Pam Knox
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The blog will be shutting down for about a week so that we can take the time to relax and celebrate with friends and families. I want you to know how much I appreciate your continued interest in these stories and hope that you find meaning in the season and enjoy whatever weather you get.…
Posted in: About this blog -
NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center issued their latest ENSO discussion earlier this week. In the discussion, they discussed the current weak La Nina that is present in the eastern Pacific Ocean and the recent observations of changing tropical winds that indicate the La Nina may disappear quite soon. The latest prediction is that the transition has…
Posted in: El Nino and La Nina -
This year, Christmas is shaping up to be one of the warmest on record across a large part of the United States, although here in the Southeast we may miss setting a new record by a few degrees. Still, I am planning on raking my yard on Christmas Eve in shorts and a T-shirt this…
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Desertification in Mongolia is causing major problems with dust in China’s northern capital, Beijing. The Chinese attribute the degradation in Mongolia’s lands to overuse of herding and other agriculture and mining along with a climate that is getting warmer and drier. But the demand for what Mongolia produces by China is encouraging this overuse of…
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Earlier this week, NOAA released an album of interesting images seen from their satellites over the past year. It includes dust storms, hurricanes, atmospheric rivers, and the eruptions of Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano. You can view the photos and videos at https://www.nesdis.noaa.gov/news/2025-the-view-noaa-satellites.
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As we roll up to Christmas later this week, we can expect conditions that are not much like the average December 25 weather. A large area of high pressure is expected to stall in the middle of the Lower 48 states, keeping precipitation chances near zero and raising temperatures to near record-setting levels. Here in…
Posted in: Climate outlooks -
Even though climatological winter has already begun as of December 1, today marks the start of astronomical winter based on the earth’s position relative to the sun. You can watch an interesting video about this year’s winter solstice at EarthSky at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTy2oDxGAuM. From here on, the days begin to get longer again and the sun…