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Polar Vortex Sends Life-Threatening Freeze To US
Hugh Pickens DOT Com writes "Reuters reports that the Midwestern United States is shivering through the region's lowest temperatures in twenty years as forecasters warn that life-threatening cold is heading eastward as a polar vortex of freezing Arctic weather sweeps across the United States. 'The coldest temperatures in almost two decades will spread into the northern and central U.S. today behind an arctic cold front,' says the National Weather Service. 'Combined with gusty winds, these temperatures will result in life-threatening wind chill values as low as 60 degrees below zero (Fahrenheit/minus 51 degrees Celsius).' The coldest temperature reported in the lower 48 states on Sunday was minus 40 F (-40 C) in the towns of Babbitt and Embarrass, Minnesota. Meteorologists warn that the wind-chill factor could make it feel twice as cold, causing frostbite to exposed parts of the body within minutes. Eleven people have already died in weather-related incidents in the past week, including a 71-year-old woman with Alzheimer's who wandered from her home in upstate New York and was found frozen to death only 100m away. Polar vortexes occur seasonally at the North Pole, and their formation resembles that of hurricanes in more tropical regions: fast-moving winds build up around a calm center. Unlike a hurricane, these are frigid polar winds, circling the Arctic at more than 100 miles per hour. The spinning winds typically trap this cold air in the Arctic. But the problem comes when the polar vortex weakens or splits apart, essentially flinging these cold wind patterns out of the Arctic and into our backyards. 'All the ingredients are there for a near-record or historic cold outbreak,' says meteorologist Ryan Maue. 'If you're under 40, you've not seen this stuff before.'"
OMG! We're all going to die!
All the drooling idiots who think climate change means things get uniformly wrong will immediately say "it's colder, so global climate change isn't happening".
When, in fact, these kinds of things are predicted as suddenly the weather patterns change and things move around differently.
Under 40, live in Minnesota...seen it before.
Sensational hype. Thank god for global warming.
As a resident of Michigan, I can concur that this is the worst weather I have ever seen in my life. I am under 40, but I seem to remember getting hit by something similar back in the mid 90s. I am one of 10 people in the I.T. department at work that made it in today. Considering we have a staff of around 150 people, that's a lot of folks stuck in their homes.
Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known. -Carl Sagan
If this weather report is news to you, you really do live in the basement.
*Sprays aerosal cans into the air.*
We had this last month. But the second it hits the East Coast, everyone loses their shit and the weather services start screaming about wind chill.
Crap... It was that stupid "The Day After Tomorrow" movie.
These comments are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of my employer or colleagues...
People who aren't into sensationalism call this an Alberta clipper. It happens every year.
Does whoever wrote this think that a decade is 20 years? Or am I slow this AM?
"I do not agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
Being stuck in the middle of this in northern MN, I can say it is the best thing in the world. Pulled out my study guides, fired up a 2nd monitor and went to work.
Come here often?
What the hell does "twice as cold" even mean? If it's intended to mean "double the negative distance from zero", then it's unit-dependent. The same with "half the temperature". Just give an actual temperature, instead of using vagary in an attempt to impress people with how cold it's doing to be.
This is a REAL Chicago winter... you kids have all gotten soft in the last 30 years. We used to have these all the time when I was a kid. I remember in about 1980, it had been this cold for sever days in a row so I had sever cabin fever (a condition resulting in the need to GET OUT OF THE HOUSE)... so I walked 1.2 miles in -40 temperatures to get to Montgomery Wards. (I just checked the distance using google maps) That's -40 REAL degrees (trivia: -40F == -40C), or -80F with the "Wind Chill".... I was very glad my dad came to pick me up and take me home, so I didn't need to make the return trip on foot.
Two pairs of jeans (the thick kind we used to have back then) were barely enough to keep my legs warm during that walk.
We've had these before, we'll have them again... shove off with the invented names like "Polar Vortex"... it's just WINTER. /rant
PS: Maybe it's cabin fever getting to me? ;-)
Not that long ago (meaning.. 5 to 10 years) it was quite common in my area of northern new england to have a week or more of -30 at night -10 day. We've all been spoiled a bit the past few years by only a handful of days like that. What is unsual about this year is that we had a few of those days in mid/late December instead of the more typical Feb.
Also, while those -30, -40 etc numbers sound terrible, if you dress properly its not that bad and further, they usually happen betwen 4am and 7am and quickly moderate.
