A Look Into The Strange Weather This Spring, And What Is To Come.

I have noticed many people lately commenting on the strange weather we are experiencing here in the U.S. Some people are down right scared due to the irregularities we are seeing. I am going to present some scientific information on the causes of the strange weather and what we may have in store for us as the year progresses. Most of what I will present in this thread will have come from accuweather.com, with a few others thrown in the mix. I have found that accuweather is fairly reliable in their reports and the science behind them. There will be a lot of info presented so bear with me and we will try to get through it as smoothly as possible.

Now, the first real strangness we experienced here in Michigan was a lack of harsh winter. We did not receive nearly the amount of snowfall that we normally do. Nor did any of our lakes in southern Michigan froze over. We also had a very quick surge in warm weather leading into the warmest March on record here in Michigan.

Warmest March Ever For Cities In More Than 25 States

March 2012 is officially the warmest March on record for dozens of cities across more than 25 states and Washington, D.C.

Few will argue that March 2012 felt more like late spring or summer across the eastern two-thirds of the U.S., and now meteorologists can also officially deem the month as historic.
Never before in dozens of cities where long-standing records are kept have March temperatures averaged as warm as they did this past month.

Whats Causing All This Warm Weather

Many non-meteorologists are deducing that global warming, a theory that has gained that substantial media attention over the past few decades, is to blame for the bizarre weather patterns. But meteorologists are keeping their distance from this assumption."You need more data to prove global warming," AccuWeather senior Meteorologist Brett Anderson said. "In only one season, you really can't link it."

"It's certainly not hyperbole to call this a historical weather event," AccuWeather Meteorologist Jim Andrews said. But he's not jumping on the global warming bandwagon just yet.

"If the proposition is that earth's climate is changing -- and most people say warming -- this is how it might manifest," he said. But he believes the unusual weather may be caused by a sort of "perfect storm coincidence" related to North Atlantic oscillation, Atlantic oscillation, the Pacific / North American Pattern, El Nina and La Nina.

"What happens in the oceans is undoubtedly very important to what happens on land," Andrews said. "It may well be that the state of the ocean water temperature surrounding North America is just in an ideal arrangement to maximize warmth over North America."

Expert Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski believes it's a culmination of causes.

"What we're seeing is probably an overlap of several parameters occurring simultaneously. Because of what happened over the winter, you have warm lakes, lack of snow cover. You have a carry over effect, too," Sosnowski said.
"I think the biggest thing in my opinion would be arctic oscillation. It trapped most of the arctic air in the far north and allowed milder air to sweep across Canada and much of the U.S."

Amazing Stats From The March 2012 'Heat Wave'

The 'Heat Wave' of March 2012, By the Numbers

9 The number of consecutive days that Chicago, Ill., has broken a record high, from March 14 to March 22. Eight of those days saw the mercury climb above 80 degrees, which is normal for mid-June.

93 The temperature swing that occurred over the course of just nine days in International Falls, Minn., from a low of minus 14 degrees on March 9, to a high of 79 degrees on March 18. Also, 10 straight days of new record highs (March 13 to March 22).

26 The number of inches of snow that melted over the course of just seven days in Caribou, Maine, from March 15 to March 22, thanks to the unusual warmth. Also, 18 inches of snow was still on the ground when the first record high fell on March 18 (64 degrees).

32 The gap, in degrees, between the old and new record high on March 21 in Marquette, Mich. The new record high was 81 degrees, obliterating the old record of 49 degrees. The margin of defeat was so great that the low temperature that day was even higher than the old record high temperature.

21.2 The temperature departure (in degrees fahrenheit) from normal for the month of March thus far in Winnipeg, Canada. This occurred despite temperatures having dropped below zero for four days early in the month.

1921 The last year it was above 80 degrees in Boston before March 28 of any given calendar year. In reaching 83 degrees on March 22, this came to fruition for the first time since March 21, 1921.

86 The new all-time record high temperature for March in Detroit, Mich., set on March 22. In fact, a new all-time high temperature was set two days in a row, with the mercury first climbing to 84 degrees on March 21.

60 The average low temperature in Chicago, Ill., from March 17 to March 22 of this year. Such low temperatures, about 30 degrees above normal, are more typical for mid-June.

