Global Warming Update: Hell Freezes Over!

[Seth]

Environment
These Pictures Show Something Locals Say Hasn’t Happened in More Than 100 Years
Dec. 13, 2013 10:30am Erica Ritz


A rare snowstorm is pounding the Middle East, dropping snow on Cairo for what locals say is the first time in more than 100 years.

The exact number of years since it last snowed in Cairo has not yet been confirmed, but it is agreed that the event is extremely rare. TheBlaze reached out to the International Activities Office of the National Weather Service, but did not receive an immediate response.

But according to The Weather Channel, “given its desert climate, precipitation of any kind is a rarity in Cairo. The city averages less than an inch of rain each year.”

Locals were understandably shocked and excited by the frosty development, and took to social media in droves to share the news:
Snow Pounds the Middle East, Dropping First Snowfall on Cairo in Decades

Image source: Twitter/@AmrElGabry
Snow Pounds the Middle East, Dropping First Snowfall on Cairo in Decades

Image source: Twitter/@MihooSalem
Snow Pounds the Middle East, Dropping First Snowfall on Cairo in Decades

Image source: Twitter/@TheBigPharaoh
Snow Pounds the Middle East, Dropping First Snowfall on Cairo in Decades

Image source: Twitter/@RanyaKhalifa
Snow Pounds the Middle East, Dropping First Snowfall on Cairo in Decades

Image source: Twitter/@RADIORMT

Some are also posting humorous comments about the significance of the event:
Everyone is charmed by the snow in Cairo today, but when the Nile turns to blood tomorrow, and the frogs arrive on Sunday, the fun's over.
Snow Pounds the Middle East, Dropping First Snowfall on Cairo in Decadesabout 6 hours ago via webReplyRetweetFavorite
Snow Pounds the Middle East, Dropping First Snowfall on Cairo in Decades
@abumuqawama
Andrew Exum
Snow Pounds the Middle East, Dropping First Snowfall on Cairo in Decades

(Photo: Twitter/@AmrElGabry)

Snow has also blanketed areas outside Cairo, particularly in the Sinai Peninsula:
Snow Pounds the Middle East, Dropping First Snowfall on Cairo in Decades

A picture shows snow in the Egyptian town of Madinaty, 40 kilometers east of Cairo, on Dec. 13, 2013. (STR STR/AFP/Getty Images)
Snow Pounds the Middle East, Dropping First Snowfall on Cairo in Decades

Snow covers the scene in Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula, some 400 kilmeters southeast of Cairo on Dec. 13, 2013. (AFP photo/STR -/AFP/Getty Images)

Jerusalem has also seen uncharacteristic snowfall, marking the heaviest in 50 years, according to the Israeli Weather Service:
Snow Pounds the Middle East, Dropping First Snowfall on Cairo in Decades

Snow covers the Dome of the Rock at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound on Dec. 12, 2013 in Jerusalem’s old city. (Getty Images/Uriel Sinai)
Snow Pounds the Middle East, Dropping First Snowfall on Cairo in Decades

Two Palestinian women play with snow outside Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, Thursday, Dec. 12, 2013. Early snow has surprised many Israelis and Palestinians as a blustery storm, dubbed Alexa, brought gusty winds, torrential rains and heavy snowfall to parts of the Middle East. (AP/Mahmoud Illean)
Snow Pounds the Middle East, Dropping First Snowfall on Cairo in Decades

Israeli children play in the snow on December 12, 2013 outside Jerusalem’s old city, Israel. (Getty Images/Uriel Sinai)

While many are delighted by the first snowfall in decades, there is also grave concern for the displaced Syrian refugees living in temporary homes in the region.

[macdoc]

and yes Seth it's a product of AGW and climate change

Warm Arctic, Cold Continents
Changes in the Arctic Are Hitting Closer to Home


Arctic atmospheric pressue.
The low Arctic pressure field is shown by purple colors in the figure for December 1968–1996. Strong Polar Vortex winds circle this pressure field, trapping cold air in the Arctic regions. In December 2009, this pattern broke down, Polar Vortex winds weakened (green colors) and cold Arctic air (which parallels the color contours) flowed southward.
Download here. (Credit: NOAA)
It’s a puzzle: How could warmth in the Arctic produce frigid conditions elsewhere?

