How's this for irony? More frequent ice storms during the last two decades can be traced to, of all things, warmer winters, according to the Oklahoma Climatological Survey.
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Assistant State Climatologist Derek Arndt and his colleagues began discussions a couple years ago after noticing a 20-year upswing in events like the one Oklahoma experienced last weekend.
His office has stayed mum on a conclusion — until now.
"Now, we can confidently say they're happening more often, and it relates to the warmer winters we're having,” Arndt said.
Arndt was careful to avoid the loaded term "global warming,” but he said a consistently warmer lower atmosphere is the likely cause behind the increase in severe ice storms.
Climatologists reason it in this way:
A heavy snowfall requires that winter temperatures throughout several levels of atmosphere remain at or slightly below 32 degrees.
An ice storm indicates that snow has melted at one level of the atmosphere and refrozen upon reaching ground level.
"It's very contradictory. It's against your intuition to see all this ice and think, ‘Well, that's because it's warmer,'” Arndt said.
"But to get a snow profile, which is what we had a lot of in the '60s, '70s and early '80s, you need the entire depth of the atmosphere to be below freezing,” he said.
Oklahoma still receives occasional heavy snowfalls. However, ice storms are more common, evidence that "we're not quite getting the complete cold air punch that we got 15 or 20 years ago,” Arndt said.
Nah really I do believe there's a green house effect! The polar caps are melting and in fact they've proven that the density of the ice in Iceland has deteriorated to the point that it's structural integrity is in question. This hasn't happened over the course of millions of years, it's happened just recently and continues to deteriorate. I don't believe anyone can accurately predict a timetable for a cataclysmic disaster anymore than they can determine when California will separate from the main continent when the San Andrea Fault finally does give away. Certainly I believe that the oceans are becoming warmer and this is why we are having more adverse weather in the form of more frequent and severe hurricanes and tornadoes where tornadoes were less frequent in the past. I just don't believe you have to be naiive to be a member of the Christian Faith. In the end it might be something as small as a "superbug" that does us all in! Faith and prayer are good things and should be preached and practiced; but intellect is a gift from God to help mankind reason and problem-solve. Some things man can control and some things are beyond his grasp, but he always endeavors to persevere. Even Mr. Spock would tell you that it's logical to assume that a cause and effect relationship exists in all things. The proximity of the earth to the sun for one has much to do with the existence of life on this planet when to our knowledge none of the other planets in the solar system are capable of sustaining life as we know it. So I'm all in favor of scientific reasoning not as an alternative to faith but as a tool of the faithful to preserve and enhance life and living conditions. Now a Republican will tell you that you need medications to offset the damage the food they process has done to your body. It's a balancing act. It's all about the economy and the distribution of wealth. One could argue that a true Republican's deity is in fact the legal tender. That may have much to do with their blatant disregard for the environment. I just don't think that the Bible should be viewed as a panacea for those who would manipulate it's words to fit their personal beliefs, nor vice versa. I don't know what Al Gore's motive was to research and expose such a treacherous scenario when in fact it may already be too late. I do know that instilling fear into the masses does create a great deal of unrest especially for those self-absorbed by their own worth and existence. Stem-cell research could one day find a cure for all disease but then what would become of the billion dollar health industry. I say billion, it's probably trillions. I just have a difficult time thinking of Jesus as a Capitalist. I wonder how much he was paid for every miracle he performed? Let the scientists do their job and stay out of their way!
Mary, if you would have gone to the creation museum in Kentucky like me you would have lerned that the earth is young and dinosaurs were in the Garden of Eden. Like the scripture says, there were giants in those days!
One thing is for certain, green house effect or not, the earth is not full of inexhaustible resources; so if energy uses continue to rise then in fact supply and demand will/has become an issue. John, your pastor may not be high on evilution but he's obviously high on something! Archaeologists have found the remains of clues to our past and it's not myth, it's scientific fact. I have no clue how old the earth is but their are scientists who can approximate these things with DNA evidence. I have nothing against people of faith or Christian beliefs as in fact I'm always hopeful for mankind to achieve feats beyond imagination and the preservation of one's soul. By the same token I certainly wouldn't consider myself a Scientologist. I just feel that in the course of civilization man has always overcome obstacles to his existence through faith, science and perserverance. Certainly science has made our lives more comfortable. I don't think most of us could go back to living off the land like our ancestors. It might help with some of the obesity and diabetes problems we're encountering in our nation now but I for one don't think I could make it like Daniel Boone! So in part, there's been "evilution" in just the last century. It scares me at times to see the progress just in the last 100 years. Fortunately I'm old enough that I'll be dead and gone before any of this comes to fruition. So we made Molly without God's help so what's to stop us from crossing DNA with a human with a sea turtle to see if man can live for five hundred years? Mankind certainly has become somewhat self-indulgent but somehow they seem to get it figured out in the end!
