La Niña is strengthening, according to the monthly diagnostic discussion out today. The pool of cool water continues to creep westward: The anticipated results: Expected La Niña impacts during November – January include a continuation of above-average precipitation over Indonesia and below-average precipitation over the central equatorial Pacific. For the contiguous United States, potential impacts …
I was all excited at the prospect that humans aren’t causing global warming after all, that it’s really benthic bacteria. Then Roger Pielke Jr., suspicious bastard that he is, had to go and pour cold water over the whole deal. Turns out that the University of Arizona doesn’t really have a “Department of Climatology,” as …
NASA has posted a remarkable MODIS satellite image showing the areas that burned in Southern California.
A couple of years ago, one of my favorite science teachers was extolling the virtues of those cheap hand held infrared thermometers. He said you just need to hand one to a kid and turn ’em loose and they’ll start asking all kinds of interesting questions and testing out the answers. So I was surprised …
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My friend Malcolm, who lives in Sydney, has some fascinating observations today on how hard it is to see drought as it is happening, something he (interestingly) noticed after returning to Sydney following a visit to a wetter place: When you live in an area that changes by degrees month to month and year to …
Drought conditions have been good for Georgia’s pecan crop: The record drought gripping the Southeast isn’t all bad news: It’s meant nearly perfect weather for growing pecans in Georgia. The state is on pace to be the nation’s top pecan producer this year, with shellers predicting more than 125 million pounds harvested, said pecan horticulturist …
On the value of seasonal forecasts: Gensler knows full well about the seasonal forecast. Odds are, the snowpack that provides the district’s water supply will be on the light side this winter. But he also knows there’s no point in worrying about that now. His job in planning for next year’s irrigation season is made …
A bit late notice, entirely because I’m lame (I’ve known about this for a week), but I’ll be on the radio this afternoon at 2 p.m. in Albuquerque: 1350 a.m., NMSR Science Watch, talking about climate variability, the Atlanta drought and its implications for New Mexico.
I’m a New Mexican now, fully, but I remain a Californian by birth, family history, upbringing and nostalgia. That is where my family’s history comes together. My mother’s parents were part of California’s first great invention of itself in the early 20th century. My father came west after the Second World War to become part …
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Blog post of the week: David Appell’s riff on dogs and the fragility of modern existence. update: Shortly after posting, I saw this AP story: About 40 people, mostly Somalis, have drowned while crossing the Gulf of Aden on their way to Yemen in a desperate attempt to escape gunbattles back home, security officials and …