river here)

[Redstone]

135. re: bluebirds

The Connecticut DEP has "rough boards" and plans to make bluebird houses available sometimes. (Amazingly enough, there are a few useful things the DEP does. Don't get me started on them.) You can check their website at www.dep.state.ct.us or go to your local library, and find more info on attracting Eastern Bluebirds. Along with the house and food, you'll want to have some scrub brush nearby too.

Although from what I understand, it's still kind of random if you'll attract them, even with an optimum setting.

If you want to see some, there's usually a batch of them at the park next to the Connecticut River at the foot of Gillette Castle, next to the Hadlyme ferry landing. I've seen them there in March / April over the last few years. It's great to watch them bumbling around, kind of like a litter of puppies. If you want to get pictures of them though, bring at least a 400mm lens anda fluid-head tripod; they're very shy and move fast.

Redstone

[Massachusetts]

98. Snowin in Massachusetts

The always reliable DOPLAR radar and weather folks had been saying that, "snow wouldn't stahht till this aftaanoon".

Wrong again.:bounce:

[genieroze]

108. Where's an ark when ya need one? lol eom

[theboss]

110. I'm gonna live!!! Woo-hoo!!

I'm east of the Appalachians!!! In your face, Milwaukee!!!!

[Megahurtz]

115. So Cal has been stormy

Love the rain! We don't get enough of it. B-) It washes all of the smog out of the air.

[depakid]

122. It's not like this is something new

These weather patterns are out there every winter. Sometimes they line up and whack one area- sometimes another. Last year, Oregon and Washington got hit when the Pineapple Express overlay the Palouse (the local name for the cold, interior arctic airmass). The local "news" fools made it sound like the end of the world- as if it was some unprecidented event. It wasn't. Just a fair accumulation of snow and a typical ice storm.

This year, SoCal's getting dumped. I've lived there on and off and I can assure you, this isn't unprecidented, either- or even all that unusual. Actually, it's pretty common if you look at the records over the last 50 years.

so- sorry to burst anyone's bubble- but this ISN'T A "ONCE IN A GENERATION" ONSLAUGHT.

More like a nasty set of winter conditions that's going to converge somewhere and cause the usual regional problems associated with heavy snow and/or rain. It could happen any winter (and usually does somewhere) every year.

[bobbyboucher]

124. That ice storm last year in Portland wasn't all that

normal. It literally decimated my buddies 5 acres of older trees. Every one of them last most tops, large branches, etc. But that's normal, right?

[depakid]

125. Over the past two decades, we've had probably 7 or 8

ice storms that caused major damage. last years was a little unusual, but only because it came after a significant accumulation of snow. Most often all you get is 1/2- 3/4 of an inch of rime ice coating everything.

Back in 78-79, it got so cold and there was so much ice and snow that the Columbia river froze!

In terms of damage, the ice storm of 96 was worse. Power to many areas of the west side was down for over a week and trees and limbs littered the. We had another one the following year.

They're pretty common due to the area's geography and prevailing winds- although every year, people seem to think the one they're dealing with is the worst ever.

[0007]

132. 'Ya mean Pat Robertson and his prayers aren't working?

[bleedingheart]

134. Pittsburgh area is soaked...absolutely soaked...the rain is horrible

[spinbaby]

136. Could be worse

Could be snow.

[Fiona]

138. kick

[Old Mouse]

139. We are in the middle of dramatic climate change

Tens of thousands dead from heat across Europe.

Four times the normal number of typhoons in a season twice the normal length over the pacific rim.

Billions of dollars in damage last year in Florida, - the Caribbean devastated.

Windstorms with the power of a class 3-4 hurricane - a new phenomena to these locale - shut down Tokyo and Paris less than a month apart.

Twenty-five thousand year old glaciers GONE in less than ten years throughout Europe, Canada, and the United States.

The Arctic Circle is melting.

Permafrost is melting.

The deep ocean temperature is rising.

Ice Storms are happening at lower and lower latitudes.

Grass is growing at higher and and higher latitudes.

Penguins are washing up confused on the shores of Brazil.

Snow is falling on the United Arab Emirates.

And the "worst storm of a generation" is freezing or drowning two thirds of the nation.

Guess we better privatize social security before it's too late!
(I do so wish we had an environmentally minded president...)