NOAA scientists may have a clue.

Extremely cold winds have swept down through the Northern Hemisphere recently, reaching as far south as the state of Florida and causing record low temperatures in January. The unusually cold winter of 2009–2010 – which saw massive snowstorms dubbed “Snowpocalypse” and “Snowmageddon” — and the frigid start to 2011 in the eastern United States and Europe have scientists talking about what might be influencing the weather.

Dr. James Overland, a scientist at NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL) in Seattle, has been studying the changing conditions in the Arctic for 30 years. He explains why the deterioration of the Polar Vortex could be leading to some of these extreme winter weather events.

“When the Polar Vortex — a ring of winds circling the Arctic — breaks down, this allows cold air to spill south, affecting the eastern United States and other regions,” says Dr. Overland. “This can result in a warmer-than-average Arctic region and colder temperatures that may include severe winter weather events on the North American and European continents.”

A Polar Vortex link to Winter 2009-2010?



The Polar Vortex is a strong wind flowing around a low-pressure system normally present over the Arctic in winter. Average December values from 1968–1996 show the Polar Vortex remaining strong and helping to keep the cold air in the Arctic region. During winter of 2009–2010, this normal pattern broke down, and a weakened Polar Vortex allowed cold Arctic air to move southward.

“In December 2009, the Arctic was 9 degrees F warmer than normal, and mid-latitude continents were 9 degrees F cooler than normal, with record cold and snow conditions in northern Europe, eastern Asia and eastern North America,” says Dr. Overland. “This is the Warm Arctic-Cold Continents pattern. The winter of 2009–2010 had especially extreme weather in the U.S. as moisture from El Nino hit cold air from the Arctic.”

Warm Arctic - Cold Continent Climate Pattern.
A map of the Warm Arctic-Cold Continents pattern for December 2010 shows warmer than usual air temperature (red) in the Arctic, especially for regions that were sea-ice-free in summer — north of Alaska, Hudson Bay and in the Barents Sea. Cold continents (purple) are seen where Arctic air has penetrated southward.
Download here. (Credit: NOAA)
Why are we seeing these changes now?

According to the 2010 Arctic Report Card, there is reduced sea summer sea ice cover, record snow cover decreases, and record temperatures. Could these changes be linked to the weakened Polar Vortex and extreme winter weather events?

Many factors, including natural climate variability, can produce extreme weather events. But, there also is a potential impact from Arctic regions, where solar heat absorbed by recently ice-free regions of the ocean warms the atmosphere during autumn, impacting the winds. More research is needed to study the causes and extent of the recently observed Warm Arctic-Cold Continent pattern.

“Some scientists are beginning to suspect that the lack of sea ice allows the oceans to pump heat into the atmosphere in the Arctic in a way that could impact weather patterns such as the North Atlantic Oscillation,” said Mark Serreze, director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center. “The idea is still very much in its infancy, but it’s worth looking into. If it turns out to be right, it could help to explain the frigid winters the eastern United States and Europe have experienced these past two years.”

The North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) is a natural climate pattern that is the dominant mode of winter climate variability for the region, which ranges from central North America to Europe and into Northern Asia. A strongly negative NAO can indicate a breakdown of the Polar Vortex. Last winter, there were two extreme cold continent events — and the breakdown of the Vortex, as measured by the NAO, was the most extreme on record for the past 145 years.

Undoubtedly, changes in the Arctic are being felt near and far. The winters of 2009 and 2010 serve as a jumping off point for more research to determine potential linkages between Arctic changes and continental weather to help predict if the Northern latitudes will witness colder winters in the future as more summer sea ice is lost.

http://www.noaa.gov/features/02_monitor ... rctic.html

But you just go on denying responsibility for the change in the state of the climate.....amusing reading these days....in with the anti-evos and fake moon landings crowd.

[DaveDodo007]

Fucking hippies.

[subversive science]

Topsy-Turvy Weather in Europe, Middle East

Snow and sleet has been reported from the suburbs of Cairo, Egypt to portions of Israel and Jordan while record high temperatures occurred in northern Scandinavia this week. Once again, a convoluted jet stream (as we saw last week between Alaska and the contiguous U.S.) is causing topsy-turvy weather in the northern hemisphere.

