Climate science
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While climatologists celebrated the return to autumn several weeks ago, the rest of the world is celebrating the start of astronomical fall today at 10:21 am EDT. Here are some stories about the autumnal equinox and the migration of birds. Enjoy those cooler temperatures soon! EarthSky: All you need to know about the September equinox…
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The Western Regional Climate Center provided a map this morning of the maximum temperature (at least so far) for 2016 across the US. Since we’re past the date of most areas’ maximum temperature for the year, this is likely to be close to the map for the entire year. This year, a lot of the…
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Do you get worried when you are flying and the airplane encounters some turbulence? Do you tighten your seatbelt and say a little prayer as the bumps get bigger? While very few planes crash because of in-flight turbulence, it sure can make flying uncomfortable. Unfortunately, some recent research indicates that as the atmosphere warms up,…
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A USA Today story reported here by KARE11.com notes two recent records for lightning bolts were made by the World Meteorological Organization. In the story it states “Scientists identified all-time world records for both the longest lightning bolt — nearly 200 miles — and the world’s longest-duration lightning flash — over 7 seconds — according to a report released Thursday.…
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Tropical Storm Julia pulled together late last night over land on the northeast coast of Florida and has been tracking along the coast to the north today. Heavy rain has been observed to the north of the storm and mostly to the east of the circulation, although there has been a lot right along the…
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A lot of my climatologist and meteorologist friends have been posting links to a recent cartoon from XKCD.com showing a loooooong timeline of global temperature compared to the development of civilization that puts the recent increases in global temperature into context. IFLScience.com has posted the timeline along with a little explanation of what it shows.…
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High above the surface near the equator is a band of strong winds which alternate between westerly and easterly flow on a regular cycle. Surprisingly, the cycle is not tied to the calendar year but switches between phases in a 28-month period. I’ve put a graph of the oscillation, which is called the Quasi-Biennial Oscillation…