But how will our metric friends know what the temperature is if we report -40F? How will they ever tell?!
Someone, please, think of the pedants!
"Our goal each year should be to increase the number of goals we set for ourselves!"
Bringing us three day old news today!
When I woke up this morning to go to work I checked the weather and this is what I saw: -14 F, -38 F Windchill in Chicago and -11 F, -39F Windchill at the South Pole. I don't think I've ever seen temps that low before. The good news is that like the temps, traffic into work was way down.
(sp)
Damn it's cold. I got into my car and the starter said "Nope... nope... nope". Worked fine when the temperature was 6 degrees, so I guess there must be a pretty sharp cutoff for the cold amps from the battery (or possibly the oil viscosity, or a combination of things I suppose).
For those of you in Metric-land, -8*F is -22*C and 6*F is -14*C and I'm sure Slashdot will probably crap itself on the degree symbol, which is why I used the asterisk instead (let's find out: Â).
Get your SuperSoaker ready and snow your friends!
I am not interested in articles about life extension advancements.
In the UK we have only had frost in the morning two or three times this winter. It's much warmer than usual.
Years from now someone will look at this event from lightyears away, and from their telescopes on their planet with a planet wide climate control system, they will see this system and observe a small planet orbiting a star much like their own, with a lot of activity in the radio spectrum being emitted. However, they will dismiss this planet as having intelligent life as the weather patterns are too sporadic to be those from a planet which harbors a civilization; for those who have not yet controlled their planet are simply animals and nothing more.
Sig: I stole this sig.
I remember as a child putting nitrogen outside to watch it turn into a liquid. Oh, what fun we had!
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
This will be used as an excuse to say that global warming isn't real by people who don't know what they are talking about.
Technoli
I love those USA weather maps that show the world ending at the northern border. Remember there is nothing north or Minnesota, it cant be possibly be colder even further north (like, say, Winnipeg) because further north does not exist!
I'm not saying Global Warming doesn't exist, it does! However given this cold spell, I fail to see how the earth is warming up.
Winter is Coming...
Thanks for explaining it.
Another Michigander (Michiganian?) here. Only one guy decided to brave his way into the office this morning. The rest of us were smart enough to fire up our remote terminal connections over our company VPN and work from home.
I live in Michigan too. Wasn't that bad unless you are driving something like a Prius (aka a sled). Most of us don't have jobs that can be done from home. I run a manufacturing plant and it's pretty hard to make parts over a VPN connection.
I was all set to at least attempt the trip in, but the 4 foot snow pile at the end of my driveway said otherwise.
So you don't own a shovel? [/teasing] I plowed my driveway 3 times yesterday and again this morning. The roads near me were reasonably clear considering. Was a little later than usual but staying home wasn't really necessary.
This ridiculous storm naming habit needs to stop! It's winter, sometimes it's cold and snowy, sometimes it's REALLY cold and snowy. I guess the next storm will be called "Winter Storm Anus Ripper" eh?
I'm finding it be more like 1.5x colder.
Stupid weathermen.
In 1996, in Minnesota, I remember quite well waking up to -45F. Further North, it got down to -60F. The governor cancelled school, and all of us kids went outside to play anyway.
If it's only getting down to -40 in the coldest cities in the continental US, there are people who can't legally drink who have seen worse. Nice sensationalism though.
In southeast PA, we already had temps lower a few days ago (4 F) than the ones claimed for us during this "perfect frost" (8 F).
Gamingmuseum.com: Give your 3D accelerator a rest.
This is all media drama. Real story here is how most people do not want to layer-up for weather like this. They will chance it wearing jeans, no hat (don't want to mess the 'do) and dressing just warm enough to make it to their car. This works great until car leaves you stranded because injectors gel'd up, or whatever. In this weather, walking a couple miles in the wind wearing only blue jeans, no hat/socks/mitts will easily f- you up. If you need to dress lightly, at least throw some appropriate gear in the trunk in case you *do* need to be out in it. Even new cars can have trouble in extreme cold.
Join the Slashcott! Feb 10 thru Feb 17!
This is weather not climate....so when the reverse happens, and the global warming alarmists sound their cry. Just tell them to stuff it.
