250 Record Highs Set Wednesday, More to Come Today

[dixiegrrrrl]

Hundreds of record high temperatures were set across the U.S. on Wednesday, as the heat continues through the weekend. Temperatures are running 20-30 degrees above average in the north central states.
http://www.wunderground.com/

How about your area? Feeling a wee bit of "climate change" ?

Here in SW Ala, and indeed thru out the South, we are having early summer weather, not early spring weather, which means our cool weather vegies ( snow peas, lettuce, etc) will be bolting instead of growing.

[nadinbrzezinski]

1. Cool! Oh wait

This continues denial of the change will completely disapear before my expected five years. Can we the people force policy change?

[Junkdrawer]

2. My "crazy" theory....

Greenhouse Gasses + Solar Normal = Record Warming Each Year (Say 2004 - 2008)

Greenhouse Gasses + Record Solar Minimum = You see, it's bad, but not so bad (Say 2009 - 2011)

Greenhouse Gasses + Solar Maximum = Look out, tipping point for tundra methane releases

The years I cite may be a bit off, but you get my point. You don't know how much I hope I'm wrong.

[The Doctor.]

4. I hop you're wrong too.

We're looking at the real possibility of turning the Earth into Venus. It's not high, but it should have our leaders scared to death.

I just wish those of us that knew what was happening had the option of going off-planet and leaving the fucking morons to their own devices.

[dixiegrrrrl]

13. It really brought home to me what just this month can do to crops.

It is too warm to plant the cool crops, but maybe I can risk it and hope for a cool down.
this warmth is making the fruit crops bud out, so any sharp freeze ( more likely a bit further north) will kill off the year's fruit production.
Assuming, because of our very mild winter here, that we going to continue into a summer ahead of schedule,
it will be blisteringly hot by June, which means
A. increased hurricane chance
B. drought for the cotton and other local crops.

[Uncle Joe]

30. Apparently, Greenhouse Gases have greater significance than recent Solar output.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/101477706

"Researchers have updated HadCRUT - one of the main global temperate records, which dates back to 1850.

One of the main changes is the inclusion of more data from the Arctic region, which has experienced one of the greatest levels of warming.

The amendments do not change the long-term trend, but the data now lists 2010, rather than 1998, as the warmest year on record."

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. I just came in from watering my trees and shrubs

because it's been so warm and dry. I am in Minnesota. I have never before in my life had to water my garden in March - and I'm old. It will be in the 70s for the next four days. The 70s. In March. In freaking Minnesota. It's still technically winter and we are getting temperatures that we didn't used to see until May. I could start growing lettuce right now. Should go out and plant some, I guess.

You know what's interesting? Last winter, when we got a whole buttload of snow, the wingnuts were going on about how this was proof global warming was a myth. This year? ..... Crickets. And I expect I'll start hearing those pretty soon, too. I did see some kind of bug flying around yesterday. That's strange, too.

[Pathwalker]

5. I killed a mosquito today! In Michigan. In March.

Oh, and they're saying no cool down...for the rest of the month. Maybe I should go ahead and put up my greenhouse, now.

[stufl]

14. My dog was chasing a bumblebee today...in PA. nt

[Odin2005]

9. I saw a moth today here in Fargo.

[rug]

18. Now it's getting serious.

[Brickbat]

12. Saw a mosquito Up North here today. Still some snow, but...yuck.

[starroute]

27. We had a butterfly fluttering around our front yard here in Pennsylvania

There are violets along the driveway. The grass is starting to green up.

Our neighbor's flowering fruit tree (a cherry I think) is out.

There used to be years when it would be April 15 and nothing would be growing.

[RebelOne]

6. Here in Georgia, just northwest of Atlanta,

the high was 82 this afternoon. I had to turn my A/C on. I normally do not use the A/C until at least the first week of June. I hate, hate, hate summer temperatures. Summer will be here all too soon, but Mother Nature is rushing it.

[brooklynite]

7. Oh, thought you were talking about Apple Stock and the Market gains...

(apple touched $600 today)

[Odin2005]

8. Gonna be 72F in Fargo on Friday!

OK, who fucked up the thermostat???

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

11. Gonna be 74F in Minneapolis.

Too weird.

[MNBrewer]

22. Indeed!

Hope we get some rain, or we could be in for a long, hot, dry summer.

[Science Trumps All]

28. Same in North Oaks

BTW, Andy Schmookler liked your comment and is wondering who you are. You up to offering occasional advice to his campaign?
Pete, ARHS '63 [e-mail]

[Arkansas Granny]

10. After a record breaking hot summer last year and an extremely mild winter,

it has been a while since I've heard a single climate change denier that I know utter those idiotic words, "Where's your global warming, now?". I won't say that they now believe, but they aren't ridiculing these days.

[mathematic]

15. Come on, you can't pick and choose your weather events

I realize that the OP is just a harmless "how about this crazy weather" post and, indeed, the weather is a bit crazy. Nevertheless, I think the following needs to be said just to keep perspective.

