August 06, 2021

New Podcast: From the Cooler to the Frying Pan. The Northwest Heatwave and Climate Change.

The Forecast

My podcast today reviews a dramatic change in our weather during the upcoming week:  from cool and wet this weekend to a heatwave later this week.   

No, nothing like what happened in June.  The European Center forecast is going for the low 90s by Friday, followed by a rapid cooling between Sunday and Monday of next week.

Image Courtesy of WeatherBell


And yes, the dry streak ended today for the region (51  days).  No record.

My podcast has the details.

The Northwest Heatwave and Global Warming

There is a lot of interest in this issue, including at the Seattle Times, which seems upset at my blogs that took on the hype.   So I decided to talk about the issue on this podcast.   Listen to some of the facts on this podcast (and in my previous blogs) and decide for yourself.

To hear the full story, listen to my podcast below or select your preferred streaming service



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12 comments:

  1. Just listened to the podcast and I have a question. If climate change is largely not responsible for the _amplitude_ of the extreme events, could instead the _frequency_ of such extreme events be affected (either an increase or decrease)?

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  2. Cliff,
    You mentioned in your podcast, and previously, that there has been no trend in the number of maximum temperature records over the period of record. That may be the case for maximum temperatures but can the same be stated for minimum temperatures. That is, has there been a trend toward either more colder or warmer minimum temperatures. I looked at the Wenatchee record from 1913 to the present and see a marked trend toward warmer yearly minimum temperatures during the past 35 years or so. As an example, below zero minimum temperatures occurred in about 65% of the years from 1913 to about 1985. Since then, below zero temperatures have occurred in only about 30% of the years. We don't seem to talk much about the warming in nighttime temperatures that has occurred in recent years and maybe you could address this.

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  3. I would have to say that the "dry streak" has most certainly not ended, yes I know Seatac and a few other locations got some mist in the rain gauge so I guess you can input some 1/100 fraction in the record but for most of western Washington the amount is so insignificant it seems pointless to even talk about it. from my view point down here near Olympia on the Steamboat Island area peninsula We got nothing not one drop,

    I'm really hoping round 2 of precipitation is not the dud we experienced on Friday,

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    1. Well so far round two is also looking like a rain dud for the south Puget sound area, I watched a 5 hour radar loop and the precipitation just doesn't seem to be making it over the higher elevations between Olympia and the coast, Its Very disheartening as it looks like were off into another heat wave with zero precipitation since mid June

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  4. Cliff You are correct about the heat waves. However, their is a more concerning issue at hand. Their is growing concern over the Biosphere of our planet. This area has been compromised through the use of aerosols being deployed in the upper altitudes of our planets atmosphere. The ozone layer is beginning to be depleted to the point that we are seeing Uvc radiation getting closer and closer to the areas where humans live.

    Geoengineering (Aka weather modification or weather control does exist and has been taking place for the last 100 years.)

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    1. You must realize that the most harmful aerosol that was affecting the ozone layer was outlawed decades ago? There was an expanding hole near the arctic circle, that in subsequent years gradually closed.

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  5. News on the project to transmit solar energy from space to the earth -

    https://www.spacesolar.caltech.edu/

    This effort was initially seeded by a grant of 100 million dollars from a successful real estate magnate, in California. Don't listen to the doom and gloomers!

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  6. It's 7am on Saturday morning. It's raining at Lake Goodwin. I woke to hear the most unfamiliar sound of rain on the roof. I am almost as excited as if I had woken up to snow.

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  7. Thank You Cliff,
    I appreciate your thoughts on the big picture of what is happening with climate and the weather events we experience. I summer in the Gorge and winter in Alta, Utah. Two places of extreme natural variability. I follow your prodigy, Dr. Jim as well. Keep up the good science.

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  8. I'd really like to see a blog post detailing how atmospheric scientists currently expect global warming to change weather patterns in the northwest and another on long-term effects on North America. More rain perhaps? I'd expect the overall moisture content of the atmosphere to increase, but what about the weather patterns? Would severe storms be more or less likely? Changes in ocean currents? Changes in the jet stream?

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  9. Seems like this would be a good time for you to publish an article on the subject for a peer reviewed publication?

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    1. Agreed. Peer review is the backbone of science.

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Please make sure your comments are civil. Name calling and personal attacks are not appropriate.