One of the articles (the last one linked to) says, "Brutal conditions are expected in Detroit, which has had only five days in living memory when temperatures stayed below freezing all day." I find that hard to believe. I live quite a bit further south than Detroit, and we probably have at least two or three days a year where that is the case. Looking at the forecast for Detroit, I suspect it is a conversion problem. If someone in America says, "There have been only five days in living memory that the temp in Detroit has not gotten above zero", someone outside of the U.S. might read that and think zero Celcius, which is freezing, and not -18 Celcius, which is what is meant.
Proverbs 21:19
Why is this sensationalist crap here? Is Dice trying to convert /. to CNN?
News flash: It's going to be hot in the summertime, cold in the winter. Weather records are set every year.
Rubbish.
The Day after Tomorrow was released in 2004.
Please read my Canon EOS tech blog at http://www.everyothershot.com
Let me know when the REAL winter weather hits!
I am a rather old Michiganian and I remember the cold weather we had in the late 70's. (I can't remember the exact year.) At the time, I was living in the northeast part of Detroit, which at the time was a decent place to live. The temperatures were very cold and the snow was piled up to very high. At intersections, it was hard to see cross traffic because of the snow piles. The city never plowed thew side residential streets and many people couldn't get from their homes to a main street. Even though tire chains were owlawed in the city, using them was the only way to get around. The situation was like that for a few weeks!
P.S. The official term for residents of Michigan is Michiganian, the state legislature passed a resolution stating that. However, most people ignore that and continue to use Michigander. Personally, I think "Michigander" sounds like a goose!
Prius are heavier for their size and weight distribution thanks to the batteries and the transaxle (generator/motor). This added weight makes the Prius far better in the snow than the average front wheel drive vehicle.
Just an FYI...
My Prius was the best non-4x4/AWD vehicle i've driven in the snow. But no, nothing is quite as nice as 4x4
Looking at a chart for this part of the Midwest, there have been plenty of days this cold, if not significantly colder. The real problem here is crappy reporting, short memories, an ignorance of historical data, and general sensationalism. The big laugher is in last sentence of the last linked article: "Brutal conditions are expected in Detroit, which has had only five days in living memory when temperatures stayed below freezing all day." Really? No one knows the difference between 0 degree F and freezing? Between this kind of sloppy reporting and naming winter storms, the public interest in meteorology is going to taper off even further, once we all get through this and it gets back into the 40s by the end of the week. When weather news then becomes marginalized, people pay even less attention to the realities of climate change and other issues...maybe that's the point, I don't know.
The NOAA lists -27F as the lowest recorded temperature in Chicago.
They also have a list of days with a temperature below -16F and 1980 wasn't listed.
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/lot/?n=chi_temperature_records
Stay On-Topic
Global Warming alarmists who don't know what they're talking about to deride folks who do, for pointing to a weather event....just like Global Warming alarmists do EVERY SINGLE hurricane, drought, flood, tornado and earthquake.
If you click on that "If you're under 40..." link, you're taken to an article on the South African Times web site, headed by a really gnarly picture of a circular weather system. Trouble is, that's *Saturn's* north pole, not Earth's! And there's no mention of Saturn in the article - it's presented as if it's a satellite image of recent weather on Terra.
I have emailed the Times with a bit of a snottogram...
All I can say is : Cool!
What bothers me is the bullshit line about not seeing weather that cold if you're under 40. I remember 20 years ago. And while this may be about 10-20 colder than average for those in the -60s environment, I don't have to be 40 to remember the last 15-20 times wind chill exceeded -40.
Prius are heavier for their size and weight distribution thanks to the batteries and the transaxle (generator/motor). This added weight makes the Prius far better in the snow than the average front wheel drive vehicle.
A current generation Prius weighs almost exactly the same as a current generation VW Golf. Both are around 1325 kilograms. I've driven one myself in the winter weather where I live and it was pretty pathetic in the snow - although to be fair not vastly worse than a lot of other small hatchbacks with all season tires. The low rolling resistance tires were not very good - they are skinny which is actually helpful in snow but the tread and rubber compound does you no favors in icy/wet conditions. We had several Priuses at a test track I used to work at a few years ago so we got to know them pretty well. Let's just say their winter performance wasn't exactly confidence inspiring. My sister owned one for about 3-4 years and her opinion is similar to mine though she live further south where bad weather was less common. With a set of winter tires it ought to handle reasonably well compared with similar hatchbacks though no where near as well as my Xterra. :-)
The normal tires that come with a Prius are absolutely terrible in the snow. Put a couple of winter tires on it, and it does just fine, though. I wouldn't say it does better than the Subaru (which you see all over the place here), but it's good enough.
