Steeler

I'm just glad that the President is finally installing political officers to make sure that any statement made by a government agency falls in line with the President's pre-determined policies. Now, if only we could get those Alaskan government professional re-training camps up and running.

__________________

Lucky Shot

Alaska would be the perfect spot to have that camp! Except that they are dealing with record snowfall. Seems that they have received twice the normal snowfall that typically falls during wintertime and winter is only half over! http://www.ktuu.com/Global/story.asp?S=5986863 Dang you Global Warming!!!

Lucky Shot

Diceman

Except that snow is an indicator of warmer tempuratures, not colder ones. Speaking as a life long northerner, I can tell you that the pleasant January days are the ones when snow falls.

__________________

[drill][medic][conduct][tg-c1][tpf-c1]
[ma-c2][taw-c1]

Lucky Shot

Seems that warmer temperature would result in more rain, not snow.

Lucky Shot

Diceman

Only if it's above zero (Celsius). If it's below zero, then pretty much all precipitation is snow (the exception being when temps are around zero, and then you get all sorts of unpleasantness like freezing rain, hail, etc). That doesn't mean that -20 isn't warmer than -35.

__________________

[drill][medic][conduct][tg-c1][tpf-c1]
[ma-c2][taw-c1]

Lucky Shot

So how does this 15 degree hypothetical difference impact snowfall, in your opinion?

Lucky SHot

Diceman

I'm not saying that there is a 15 degree difference. I'm just saying that, to me, snow indicates warmer days, not colder ones. The really cold days are the ones where the sun is shining brightly and the sky is clear. During winter, the low-altitude clouds serve as somewhat of a blanket, and they keep the heat in. When all you have is a clear sky, or the very high altitude clouds (nothing but ice in the stratosphere), you can have a pretty good idea that you're gonna be in deep-freeze that day.

Edit: I'm not a meterologist, but I would guess that clouds sit at a pressure (and therefore tempurature) transition in the atmosphere. If the clouds are low lying clouds, then it would be a good indicator of higher pressure at ground level, transitioning to lower pressure above. This, I believe, corresponds to cooler air at ground level (because cool air goes down and warm air goes up), causing the moisture in the warmer air above it to condense and precipitate.

__________________

[drill][medic][conduct][tg-c1][tpf-c1]
[ma-c2][taw-c1]

Lucky Shot

I have found exactly the opposite. Cloudy days tend to shield the earth from the sun creating cooler days, and a chance of precipitation, like snow. Sunny days have the impact of having the sun directly strike the earth warming it up. Clear nights is a different thing.

Lucky Shot

Diceman

But the sun hangs very low in the sky during winter in the north, due to the tilt of the earth. The energy to be had from the sun seems to be almost nothing. Certainly, holding your hand out on a sunny day, you can usually feel the warmth of the sun, regardless of the environmental air temperature. In winter in Yellowknife, this in not usually the case. One of the signs of spring is when you can actually feel the heat from the sun.

__________________

[drill][medic][conduct][tg-c1][tpf-c1]
[ma-c2][taw-c1]

Steeler

By now we should all have realized that individual data points do not make a trend. In fact, many of them will buck the trend. Just because Alaska has more snow this year than usual does not refute the visible and extraordinary climate change taking place around the world, including over Alaskan ice fields. Similarly, having the warmest year on record does not prove global warming. But having ever increasing unusually warm years in a short span of recent history DOES point to a trend.

Anyway, not going to get anywhere with this. Opinions are frozen on the matter.

__________________

Diceman

But what about global warming?

__________________

[drill][medic][conduct][tg-c1][tpf-c1]
[ma-c2][taw-c1]

Steeler

Opinions are also heated.

__________________

Lucky Shot

Global warming did make this Hedgehog go bald though! http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/liv...n_page_id=1770 Diceman, I wish you plenty of cloudy days if that's what will keep it warmer!

Lucky Shot

Diceman

Thank you. Although the sun has a buoying psychological effect as well.

I was just checking my weather, and I thought the long range forecast actually shows very much what I'm talking about. Notice the number of snowy days when the temperature is below the average, versus the number of snowy days when the temperature is above the average.

Graph is found here.

Note to people reading old threads, this link will be out of date by the time you check the graph. I'd screen shot it, but I can't be bothered.

__________________

[drill][medic][conduct][tg-c1][tpf-c1]
[ma-c2][taw-c1]

Lucky Shot

Huh, I noticed that snow seems to fall more heavily on days that are below freezing and cloudy. Funny how we can come to 2 different conclusions based off the same graph.

Lucky Shot