Record Colds in many places

[Alps]

Glad for Global warming or it would be worse.

Actually, global warming caused the whole thing, by disrupting the polar airmass. Warmer Arctic = closer in temperature to temperate areas = easier for polar vortex to droop down over North America = more snow and cold.

[JMoses24]

The problem was twofold.

1) A bad forecast, which misplaced several features in the synoptic setup by at least 100 miles (although we don't yet know what was missed). In Alabama, to use an example, the heaviest snow was expected to set up around the Montgomery area. That didn't happen...instead it was located right over Birmingham metro. Montgomery got some snow but not until after the damage was done to Birmingham. Meteorologists screwed up (and they admit it). Plain and simple.

2) As others have mentioned, Atlanta and Birmingham are just not well prepared for snow and ice. If they're lucky, an event that causes Winter Weather Advisory criteria (which in these cities I believe is only 1") accumulations will occur every 2-3 years. Therefore, resources aren't readily available to move into position. In the case of this storm, what was available was diverted further south to deal with ice and snow in those areas. In Cincinnati, meanwhile, we get at least one, and usually several, advisory criteria (2") event per year. This criteria is different from one city to another, and is based on a number of factors.

So, when you take the misplaced weather features, and combine them with the fact that these cities do not see accumulating snow all that often and the fact that the available resources had actually been sent further south, you get the humanitarian disaster that we had in Birmingham and Atlanta. To be brutally honest, I am surprised (yet grateful) that only 13 people died, given how bad the forecast was.

[ZLoth]

See Why the South Fell Apart in the Snow and How 2 Inches of Snow Created a Traffic Nightmare in Atlanta. What prevents me from going "The people in Atlanta are ID10Ts for being shut down by so little snow LOL LOL ROFL" is that the type of weather that Atlanta experienced was not the type that is to be expected. Maybe in Michigan or upstate New York, but not Georgia. As a planner, you have to plan for what is reasonable and prudent, and then a little bit above that. From the news reports, photographs, and Facebook postings, the snow came down in early-mid afternoon then refrooze into a frictionless sheet of ice. The last time it occurred was three years previously during the night, not during mid-afternoon.

[agentsteel53]

See Why the South Fell Apart in the Snow and How 2 Inches of Snow Created a Traffic Nightmare in Atlanta. What prevents me from going "The people in Atlanta are ID10Ts for being shut down by so little snow LOL LOL ROFL" is that the type of weather that Atlanta experienced was not the type that is to be expected. Maybe in Michigan or upstate New York, but not Georgia. As a planner, you have to plan for what is reasonable and prudent, and then a little bit above that. From the news reports, photographs, and Facebook postings, the snow came down in early-mid afternoon then refrooze into a frictionless sheet of ice. The last time it occurred was three years previously during the night, not during mid-afternoon.

I still maintain that 99% of those cars on the road were non-essential.

if you can't drive in it, don't.

if I saw that sort of traffic chaos brewing for my afternoon return commute, and the roads were covered in a substance I was unfamiliar with but vaguely knew that inexperience meant danger... I'd say 'fuck it, I'm staying at work until this clears' and that would have been that. 

[ZLoth]

It is quite easy, sitting hundreds of miles away from Atlanta (and such) and with hindsight to say that they should have done A and should not have done B. There are some questions that I have including what was the weather like at 6 AM when many people are starting to go work? If the weather is halfway decent in the morning, some bosses will insist that you report in even if the forecast will turn drastically worse later on, figuring that they will get a half-day's work out of you.

[ET21]

Glad for Global warming or it would be worse.

Actually, global warming caused the whole thing, by disrupting the polar airmass. Warmer Arctic = closer in temperature to temperate areas = easier for polar vortex to droop down over North America = more snow and cold.

Not at all. It is due to a warmer than average Pacific oscillation temperature (basically warmer ocean currents and ocean temps). This has forced a ridge to form over the western sections of the NA continent. This is forcing storm systems along the "Pineapple Express" over the ridge and then dumping down into the eastern 2/3 of the country. This is why the West Coast, particularly California, is experiencing a very dry winter because the Pineapple Express is their wet season. The ridge is also forcing record warmth into Alaska.

Because of this ridge, the arctic air is being dumped upon the eastern NA continent with frequent advances of cold air, and above average snowfall. The Midwest, Ohio Valley, and parts of the Northeast are seeing one of the coldest and snowiest winters since the classic winters of the 1970s and 80s. The Southeast are seeing RECORDS when it comes to winter weather because of how deep this trough is digging with each cold advance.

Right now, Chicago O'Hare is already at about 43 inches of snow, which is already above the Seasonal norm. With another 5-10 incher tomorrow and a 4-8 incher possible Tuesday, our annual snowfall will surpass 50 inches. 

[US71]

Glad for Global warming or it would be worse.

Actually, global warming caused the whole thing, by disrupting the polar airmass. Warmer Arctic = closer in temperature to temperate areas = easier for polar vortex to droop down over North America = more snow and cold.

I would be inclined to believe Global Warming (actually"Climate Change" is the proper term) exacerbated the extreme weather.

[wxfree]

Weather is extremely complicated, with multiple layers contributing to any particular event, or uneventful weather.  Climate has multiple layers of complexity on top of that.