The only frustrating part is the traction control that can't be turned off combined with very high torque at low speeds. A little bit of ice under one wheel and it can be very hard to get the car to move at all.
Only if you are not prepared, we live up here in the Artic circle at -40 often.
As long as it is a Dry cold you are fine. Same as anything in life, be prepared.
Adapt or die.
Just like a religion, you can claim all you want and dispense with all dissent with a wave of a hand. The sad part is, we have had worse weather patterns before and we will have varied and unpredictable weather patterns in the future.
Guess what, it has always been this way. The idea you can suddenly declare THIS is more relevant than THAT or whatnot is just silly. Yet every exceptional weather issue suddenly is proof positive of your belief. Whats next, finding pictures of Al Gore on bread?
Do you realize how silly you come off with your "IN FACT" declaration. Its not fact, its theory and the one thing about weather we all know is, we cannot tell you whats going to happen one month to the next. If we could then someone should have known this was coming way off but guess what they did not.
I would love to see the model which shows no hurricanes smacking the US, record low tornado activity, followed with one week of exceptional cold. There won't be one, but it certainly won't stop the fanatics from declaring it.
Hell, over a hundred years ago we had sixty foot drifts in New York, can you imagine the insanity that would cause today?
* Winners compare their achievements to their goals, losers compare theirs to that of others.
In Norway, in my town, we were seven degrees from reaching -40C in April... We still send our kids outside to play in the kindergartens in that temperature. Get a grip.
Just sayin...
-- "Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?" -- Juvenal
I'm calling not just extreme, but exceptional bullshit on this one. The low rolling resistance tires make them a fucking deathtrap; I've driven my spouse's in the snow. Since it's black and is extremely inept in any type of harsh weather (yes, even in a good rainstorm it sucks) we've dubbed it 'the hockey puck".
All of my previous cars (front wheel drive Toyotas) have been better in the snow. The ONE vehicle that has been on the same level was my RWD Tacoma 4x2, but with the addition of five hundred pounds in the bed and appropriate tires, it still outclasses the Prius.
Fortunately we're ditching the Prius and adding a second Subaru (Crosstrek with CVT), so while we're going down to 35mpg I can at least be assured that she's going to be safer.
Oh there is something north of Minnesota all right. But what you need to understand is that from a moral / Scriptural perspective lots of Americans really don't like to acknowledge it. (We don't care for that country and it's policies.)
I'm not saying Global Warming doesn't exist, it does! However given this cold spell, I fail to see how the earth is warming up.
Weather != Climate. Weather is what we are experiencing right this minute. Climate is the average of weather over time. You can have a colder than usual few days and still have the average temperature higher than before. Measure the temperature every day for a year and you have climate. Compare each year with the ones before it to see if there is a trend in the temperature. All the evidence seems to indicate that average temperatures are climbing. Saying this winter storm is evidence against climate change is basically an admission that A) you don't understand what climate is and B) you don't grasp statistics.
Additionally we are talking about global changes in climate. The fact that the Midwest US is currently colder than average is just one tiny, almost insignificant, data point in the global average temperature.
Given the weight of an aircraft engine, do you fail to see how aircraft fly?
Because that's the same level of problem as you have here, dear.
Back in 88. Helluva show.
Best Slashdot Co
It's a description.
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Don't get all hot under the collar. You'll melt the ice caps faster.
"Breakin' rocks in the hot sun,
I fought the warm and warm won...
"Flyin' in just a sweet place,
Never been known to fail..."
Global waming is such a stupid word to use, because people who wants to argue with you will focus on that single word.
They can argue all they want but if the average temperatures are actually rising around the world then calling it Global Warming is 100% correct.
Global climate change is a much better wording - you can even add a small star "due to global temperature average climbing".
If the phenomenon being discussed is the fact that average global temperatures are rising over time then Global Warming is the correct terminology. Why would you not use the correct terminology. Yes it is climate change but calling it climate change when we are discussion global temperature increases is A) less clear about exactly what is happening globally and B) less useful for getting people to act since climate change isn't as scary a term to most people.
It was a joke, it's -30 out right now with the wind chill, I was just making a quick hit at global warming because -30 is colder then today last year, thats all.
Suck it up, princesses.
"Evil will always triumph over good, because good is dumb." - Dark Helmet (Spaceballs)
Because when this happens they say "With this cold weather, I can't see how we can have Global Warming".