The temperatures in northern Sweden have been on a roller coaster so far this month. One site, Nikkaluokta saw its temperature fall from 4.7°C (40.5°F) on December 3rd to -40.8°C (-41.4°F) on December 9th only to then rise to a maximum of 7.7°C (45.9°F) on December 11th, an amazing rise of 48.5°C (87.3°F) in just under 48 hours!

...

Meanwhile, on the cold side of the ridge snow is falling at low elevations in Egypt, Israel, and Jordan among other Middle East nations. Measurable snow or sleet fell in Cairo’s eastern suburb of Madinaty.

http://www.wunderground.com/blog/weathe ... trynum=224

[macdoc]

Yeah weak polar high this year - lots of cold air over the continent spilling down. Was -12 in Ontario yesterday and early snow tomorrow.

[Tyrannical]

Luckily scientists have discovered perfluorotributylamine,

In these meteorological terms, PFTBA has the highest potential to affect climate of all known chemicals to date, the researchers said.

"Calculated over a 100-year time frame, a single molecule of PFTBA has the equivalent climate impact as 7,100 molecules of CO2," Hong said.

But, it's important to note that the amount of PFTBA in the atmosphere is still far less than global concentrations of carbon dioxide, she added.

"If we had more [PFTBA] in the atmosphere, we'd see more warming," she said. "This is very potent on a per-molecule basis, but there's very little of it in the atmosphere."

Hopefully full scale manufacturing of this gas will happen soon. It's cold outside.

[Seth]

and yes Seth it's a product of AGW and climate change

But you just go on denying responsibility for the change in the state of the climate.....amusing reading these days....in with the anti-evos and fake moon landings crowd.

Oh yeah, I love it when the global warming fanatics try to change horses in mid-stream when their religion is debunked. When the evidence of AGW (Anthropogenic Global WARMING disappears and the "predictions" from the "computer models" turn out to be grossly inaccurate, you guys pivot to "climate change" to cover your asses.

Dude, in case you missed it, the global climate has been "changing" for about 4.5 billion years. It always changes. It's never the same. It gets warmer, then it gets colder, then it gets warmer, then it gets colder. That's how it works, you see.

So, until your "predictions" from your "models" are spot-on for, oh, let's say 16 years (which is how long they've been proven to be so much bilge), then you can claim some sort of moral high ground.

Until then, the rest of us can safely ignore you as the putzes you are.

[pErvinalia]

Yeah, fuck you science!

[PsychoSerenity]

[mistermack]

Yeah, fuck you science!

''science'' has a big problem, when it comes to global warming.

The models have the Earth accumulating huge quantities of heat, over the last sixteen years.
Trouble is, ''science'' can't find it. Sixteen years of warming, in hiding from ''science''.
Call that science???

[subversive science]

The only issue science has with global warming are the people who ignore all of the evidence that it is happening. Increased snow and changes to global circulation patterns are evidence of a warming planet. The claims otherwise, especially on this thread, show a poor understanding of science.

[PsychoSerenity]

It's not even a poor understanding of science. It's not even an attempt to understand the science. It's just made up bollocks based on other made up bollocks from people who also don't want to attempt to understand the science.

[mistermack]

You can spout all you like about people ignoring science. That's not an argument. It's just a baseless claim. No evidence offered whatsoever.
Just like the Jesus claim. Or the thousands of others.
If you actually understood science, you would know that to propose something, you need to back it up.
Nobody on this site has ever backed up their claims.

I pointed out a problem with the so-called science. The missing heat. Nobody answered.
That's because you haven't got a clue.

If ''science'' wants to convince me that the climate alarmists are right, then they have to come up with an answer. And explain why the models didn't immediately point to where the heat actually is.

Fuck, they are modelling heat, and they can't find the heat. Is that REALLY science in action?

[piscator]

You can spout all you like about people ignoring science. That's not an argument. It's just a baseless claim. No evidence offered whatsoever.
Just like the Jesus claim. Or the thousands of others.
If you actually understood science, you would know that to propose something, you need to back it up.
Nobody on this site has ever backed up their claims.

Could I trouble you to perhaps provide some support for the bolded?

[MiM]

I pointed out a problem with the so-called science. The missing heat. Nobody answered.
That's because you haven't got a clue.

Well, as far as I could see you didn't back up your claim either.

One ignorant can ask more than ten wise can answer.