First snow recorded in this area since 1990. And only the 8th time since 1912.

 

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070122/ap_on_re_us/winter_blast

Global warming, catch it!

Global warming, catch it!

Just so everyone understands....El Nino ≠ global warming, and odd effects in any specific year, especially during years controlled by other climatic processes, do not prove or disprove anthropogenic climate change.

Just so everyone understands....El Nino ≠ global warming, and odd effects in any specific year, especially during years controlled by other climatic processes, do not prove or disprove anthropogenic climate change.

Don't even waste your energy, Balta.

It was a JOKE!

It snowed within a mile of my house. Can't believe my eyes.

Just so everyone understands....El Nino ≠ global warming, and odd effects in any specific year, especially during years controlled by other climatic processes, do not prove or disprove anthropogenic climate change.

It was SUPPOSED to be in green, but after seeing it, I guess not. However, were it to be 75 degrees out next week in Chicago, you can bet you would hear screams of 'global warming!!!!!!!!' Maybe I can just counter that with 'Uh, no. El Nino.'

It was SUPPOSED to be in green, but after seeing it, I guess not. However, were it to be 75 degrees out next week in Chicago, you can bet you would hear screams of 'global warming!!!!!!!!' Maybe I can just counter that with 'Uh, no. El Nino.'

Actually, this year, yes you should. Just like you should say that any time someone comments on the lack of hurricanes this year, or large storm systems hitting CA and the SW, etc. This weather pattern really screws up the trends people are used to about every 7 years.

 

Of course, the interesting thing is, if you compare each El Nino year to the one beforehand, each El Nino seems to get more severe as the planet around warms up, thus leading to higher temperatures from 1 period to the next, but that's the long-term, harder-to-detect trend for most people.

Just so everyone understands....El Nino ≠ global warming, and odd effects in any specific year, especially during years controlled by other climatic processes, do not prove or disprove anthropogenic climate change.

 

 

What effect does El Nino have exactly and why? I remember there were a few years in the 90s where El Nino was cited as the cause for milder than average winters and now it's causing colder weather?

 

Im just a bit confused here.

What effect does El Nino have exactly and why? I remember there were a few years in the 90s where El Nino was cited as the cause for milder than average winters and now it's causing colder weather?

 

Im just a bit confused here.

 

chicago has been much milder this winter - in other places it's been much more severe than normal. its just bizarre fluxuation accross the board.

No snow in the Dakotas until December 27th.

 

It's snowed probably 8-10 times in very good amounts since.

What effect does El Nino have exactly and why? I remember there were a few years in the 90s where El Nino was cited as the cause for milder than average winters and now it's causing colder weather?

 

Im just a bit confused here.

El Nino is basically like throwing a gigantic wrench into the global climate system for an entire year or so. Basically, what happens is that the normal pattern of wind-driven mixing, cooling, and downwelling in the Eastern Pacific breaks down. This starts off by leading to an abnormal warming off the surface waters off of south america.

 

But beyond that, the real issues start showing up when we start dealing with the interconnectedness of the climate systems. Normally, the warm water generated in the eastern pacific is mixed by the trade winds to the western pacific. But when that doesn't happen, the western pacific gets colder and the eastern part stays hot. Now, one of the driving mechanisms for mixing in the ocean is temperature controlled; cold things like to sink, and warm things like to stay at the top. Suddenly with El Nino, you have a large, warm, buoyant patch of water inplaces where it usually isn't.

 

This tends to wind up dumping moisture into the atmosphere in the Pacific, but not in the usual places; so some places wind up with storms that usually don't see them, other usually wet places go into droughts. There is also some intensification of storm events because the water is warmer. The warm water also serves to change wind patterns, causing, for example, shear winds that can break up forming hurricanes in the Central Atlantic.

 

It sort of depends on where exactly you are in the country and a lot of random chance exactly what an El Nino event will do in terms of temperatures and precipitations. When you throw a wrench into a machine, you know things will screw up, but you don't always know exactly how.

chicago has been much milder this winter - in other places it's been much more severe than normal. its just bizarre fluxuation accross the board.

 

 

It's been mild compared to other places but rather seasonal in its own right, at least since the 1st of the year.

It's been mild compared to other places but rather seasonal in its own right, at least since the 1st of the year.

 

right but how often is it in the 50s/60s in december in chicago i mean honestly... i'd call that mild

right but how often is it in the 50s/60s in december in chicago i mean honestly... i'd call that mild

 

 

If I remember my reading correctly it was 60 something the day before the big blizzard in 1967. While abnormal it does happen sometimes.