Odd that you never notice that sort of thing.
PS show me a place where it says that the last heatwave was proof of global warming, rather than an example of what global warming means. Or were you making that up?
I have the good fortune to live on Lake Michigan in Chicago, where there are beautiful mists rising off the lake as the waves smash into the ice piles extending off the shore, splashing on them, adding layer on layer of ice. Truly a fascinating sight.
This is the kind of winter I recall as a kid, blizzard of '78 being one vivid example. Snow piled up to the roof of our garage! It got so heavy that come Spring the snow melted to reveal the yard fences all bent out of shape. But the past several winters have been so mild, barely freezing at all the past two, that today there's almost a sense of a return to normalcy.
In "get off my lawn" mode, all this weather reporting drama is just silly -- when I was younger winter was like this on a regular basis. We were heartier for it too. I had grizzly chest hairs by age six.
"Molest me not with this pocket calculator stuff."
- Deep Thought
"winter is coming"
Wow, it's -15F in WI this morning. Last week it as -9F, so the fuck what? Oh look, we're all still alive. Everyone needs to grow some balls, stop calling it life threatening, and put on a coat.
"If you're under 40, you've not seen this stuff before.'" except in 1996 so no. Oh, and it was very similar about 4 days ago too.
Also, it's more commonly called "vortices" not "vortexes."
Just to learn that there's a place called Embarrass, Minnesota.
"But the real cold was expected last night, when a "polar vortex" of freezing, dense air that has collected at the North Pole was due to reach the mainland, reinforcing already frigid conditions."
So Canada is an ocean now? It came directly across Canada.
Do not look at laser with remaining good eye.
It was also approximately the same temperature and wind speed the day after 5 days ago in my area. They must mean 40 metric years or space years or ant years or something.
I like a moisture-wicking layer, then one or more insulating layers, then a windproof layer.
Big ugly felt pack boots are nice in cold weather.
Mitts rather than gloves so your fingers can share heat.
A scarf or neckwarmer to breath through and cover as much skin as possible.
In really cold weather ski goggles are handy so your eyelashes don't freeze shut.
Repeat After Me: No single weather event can be said to be proof or refutation of Global Climate Change.
All Global Climate Change says is that as the *average* global temperature increases the traditional weather patterns we have become accustomed to will change in unpredictable ways. Some areas may see colder winters, others warmer. Some areas will see increased rain, others will become deserts. In fact some places may have hotter, drier summers yet colder wetter winters. The problems come from the fact that we've put farms and cities in certain locations with the expectation that the weather would be stable over the long term.
You can't say any one hurricane is proof of global climate change any more than you can say any one cold winter refutes global climate change.
Natural != (nontoxic || beneficial)
In the mid or early 90s a hard freeze hit Virginia. We shared an isotherm with Minessota for a couple days. The *high* temperature was 17F and the lows were -5F in town and -10F in the outlying rural areas. This was in Charlottesville, VA.. For 2 or 3 days I couldn't start the car because the battery didn't generate enough amps and/or there was too much engine friction at those temperatures. I was still a student, so it was no big deal. Having a car was kind of a luxury. I bundled up and walked to an Irish-style pub that had a fireplace. At home, there was ice on the *inside* of the windows even though the house was sufficiently heated.
...this happened then, as well. It was in the Toronto Star; august or the fall, I think.
The two vortexes over the arctic (one over Baffin Island, one over Siberia) were joined by a third one.
Owsley wrorte an essay on this that became the movie _The Day After Tommorow_ (If you know The Bear you know where to find this)
Need Mercedes parts ?
Not where I live in Alberta. Anything North of Calgary doesn't get Chinooks all the often and we are stuck in the deep freeze. We just don't whine about it like the Easterners. Yesterday morning it was -34c with a wind chill of -45c.
Winnipeg calling. Stop whining. :D
Yawn, It all feels the same to me below 0F.
-Madison, WI (-18F during commute)
Yes, I am over 40 but it's January in Minnesota. It's not that unusual.
It was -21 when I hopped on my bike to ride to work this morning. It's been about 4 years since it's been this cold but it's hardly historic.
Blizzaks FTW. ...
My old RWD BMW 325i with a skinny set of Blizzaks goes, turns, and stops like an unstoppable force on ice and snow and sun-polished packed snow
"unstoppable force on ice" is probably not the best choice of words you want to convey... LoL!