More Than 1200 Record Highs Set This Week In U.S.

More than 1,200 record high temperatures have been set over the past week across the U.S., and nearly 6,000 record highs have been recorded since the beginning of 2012.
From March 8-14, 2012, the total number of records is 1,226, according to the National Climatic Data Center.

Warmest Spring Ever To Fuel Active Severe Weather

An above-normal number of tornadoes is forecast for this season with water temperatures in the Gulf of Mexico running above normal for this time of year. The active severe weather season follows a deadly year with a near-record number of tornadoes in 2011.
Typically, 1,300 tornadoes strike the U.S. a year. There were nearly 1,700 tornadoes in 2011, falling short of the record 1,817 tornadoes set in 2004.

Above-Normal Number Of Tornadoes Expected In 2012

Warmer-than-normal Gulf of Mexico water is a key component to the active severe weather season anticipated in 2012. There will be a sufficient supply of warm and humid air to fuel supercell thunderstorms, the type of storms that spawn strong tornadoes, because of the warm Gulf water.

Well there you go, some good information to take a look at. It looks like we are going to be in for a bumpy ride this spring and summer. If anyone has anything to add please feel free to do so, thanks.

Are those March 2012 record temps for all time? Or are they since the last Nino family came thru? Here in Oregon, I have been at this house for 9 years and had a record 16 inches of snow a couple of weeks ago that wreaked havoc on the property. As a landscaper and avid gardener, I have noticed changes the last 3 years that are unprecedented in my experience. Plants/trees that I am familiar with are having irregular cycles. Fruit trees have not been putting out, spring bloomers blooming again in the fall, new species of grass and weeds showing up.

Anyway, yea I feel that we are in a unique place and time, whether it is apocalyptic or not, changes are occurring, on record breaking levels.

Thanks for your work,
spec

it's definitely been wet and cool in the northwest, nothing spectacular happens ever, except by the grace of almighty god when the clouds open up for a couple hours of sunshine once a week.

can above average temperatures really be such a bad thing?

Thanks for the info. I see west Texas is in for more heat and drought.

reply to post by yourmaker


No doubt on that(couple of hours of sun. I swear the last 3 weeks have had maybe a day and a half total sunshine.I have webbed toes(figuratively) and everything from being in Oregon, but I can't recall this much lack o sunshine in my 20 years here.

reply to post by FissionSurplus

Texas is what I was thinking about too. I have friends/family down there and the last few years have been devastating. Droughts, wildfires, floods and yea, these reports thus far make me wonder just how bad it's gonna get down there this summer!

Originally posted by usmc0311
I have noticed many people lately commenting on the strange weather we are experiencing here in the U.S. Some people are down right scared due to the irregularities we are seeing. I am going to present some scientific information on the causes of the strange weather and what we may have in store for us as the year progresses. Most of what I will present in this thread will have come from accuweather.com, with a few others thrown in the mix. I have found that accuweather is fairly reliable in their reports and the science behind them. There will be a lot of info presented so bear with me and we will try to get through it as smoothly as possible.

Dude, last thursday i went to the beach in a t-shirt and shorts, i was sweating, i had a bbq on the beach, went wading through the water. Yesterday i had a smowball fight. I live in Scotland

reply to post by speculativeoptimist


I'm guessing they are from all recorded temps due to the fact that some go fairly far back. I have an Aunt up near Eugene Orregon and she has described simalar weather to what you have. We shall see how things play out. Good luck with your summer landscaping.

reply to post by usmc0311


It's not just the US that is experiencing a "strange" spring, here in the UK it has been peculiar to say the least!

7 days ago we were basking in temps around the mid 70's......today we got hit with blizzards and around 7" snow in places!

Maybe I'm wrong....but I just don't recall variations like this in my near 50 years on this rock

Originally posted by yourmaker
it's definitely been wet and cool in the northwest, nothing spectacular happens ever, except by the grace of almighty god when the clouds open up for a couple hours of sunshine once a week.

can above average temperatures really be such a bad thing?

I have enjoyed the high temps around here. My garden is going well and my yard is beautifull already. I hope you get some more sunshine in your future this summer.

Originally posted by FissionSurplus
Thanks for the info. I see west Texas is in for more heat and drought.

