History
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Satellite data is the single most important source of weather data used to input into weather forecast models, providing millions of points of information that help to make forecasts accurate. And yet there was a time when there was no man-made satellite looking down on the earth. April 1, 1960 was the first date that…
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Slate magazine published some historical frost maps from 1916 which show the spring and fall frost dates for the US based on the historical climate record from early in the century. You can see the article and copies of the maps at https://www.slate.com/blogs/the_vault/2016/03/28/history_of_climate_change_as_seen_in_frost_maps_from_1916.html. I’ve put a zoomed in version of the spring frost map below. Next…
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Today marks the 80th anniversary of the Tupelo-Gainesville tornado outbreak which brought 12 strong tornadoes to the Southeastern United States on April 5-6, 1936. Approximately 454 people were killed in the storms, most by two tornadoes, which makes this the second deadliest outbreak in US history. Wikipedia also notes that severe flash floods in the…
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Today marks the 42nd anniversary of the Super Outbreak of tornadoes, which hit a wide area of the eastern US stretching from Alabama to Michigan. Until 2011’s massive outbreak, it was the largest outbreak of tornadoes in one event on record, with 148 reported tornadoes, 319 deaths, 5484 injuries, and $3.5 billion in damage. I…
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LiveScience posted an interesting story and video today on how changes in climate have affected past civilizations. The 3-minute video focuses on the impacts of the Little Ice Age, a time when the earth was about 1 degree F colder than present due to decreased solar radiation and higher volcanic activity. Some civilizations adapted easily…
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The State Climate Office of North Carolina put out a blog post today with a retrospective of the very snowy month of March 1960. Three Wednesdays in a row received snow in that month due to the influence of a negative North Atlantic Oscillation. The result was the coldest March on record. “By the end…
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Today is the anniversary of the tornado that hit Atlanta, Georgia, on March 14, 2008. It made a big impression on me because it is one of the few tornadoes I have seen directly impacting my area (I don’t storm chase, I let the tornadoes come to me). My husband (also a meteorologist), son and…