However I definitely agree with the Blizzaks.
The Audi Quattro with Blizzaks is awesome on ice and snow. Mine's an A4. It handles the slick roads much better even than all the 4WD Jeeps, SUVs and pickups around here. Even when you deliberately make it slide it is still very controllable.
What's the difference between a polar vortex and an Alberta Clipper?
I found otherwise. The darn thing's small tires (width + radius) along with the car being more "dense" cause it to kind of sink into the ice & snow at a long stop. Enough that it can't seem to pull itself out of the four mini ditches it creates. Impossible w/ traction control on. But the interior does warm up much faster than other cars ^_^.
I think it is better than a civic, but not compared to a camry, c-rv, or AWD.
A man had a wind chain for measuring the gusts blowing at his farm. At 10deg it was labeled 10kmh, 20deg was 20kmh, 30deg was 30kmh. 90 deg was labeled Saskatchewan.
I just saw a wind chill advisory for Jacksonville, Florida. Wow. Even the Los Angeles, CA area will be around 60 degrees.
I would like to thank our American cousins for taking one for the team. In Europe we now have wonderful spring weather because you guys took all the winter cold.
Thanks so much!
The governor for the state of Minnesota has closed schools for the entire state. How's that for a snow day?
All of my previous cars (front wheel drive Toyotas) have been better in the snow. The ONE vehicle that has been on the same level was my RWD Tacoma 4x2, but with the addition of five hundred pounds in the bed and appropriate tires, it still outclasses the Prius.
A vehicle prepped for winter driving does better than a vehicle that has not been prepped. kthx
Until the snow get over 4 inches deep, then you may have to raise the tire pressure to get the ice skate effect. You know of snow over certain limits? But then the old gas hog will just drive over your ruts to pick you up, and haul you back to a place of traction again, won't it. Just be sure to tip the driver of the gas hog to get their attention next time.
They generated this whole vortex thing using HAARP in an effort to get Snowden over in Russia. Hey, 'off by one hemisphere' is good enough for government work!
This posting is provided 'AS IS' without warranty of any kind, implied or otherwise.
The Prius is not a heavy car by any stretch of the imagination. At roughly 2900lbs it's right in line with the vast majority of small cars and, in fact, is lighter than many. I also don't think it's weight distribution is particular unusual as it's very much in-line with what you'd find on most front-engined FWD cars.
One advantage it does have is that because of the need for low rolling resistance, it rides on narrower tires than you'd find on most cars. Narrow tires, typically, but not always, offer better snow performance. Things like traction control and tread pattern also have a significant impact.
I'm going to assume you're not riding around on winter tires because otherwise this whole discussion would become moot. Winter tires improve snow traction with any car. Otherwise, it may well be that Toyota has selected all seasons for the Prius that happen to be particularly good on snow.
Weather is chaotic system dominated by hot and cold air masses, like all matter air wants to be at the lowest energy state possible (cooler is less energy). It is hard to predict precisely, but relatively easy to understand if you understand some basic physics about the effects of temperature on matter.
Trapping more energy from the sun by increasing greenhouse gases in the atmosphere (ever been in a greenhouse? notice how despite being insulated with only glass it can be quite a bit warmer inside? The suns energy is being retained) leads to more hot air in the system or more "low pressure" fronts (hot air is less dense, lighter -> low pressure).
Air wants to shed that energy, the more energy trapped the bigger the weather events required to shed that energy = bigger weather fronts = more extreme weather events. Higher highs, lower lows, bigger storms, more storms.
Weather is also very dependant on geography, mountains block weather (elevation changes air pressure), land causes storms to loose energy, and water works like a heat/cold sink.
The cold air on top of the north pole is more dense and heavier, it finally spilled down and is coming down... So you get a lot of cold for all the mild weather you had so far this winter.
Get used to "extreme" weather systems, as we increase all that energy we trap, we are going to see more and colder cold snaps in spring, the occasional blast of real cold in winter, chinooks in winter, and sweltering hot heat waves in summer.
Its going to be very "fun" to be a farmer in the next 50 years.
Isn't the High Lord Bonobo supposed to be able to stop all this? How come the mighty US armed forces and drones and stuff have not bombed this vortex into submission? Surprising? I suppose this weather terrorism thing has won.
Geeks are so full of shit that "beating the crap out of them" takes a whole new meaning.
'If you're under 40, you've not seen this stuff before.'
