Pam Knox

  • Cold start to November, and more to come

    The first few days of November have been more than nine degrees below average for most of the Southeast.  You can visualize this data for yourself (sample current map shown below) at the High Plains Climate Center’s current climate summary maps website: https://www.hprcc.unl.edu/maps/current/index.php?action=update_region&region=US Unfortunately for those who like warm weather, these cold conditions are expected to…

    Posted in: , , ,
  • Two stories in news feeds this morning illustrate why climatologists look at weather patterns in other parts of the world to tell us what might be happening in the Southeast. The Capital Weather Gang posted a story about how the unprecedented warm water off the West Coast of the US may help “lock in” the…

    Posted in:
  • A new summary report issued by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was issued earlier this week and has generated a lot of activity on public blogs and in the media.  You can read the original report here.  It’s a lot to wade through, though, so you might prefer to start with some articles on…

    Posted in:
  • Early season snowstorm sets records

    The unusual early-season snowstorm that hit the East Coast this past weekend was the result of an upper-level low pressure area which rotated around a deep dip in the polar jet stream, bringing extremely cold air aloft to the region.  The result of this cold air high in the atmosphere was to cause precipitation to…

    Posted in: ,
  • You can find the climate summaries for October 2014 for Florida and North Carolina at the links below.  The Georgia summary was posted yesterday on this blog. Florida  https://climatecenter.fsu.edu/products-services/summaries/climate-summary-for-florida-october-2014 North Carolina   https://nc-climate.ncsu.edu/climateblog?id=103&h=5666e5c1

    Posted in:
  • An article yesterday in The Week shows that bad weather is good for incumbents on Election Day.  This may be due to the strong desire of invested citizens to participate in governmental choice compared to what you might call “fair weather” voters who are more likely to be discouraged from voting if the weather is…

    Posted in: ,
  • The state was split into “haves” and “have nots” in October as precipitation was plentiful in western Georgia but sorely lacking in the east.  Temperatures across the state were generally above normal and many record highs were broken or tied. In Atlanta, the monthly average temperature was 66.2 degrees F (2.9 degrees above normal), in…

    Posted in: ,