Unusually high temperatures in North America are being offset by unusually low temperatures in Europe and Asia. January and February global temps were the lowest since '08. This is due to La Nina. Global temperatures are expected to increase towards its recent averages as La Nina subsides.

I'll also remark that predicted warming in the current century is in the 5 degree F range, so suggestions that our current temperatures represent a new normal are misplaced (and decades early).

Now I know the typical response to a post like this: "It's 'climate change' that means anything is possible, including boiling unicorns and blizzards of frozen chlorine!" Let's stick with the facts and the models please. I know that increased precipitation and increased frequency of severe storms are both predicted. I don't know of any studies predicting the type of increased temperature variance required to make 20-30 degree above average* heat waves common.

*"Average" is ambiguous... the observation that we'll see many many more days above an average from the middle decades of last century isn't particularly useful when analyzing the variance of temperatures (the same measure also implies that we'll see fewer "cold snaps" relative to last century's temperatures).

Overall, the fact that there is a heat wave, in march, in north america is no more proof of global warming than the fact that there is a cold snap in europe and asia is proof of global cooling. And it's not proof of climate "change" because this sort of thing happens all the time!

Regardless, there's no need to prove global warming by pointing to extreme weather events. We actually measure global temperatures and they're increasing. Apart from the purity-of-essence type deniers, the public debate has shifted to whether this warming is caused by human activity.

Again, I don't mean to sunshine on anybody's parade. I just mean to add a little context.

For data see: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/

[joshcryer]

16. The record highs outpace the record lows, that is statistically significant.

https://www2.ucar.edu/atmosnews/news/1036/record-high-temperatures-far-outpace-record-lows-across-us

This is a clear indication that we are experiencing climate change.

Someone whose nick is mathematic should know that.

[mathematic]

20. A better indication is the actual measured global temperatures

Someone whose nick is joshcryer should know that. Or, at least, someone that read my freakin' post.

[joshcryer]

26. Yes, but record highs and record lows are remembered by the people experiencing them.

You could have a thousand consecutive days where the temperature rose one thousandth of a degree, and no one would notice at the end of those days that there was a change.

The more people are exposed to the record highs, the more they will recognize that there is a problem.

And as an average it still is relevant, but it must be spread out over time.

[nadinbrzezinski]

17. I think it is like 98 percent of scientists that do agree

that global climate is changing and global ocean water and atmospheric temps are going up due to human activity. That is not even a debate anymore either. Well except in some quarters in the US that is.

These weather events on their own are nothing. The trend of more violent weather events is actually predicted by the science, as well as the frequency of La Nina Events.

Oh and fyi global warning is no longer the term used, but climate change. This is far more accurate. It's been in use OUTSIDE the US for at least five years. It is high time we catch up.

[mathematic]

23. Just to clarify

I used the phrases "public debate" and "global warming" on purpose.

"Public debate" because that's exactly what's going on. Scientists are in near complete agreement on AGW but sadly they're not the general public. In particular, about half of congress disagrees with AGW.

I used "global warming" to refer specifically to temperature phenomena rather than climate change, which includes, as we both noted, things other than temperature. Taking a step back, global warming is both a specific part of climate change as well as the mechanism of climate change. As such, I see no problem of using the phrase "global warming" when referring to global temperature or when referring to how humans are causing climate change (i.e. through global warming).

[nadinbrzezinski]

24. FYI our congress critters are ignorant fools

and proud of it.

[LongTomH]

34. Congress is mostly owned and operated by 'Big Carbon'

Big oil, big coal, big gas! They're paid to be ignorant!

[Spider Jerusalem]

32. Can we say "selective interpretation"?

"324th consecutive month of temperatures above the long term average". And "global warming" and "climate change" are not the same thing; nor does a rise in average global temperature of 2C mean temperature extremes won't rise by more than 2C in any given location.

[bluedigger]

19. I'm ready to go topless.

The Jeep, pervs.

[MNBrewer]

21. Record high highs, record high lows, lakes ice free 2 weeks earlier than usual.

not complaining here YET... although complaining about the weather is pretty much the state past-time here in MN.

[nadinbrzezinski]

25. Not just in MN

[hifiguy]

29. Upper 60s to mid-70s here in Minneapolis

75 on St Patrick's day. In Minneapolis, Minnesota. These are normal temperatures for mid-May!

[dixiegrrrrl]

31. I checked out current temps against the "normal" temp records...

We are at 80 plus degrees, with low 60's at night...
that is a difference of 20 degrees for "normal" temps.

And the long range ( 2-3 week) forecast is for more of the same, which means we will not have a spring,
we will go straight into summer.
This has happened before, in 1996, no spring, temps took off in March and we had a drought.
I am cursing tho, since spring and fall are the nicest seasons down here.
This fall was glorious, but warm-ish. And only a few days of freezing nights.

[piratefish08]

33. 82 today in northern VT. i was moving boxes to another house in a t-shirt and sandals.

it's nuckin futs.

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

35. It snowed last night and more snow/rain tomorrow.

Spring is happening somewhere but not in the South, North Central, or, up here in the PNW.

[raouldukelives]

36. Everyone chill! The invisible hand's got this. nt