I'm 43, and I've seen it. I was on top of Mt. Lincoln in -50 degree wind chill in late November more than a decade ago. There was a tiny gap between my facemask and my ski googles, and I got 2nd-3rd degree frostbite on a small part of the skin on my cheekbone in less than an hour. I still have some nerve damage there.
The danger to someone who isn't prepared is very real.
Long live the Speaker Bracelet
Rolo D. Monkey
It's all from global weirding.
Yes, and your gas mileage will go down because of the cold, inability of your batteries to store power. So you might as well drive that 4x4, and it'll be safer. Whats the chance of gasoline freezing/batteries freezing and becoming unusable? I think your almost there!
This added weight makes the Prius far better in the snow than the average front wheel drive vehicle.
I'm always amused to see people in overweight monstrosities go sliding through intersections. "Heavier" does not mean "better" where snow is involved.
better call the global warming police, they might be concerned
In the early 70's, we had DAYS where it was below zero. Early 80's we had a snap like this and we are having another one...big deal. It's winter. Sometimes it's cold, sometimes it's mild. It is a little thing called A CYCLE.
Anyone notice the final linked (timeslive) article used a NASA Cassini image of Saturn's north polar vortex? They accredited NASA but didn't acknowledge the image was from another planet. I'm guessing they googled "polar vortex" and snagged a cool looking image not even knowing it was from Saturn.
You young whippersnappers don't know cold.
Why, I remember back when I was young and my dad would send me outside for a pail of air. Now THAT was cold!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E87raPj9m0A
Units don't even matter; "twice as cold" doesn't work in any Temperature units because coldness is not really a thing but a lack of something. Twice as warm makes sense, at least in Kelvin, even half as warm makese sense. Twice as cold just doesn't work as a Temperature.
Does it work as a windchill? Yes but it can't be what they meant either. If we take windchill to be a heat flux from a human body, which is at 98.7 F, then the flux would be proportional to the difference between 98.7 F and the environmental temperature. "Twice as cold as -10 F" would be -108.7 F. Is that what they meant? No.
... The Day After Tomorrow
you don't just shake it when you're done. you have to SNAPOFF the piss after it freezes in mid-air. I tried to explain to the officer it was for a coupledrug tests later in the day, and i had several lined up. nah, they won't have to nuke it.just drop off the sample in the cup. or ziplock bags, for those that know the drill.now don't get all artistic withyour output; they might think you do this for a living.
WARNING: Smartphones have side effects--most of them undocumented.
is not whether climate will change, it is the changes in available natural resources that go with it. When that Roman warm period ended about 400AD it pushed the north men south, and set the Vikings to sea because farming slowly became unproductive.
Xhamster Xhamster Xhamster
Polar Vortex?!?
More Newspeak, from algore and co., designed to frighten the rubes?
Minnesnowta resident here and yes the Prius is surprisingly great in the snow! It's just the ground clearance that we have trouble with in the snow, or when we off-roads in it in corn fields when hunting. If only they made a lift kit for the Prius...
Climate change has been happening since the formation of the planet. It's not new or unusual...despite what Al Gore's bank account is trying to tell you.
Ops, I shuld have usd the prevuwe but in.
Northern Illinois. Stayed home yesterday, didn't even want to hear what sad noise my poor 2001 Suzuki Vitara engine would make. It was -18 again this morning, had to go to work no matter what and engine wouldn't start until Noon when temps finally went up to -2. Hoping it starts tonight when I head home, got parts coming in for a new computer build.
January 19,1994 saw temps of around -21 F here in My city in Pa. I say around, because I measured -23 F at my house.
February 4, 1996 was -3 F
January 18, 1997 was -2 F
February 5, 2007 was likewise -2 F
January 17, 2009 was -4 F
January 24, 2011 was - 5 F
So while indeed cold this morning, it is well within expectations for winter weather. Tomorrow will be mid 20's, by Friday mid 30's, and Mid 40s and rain over the weekend.
You would almost think it was winter or something.
The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
Global Warming will save us all
Since you are still arguing for calling it global warming, you will have lost all arguments. Warming has a very specific meaning for Joe Average, remember he is not as smart as you (in this area), so when you go off in pedantic mode, you have lost.
We are shivering here too... every time we open the fridge to take the beer out.
Well, I'm sorry for you guys, but I am wishing for a few more days of warm weather here, I plan to run a 30K trail in a few weeks and I want the weather to stay as lovely as it is now...so sorry that you guys in the US are freezing your balls off.
