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To end the work week, I thought you might enjoy a look at some clouds that are almost “out of this world”! Lenticular clouds are named for their distinctive lens shape, which some people think make them look like flying saucers. Lenticular clouds are formed by condensed water vapor in air that is flowing smoothly…
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In honor of Astronaut Scott Kelly’s return to Earth after almost a year in the International Space Station, I thought you might enjoy this selection of images of our planet that he took during his stay in space. Several of them include big weather events. You can see them at https://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-most-breathtaking-photos-from-nasa-astronaut-scott-kellys-year-in-space-2016-02-26?link=MW_home_latest_news. Welcome home!
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One of the ways that humans alter climate is by changing the land use of a particular region, leading to changes in the energy balance locally. Some climatologists believe that the Southeast has lagged other parts of the country in warming due to the change from widespread bare ground crops like cotton early in the…
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This year is leap year, which means you will probably be reading this on February 29. This date comes around every four years in general, although we did not have one in 2000. The need for a leap year is due to the timing of the earth’s orbit around the sun. Here are some resources…
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The Great Falls Tribune reported this week on the results of a new study released by the Montana Farmers Union on how changing climate will affect ranching and farming in Montana in the coming years. You can read the article here or the full report here. The article says “The report projects a 20 percent drop in…
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Even though climatologists know the general patterns for how El Niño affects climate around the world, each event is unique and the observed patterns don’t always match what we expect. The really warm December across the eastern US this year is an example of how different things can be from the “expected” climate. The latest…
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Minnesota Public Radio reported this week that the Arctic sea ice reached a new record low for extent in winter on February 17. January temperatures ran 23 degrees warmer than average in parts of the Arctic. That has resulted in the lowest percentage of ice cover on record since satellites began keeping record in 1979. You…