By Brad Johnson
(ThinkProgress.org) Catastrophic “snowpocalypse” and “snowmageddon” events are exactly what scientists have been warning would hit Virginians because of global warming, in part because warmer air can hold more water. As National Wildlife Federation climate scientist Amanda Staudt notes, winter storms are getting fiercer even as the season gets warmer:
- Wintertime temperatures have been increasing across the northern United States. Since the 1970s, December-February temperature increases have ranged from 1 to 2 degrees in the Pacific Northwest to about 4 degrees in the Northeast to more than 6 degrees in Alaska.
- Winters are getting shorter, too. Spring arrives 10-14 days earlier than it did just 20 years ago.
- Global warming is bringing a clear trend toward heavier precipitation events. Many areas are seeing bigger and more intense snowstorms, especially in the upper Midwest and Northeast.
- Global warming is shifting storm tracks northward. Areas from the Dakotas eastward to northern Michigan have seen a trend toward more heavy snowfall season.
In other news, this past month of January was the warmest on record for the planet.
Read the rest Think Progress » Virginia GOP Mocks Epic Snow Storm As ‘12 Inches Of Global Warming’.
February 7, 2010
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