Sorry that you have to endure "global cooling" over there.
-- 29A the number of the Beast
Our Prius (2002 1st gen), we mostly went with Michelin Hydroedge (now discontinued). Great tires. A little loss of MPG as they are not the recommended Low Rolling Resistance (LRR).
We recently got new tires on our minivan, which was atrocious in the snow (or rain). It is like night and day to be honest. Now, I went down a road easier while watching a couple of cars, including a JEEP Cherokee, spin out of control.
So tires DO play a huge role.
You DON'T NEED to use LRR tires on a Prius. You'll take 1-2 mpg hit on performance. But we used Michelin Hydroedge. Great tires, shame they discontinued them.
Isn't the prius battery pack located towards the rear of the car, and the car is front wheel drive? I have a hard time seeing a prius driving better in the snow than other front wheel drive cars with their engines in the front (weight).
I'm mainly skeptical because here in Portland, I see a lot of stuck Prius cars each winter.
I was talking about within human history. The medieval warm period was a few hundred years ago, not millions of years ago.
The scientific documentation and research confirms the that from around 1000-1200 pretty much EVERYWHERE experienced warming. Americas, Europe, China, Japan, Antarctica, etc.
And historical records match that. Which are far far more valuable than adjusted hypothesized measurements of oyster growth. Relying on mollusk growth patterns over thousands of years has a significant failing. It doesn't account for other secondary factors that could have affected growth. Simply put, it could of been warmer, but a glacier dam releasing a crapload of fresh water may have imped growth.
And even the IPCC admitting to how much guesswork (and bias) went into their trying to correlate data from different measurements be it ice core samples, tree rings, etc.
When you start touting absolutes, and expressing the world is doomed, and we need a global tax, and carbon credits, and we have to, have to, have to, do this....
And your models are wrong. And your models are based on your studies. You and your studies are both wrong.
Global warming causes hard winter! Film at 11! Yes, it's time for that abortion "The Day After Tomorrow"!
I mean, seriously, have you fucking idiots not heard yourselves??
Excessive warming contributes to desertification. I've seen the news, Niagara Falls is fucking FROZEN! For only the second time in THIRTY FIVE YEARS!
Computer models based on biased data is SO trumped by the actual physical *evidence* it's not fucking funny anymore.
Political debates have me rolling my eyes so much I think I got optical whiplash. I should sue. - Foamy The Squirrel
Weather, Politics, Government, Socialism. You only need go back one generation, let alone two or three, to see mistakes repeated, history rewritten to suit the currant trends and we do it over and over. If you are over 40, you look at the forecasts and say, so what. This is nothing new, yet weather stations, government, and people are crying catastrophe is upon us. Dress for the weather, Prep your car and home for winter as we did 40 years ago. The calm, moderate weather we've experienced for not just the last 40 years, it includes that terrible weather as far back as a century, or a bit more is not normal. Even the "Global warming” scientists warned that with the warming trend, we'd see much wider swings in temperature with records being set for hot and cold temps. We were warned, yet the deniers point to a year or two of frigid weather as proof that AGW doesn't exist, while the proponents point to the hot spells as proof it does exist. Both ignore the opposite extremes elsewhere on the globe. If we haven't seen something for 10 years, it must be abnormal. Look at history! It's why they teach it. It's why modern history is being rewritten. It's our recent weather that's not normal, Socialism was proven not to work, The first colony in America was based on communism and half the colony starved until they went to capitalism. We Liberated Millions in WWII, yet history is now ignoring the good that was done. They dwell on the hundreds of thousands killed with the atomic weapons, Not the many times that killed with the fire bombings og Dresden and Tokyo, not the millions saved (civilian and military) because we didn't have invade Japan. We have gone to extremes with political correctness allowing Islamic Sharia law in locals and teaching that it's extremists, not moderates causing the terrorism, yet they teach convert or die and to them the moderates are in the same category as us. The belief that the Israelis were not slaughtered by the millions in the Holocaust is being spread. I had a cousin that was there. It did happen. It's not just the weather that is misrepresented, It's any history that doesn't fit our modern ideals. Like The Muslims teaching/indoctrinating the very young with repetition, when our generations are raise to think the current situation, or beliefs are normal, it only takes a generation to forget reality be it weather, religion, or politics.
Expect it to get more different as the magnetic polls slowly flip.