Wild Swings in the Climate during 2012

I have been planning to post about the observed weather and climate for many months now.  Just too many things happening with life, teaching, research and students.  But here is a review of some of the key items:

1.)  A warm dry winter across much of the US.  For example Washington DC (National airport) observed :
-- December - Trace of Snow, Temperatures 5.3 degrees above normal
--January - 1.7 Inches, temperatures 4.7 degrees above normal, temperatures of 60 degrees or higher occurred 6  times.
- February - 0.3 inches of snow, temperatures 5.4 degrees above normal.  A maximum temperature of 72 degrees on February 1st.

The warmth continued to March with temperatures being 80 degrees or higher on 4 days during the month of March. 


2.)  Dry conditions then followed with a deficit of rain during March (-2.46 inches), April (-1.14 inches), May (-0.71 inches) and June (-1.4 inches of rain). 

3.)  Because much of the US had little snow and hence dry going into the spring, wildfires broke out
in the Western US. 

4.)  In Washington DC, the heat in June/July has been unbearable.  There were 11 days in June with temperatures 90 or above and 7 that were 95 or above.  The hottest day was June 29th with a temperature of 104 was recorded and later that evening the Derecho event came plowing through DC
causing massive blackouts and damage.  Winds were clock at 70 MPH at national airport with higher gust being reported.

July has outpaced  June with 15 days thus far being above 90 degrees at National Airport.  Twelve of the 15 days have been hotter than 95 degrees and six days have been 100 degrees or hotter.

Maybe all of this is all coincidence but looks like climate projections from the models. Regardless of what the models project, dealing with temperatures that are above normal are problematic for even the best of us.  The impacts such as wildfires because of reduced snow often manifest themselves later.  The additional power for cooling our homes and driving in traffic just add greenhouse gases to the atmosphere -which should ultimately lead to more warming.   The additional power puts lots of strain on the electric grid.  I wonder how we get out of this????  By the way, its not over yet.  August it typically your warmest month.

In the next blog, will focus on the changes in the atmospheric conditions in Senegal that are causing serious problems and the impacts on the upcoming hurricane season.