You are welcome. I worry about my 83 year old grand mother who is down in Zapata. She is right on the Rio Grande down there in Cartel country. I just hope she can stay cool with the heat this year. Maybe we can finally get her to come to Michigan. Good luck this summer.

reply to post by djz3ro


Sounds awsome. We have been enjoying things ussually reserved for june/july as well. Good luck with the surfing. Stay safe.

We have had an early spring here on the gulf coast, due to the fact that we had no winter. We need at least 2-3 freezes during the winter to control the mosquito population, but we didn't get any freeze this winter at all. the bugs are a nightmare. The humidity is thick. The storms are epic. The temps are hot. Spring started in early Feb.

I'm terrified of what's to come once hurricane season approaches. Terrified.

Originally posted by Argyll
reply to post by usmc0311

 

It's not just the US that is experiencing a "strange" spring, here in the UK it has been peculiar to say the least!

7 days ago we were basking in temps around the mid 70's......today we got hit with blizzards and around 7" snow in places!

Maybe I'm wrong....but I just don't recall variations like this in my near 50 years on this rock

It makes me wonder how much the influx in changes in the weather over north america directly effects the weather you experience where you are. Try to stay warm for the next week and maybe it will warm back up for you. I hope you all have some good weather this summer.

Originally posted by Under Water
We have had an early spring here on the gulf coast, due to the fact that we had no winter. We need at least 2-3 freezes during the winter to control the mosquito population, but we didn't get any freeze this winter at all. the bugs are a nightmare. The humidity is thick. The storms are epic. The temps are hot. Spring started in early Feb.

I'm terrified of what's to come once hurricane season approaches. Terrified.

The bugs here are absolutely terrible as well. Luckily it's supposed to get cold enough tonight to kill a good number off. I am also terrified to see what hurricane season is like this year. I went through Hurricane Ophelia in North Carolina years back and it was pretty wicked. That was only a cat 1 or 2 I believe.

reply to post by speculativeoptimist


Where I live is in "severe drought", according to NOAA. They claim we will be in a drought pattern until the year 2020 (swell, only 8 more years to go). It's been like the dust bowl out here, we have severely windy days that pick up the dust and make it hard to see outside. Everything gets coated in a fine layer of dust, including me when I go outside. When I wear lip gloss, it becomes grit gloss. My allergies are killing me and I'm always coughing. Just like the dust bowl in the 1930s when people died of dust pneumonia.

We've had less than 1/2 an inch of rain out here in the past 4 months. We're fixing to dry up and blow away. I'm not even that scared of grass fires any more because the grass didn't grow from last spring, so it's all just dried up, broken stumps. Another year of this and it will be a true desert. Last sunday we were pushing 100 degrees....yesterday, only 65....tomorrow, 80...it's just nuts, I don't know whether to run the AC or the heater. I haven't needed a coat since December.

My suspicion is that it is going to be monstrously hot out here, with occasional breaks but no real rain to speak of.

reply to post by usmc0311


i would say the weather of last week was fitting of July or August but the snow is not so unusual for this time of year.

I know here in SC, we've had a warm spring, but not too far off normal for us. What we have gotten so far this year, is a lot more rain than we've had in a couple of years. This is a good thing for us, as the last couple of years we've had very dry springs.

I'm looking forward to seeing what the summer brings. The last couple of summers here in our area was not a brutal as it can get here (high humidity, with temps getting to 100, with heat indexes over 110). Last summer was cooler than we've had in years.

I was curious and took a look at the Old Farmers Almanac and it's predicting a cooler than normal summer for us. The funny thing is this spring they predicted higher than normal rain. Heh.

reply to post by FissionSurplus


Sounds miserable. We have your water up here it seems. Cold and record snows are the reality here. Still have three feet in my yard even though the melt started two weeks ago. At one point the sides of my drive were over my head and I'm over six feet. When we did the roof so it would not collapse, I had to have a Loader brought in to scoop it out of my drive as I could not even get to my door. the pile from the roof topped eight feet.

I'll try and wish some your way. Hope it improves for you soon. Hop a plane and come play in the snow

reply to post by eriktheawful


I remember My summers at Camp Lejeune in NC. Hot and Humid. And many afternoon thunderstorms in the afternoons as well. I still miss it down there. I hope it does stay cool for you guys this summer.