Seriously, John. What are you doing to save the planet other than making fun of people of faith? You can believe in God and recycle and use flourescent bulbs, right? In 1979, we moved to Central Oklahoma from Michigan. That Christmas, we took a picture outside in our bathing suits to send back to our friends. It was about 75 degrees that day and very sunny. Since then, it's been on and off Christmas' with snow.
Ice age is a myth perpetrated by the same "scientists" that want us to believe in manmade global warming and EVILution. No way the earth is more than about 6,000 years old per my pastor's interpretation of the bible.
We learned in third grade that the earth was in constant change from a climate perspective and it appears that we are on an "upswing" in temperature. How did we get an Ice Age? How did all the ice melt 10,000 years ago? That is the simple question that no one wants to answer. If it makes you feel better, recycle, drive a more efficient car, buy solar panels or windmills, sign up for wind power from OG&E. It can't hurt, but until everyone answers the simple questions, this will continue to be another unnecessary political debate with nothing getting done. The earth is more than 4 BILLION years old folks, we don't have enough solid climate data to truly tell if we have totally affected the planet on a collision course with the death of us all. I'm sure that when none of us were around, the planet has gone through some pretty extreme changes...
You guys just don't get it. God will not allow us to destroy the planet unless it is in His plan! That's why Rush's scientists and Jim Inhofe's scientist have the truth. Most other scientists are of the devil, you only have to look at them promoting evilution to see that. So go ahead and buy that new full size SUV that you want and forget about it. Either the planet will be destoyed by God's will, or he just won't allow it.
Thank you Mary it is so unique to hear a voice of reason anywhere in OKC. I sometimes feel as though I have moved to a waste land run by the illerate, that recieve all of there news and information from voices that speak to them from on high. Or where ever.
Sun spots did it! Sure I believe in the credibility of the greenhouse effect. You'd have to be a moron not to at least weigh the evidence. The only one who is full of bunk is Limbaugh! If you believe in divine revelation then why are we even still here? If you fail to believe in divine intervention then why haven't we been pelted by an asteroid or some other cosmic cataclysm? I think that if 9/11 taught us only one thing is that perseverance is futile in the wake of terrorism. Limbaugh would argue that cigarette smoking is just a bad habit while the surgeon general would tell you it will kill you! What Limbaugh is really saying is thanks to all the smokers who contribute their tax dollars to the Federal Government while he deducts his pain pills from his income tax! Obviously there are a lot of stupid people in the world, fortunately I just don't happen to be one of them!
Well, of course if Rush says it and we heard it in church, oh my god than that must mean that anyone that has spent their lives reseaching climate change, and of course all of those scientist WORLDWIDE must be wrong!!! Afterall, did not the ultimate guru of idiocy tell us they are all wrong. Hmmm, could Rush have come to this conclusion while on his "doctor prscribed" drugs. AH could be!!!!
You guys are right!!! Them scientists are stooooopid! I heard man-made global warming was bunk from Limbaugh and everyone in my Sunday School class agrees.
People should not be paying attention to anything these scientists say. Instead, they should do what most Oklahomans do to get answers to the great scientific questions of the day.....listen to conservative talk radio and their pastor!!!
It makes total sense to me. If the upper atmosphere were colder, it would fall as snow. Justin must be a young puppy because we used to get more heavy snows back in the 60's, 70's and 80's than we do now. Oklahoma always was hot in the summer and cold in the winter. Winter's have absuletely become more mild in the past 20 years.
Yes, I remember when I was a kid in Oklahoma and we had "Global Cooling"... we had lots of snow storms then instead of ice storms, right?
At least he was afraid to associate it with a natural phenomenon called Global Warming in which I don't think anyone can deny. It's Man-Made Global Warming that is the scheme to control the world economy and promote wealth distribution.
Pay no attention to the sun being in a more active cycle in relation to those colder years. Also pay no attention to the fact that Oklahoma rarely receives a snow fall that is worthy of comment.
Thank you Steven...We need to be more conscious of our envioronment....Please help protect mother earth and,all her beauty....We need to do everything we can to to save our planet....We need to do everything we can,to leave a better Oklahoma for our children.
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At least he was afraid to associate it with a natural phenomenon called Global Warming in which I don't think anyone can deny. It's Man-Made Global Warming that is the scheme to control the world economy and promote wealth distribution.