Chicago's Record Snow Fall

On my son's 11th birthday, Chicago got over 11 inches of snow. This was the 2nd largest snowfall in a single storm in November history for the windy city. Seems awfully early for the snowfalls to be hitting like this. My brother was in the hospital up in Chicago, and wouldn't have been able to go anywhere if he wanted.
The weather people keep talking about the El Nino warming up the US, however, the Midwest probably wasn't feeling like it a couple of weeks ago. However, this weather pattern will cause more wet snows than dry, which will create a lot more havoc.

El Nino affecting our December

Rick and I were just talking on Monday about how we have not had hardly any rain and it definitely has not flooded. Then came the rain!! It looks like we will be getting more rain than snow this winter due to the El Nino pattern. Below is the article from WSAZ about our December weather.


http://www.wsaz.com/news/headlines/El-Nino-Effects-into-December-359778621.html


One thing that I will be pointing out to my students is that just because the temperature is warm this year does not mean it is global warming and the end of the world. While we know that there is a warming trend, this year will probably be warmer than winter in a couple of years. We have spikes like this. In fact, Tony mentions a Christmas morning at 76 degrees back in the 80s. I am hoping to be able to get my students to understand how to look at climate and to look at the warming trend over a long time period with the spikes up and down. Like the dog walking video we watched in class.

Winter Outlook

I was in Texas during Thanksgiving break, and I definitely noticed some of the effects of El Nino. The weather was colder than it was in West Virginia, and there was a lot of rain. I looked up the winter weather for the next few months, and it looks like the south will continue to experience cooler than normal temperatures, and the north and northeast will experience above average temperatures. This will be due to a strong southward dip in the jet stream.

Unlikely Fall Snowstorm Hits China

In China this past week there was an early fall snow storm seemingly unconvinced many people except the skiers. 300 flights were cancelled and bus passengers were stranded as the storm passed. Icy and slush made it extremely difficult for people to get because of the storm. This storm caught China off guard and even forced it to close down schools (a very rare thing in China) for a few days. The one benefit came to skiers where over 17,000 headed out to the slopes for the first ski of the year.

Winter Storm in China

Global conference in Paris today

In Paris today, world leaders are meeting to come to agreements to fight global warming.  The last time they met was in 1997 in Kyoto, Japan. The earth has changed drastically since then. I found some of these changes to be amazing. 1997 was only 18 years ago. It's not so long in Earth times.

Since 1997...

-The West Antartica and Greenland ice sheets have lost 5.5 trillions of ice.

-The five-year average surface global temperature for Jan to Oct has risen by nearly two-thirds of a degree F between 93-97 and 2011-15, according to NOAA. In 97, Earth set a record for the hottest year and then records were set again in 98, 2005, 2010 and 2014, and is expected to happen again in 2015. 

-The average glacier has lost about 39 feet. 

-Carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels climbed nearly 50 percent between 97-2013. The world is spewing more than 100 million tons of carbon dioxide a day.

-The seas have risen nearly 2.5 inches on average. 

-At its low point during the summer, the Arctic sea ice is on average 820,000 square miles smaller. 

-The five deadliest heat waves of the past century have come in the past 18 years. 

-The number of weather and climate disasters worldwide has increased 42 percent, though deaths are down 58 percent.

President Obama, French President Hollande, and Microsoft founder Bill Gates will announce a new initiative today, to develop clean energies, committing to spend 10 billions of dollars for a technological fix to the planet's climate woes.

Wild Weatherh in the West

California has been having some windy weather of late, with a tornado hitting the town of Denair in the Central Valley, damaging 21 homes. It has been categorized as a category 1 tornado (the weakest level), but since these are unusual in California it is still cause for notice.


The tornado uprooted trees, took down power lines, and attacked homes with debris at least a mile through town.  The wind speeds were from 86 to 110. Though this is nothing if you live somewhere like Tornado Alley, it is surprising to come across when you are from California.


Thankfully, no one was injured in this unusual weather instance.




http://www.latimes.com/local/weather/la-me-ln-california-wild-weather-20151116-story.html

Menu Recommendations Based on the Weather

Soon you'll be able to see new "smart" digital menus at McDonald's that will change based on the weather.  If it's snowing outside, these menus will promote hot drinks, but if it's warm and sunny, the menus may recommend salads or iced tea. When the menu boards were tested in Canada, customers ended up spending more than they did before the new menus were installed.