Something I've noticed is that just about any time people try to predict things that can't be predicted very well, they find a way to predict that things will get worse, and then worse after that.  If I were to guess, I'd say it may have something to do with the fear of mortality, almost as if people deal with their own impending death by combining it with the death of the whole world, or possibly that they are comforted by the thought that things will get ever-worseningly awful and so death is a better outcome.

That isn't to say that there isn't any science behind the impending new ice age/global warming, I mean the over-broad and almost impossible not to happen "climate change."  There is, in fact, much science behind any of them.  But we don't really know how to predict where a storm will hit a whole day in advance; I doubt our ability to predict climate in future decades.  We don't even have a full catalog of all the things that affect climate.

To me, this isn't about politics or environmentalism; it's about safety, individual and large-scale.  If you stay in a closed garage with a running car, you'll die.  That, to me, is enough proof that our current energy source is something bad that we need to move past.  At one time, it was the best we could do, but we need to figure out how to do better.  Tying it to global warming or climate change should be unnecessary, because regardless of the truth of that matter, burning fossil fuels, undeniably, produces poison.

[corco]

That... very well put. All we know for sure is that overall the world is getting warmer- which has nothing to do with individual events. This is fact. This is easily provable. Will it continue to do so and did man cause it? Its a theory, and a pretty good theory that it will and that we did, but we dont know for sure. In the meantime, yeah- if there are cost effective alternatives to fossil fuels it would be silly not to chase them- the course were on is going to require us to keep drilling deeper and deeper at greater and greater expense. Yeah, there is enough oil to get us by for probably ever, but its going to be really hard and expensive to actually extract it. If gas were still  dollar a gallon it wouldnt make economic sense for North Dakota to be booming right now because fracking is expensive. Renewable energy is just that- renewable. It wont ever get more expensive to extract resources that regenerate. 

[vdeane]

Honestly, the whole global warming debate could be over if scientists were just smart enough to sell alternative energy with eliminating oil dependence on the middle east rather than tying it in with the environmental movement.  As it is right now, they're preaching to the choir and angering conservatives.  They should be courting the conservatives with the knowledge that the environmentalists would support them regardless.  There isn't anything we'd need to do to address global warming that isn't a good (and arguably necessary, thanks to peak oil) idea regardless.

I've been wondering about this.  Does Atlanta not have school buses?  Where I'm from, the kids would be bussed home.  Their parents would NOT be going to school to pick them up.

I thought it was said that they DID have school buses, but they weren't able to drop the kids off at their houses because they were getting stuck in the same traffic, so at a certain point they gave up and went back to the schools. I remember being stuck on a bus until 7:30 one night because a tornado had struck my area (both my school and individual neighborhood was fine) and we had to navigate the destruction.

The reports I read said that the parents going to school to pick up their kids CAUSED that traffic in the first place.

That... very well put. All we know for sure is that overall the world is getting warmer- which has nothing to do with individual events. This is fact. This is easily provable. Will it continue to do so and did man cause it? Its a theory, and a pretty good theory that it will and that we did, but we dont know for sure. In the meantime, yeah- if there are cost effective alternatives to fossil fuels it would be silly not to chase them- the course were on is going to require us to keep drilling deeper and deeper at greater and greater expense. Yeah, there is enough oil to get us by for probably ever, but its going to be really hard and expensive to actually extract it. If gas were still  dollar a gallon it wouldnt make economic sense for North Dakota to be booming right now because fracking is expensive. Renewable energy is just that- renewable. It wont ever get more expensive to extract resources that regenerate. 

Technically the best word is hypothesis.  The scientific theory and the colloquial "I have a theory about X" are two completely different things.

[corco]

Honestly, the whole global warming debate could be over if scientists were just smart enough to sell alternative energy with eliminating oil dependence on the middle east rather than tying it in with the environmental movement.  As it is right now, they're preaching to the choir and angering conservatives.  They should be courting the conservatives with the knowledge that the environmentalists would support them regardless.  There isn't anything we'd need to do to address global warming that isn't a good (and arguably necessary, thanks to peak oil) idea regardless.

Honestly, that could be said for most individual aspects of the environmental movement. I could easily envision a world where conservatives, not liberals are the ones spearheading the campaign because the whole idea behind sustainability is that if you waste less, you have more. Many of the individual ideas are just good common sense, but the whole thing has become so politicized and embraced by environmentalist radicals and there's so much fear by conservatives of government forcing these ideas on people that they've gotten scared away from it. As it is, FOX News conservatives are only interested in wasting less to have more when it comes to government spending, which for some reason liberals are against. It's all so convoluted.

[NE2]

Honestly, the whole global warming debate could be over if scientists were just smart enough to sell alternative energy with eliminating oil dependence on the middle east rather than tying it in with the environmental movement.

Because American-drilled oil/gas doesn't contribute to global warming.

[agentsteel53]

Because American-drilled oil/gas doesn't contribute to global warming.

hey, if you want to negotiate with the worst of the Republicans in Congress, you've gotta engage in a little duckspeak.

[NE2]

hey, if you want to negotiate with the worst of the Republicans in Congress, you've gotta engage in a little duckspeak.

That rumble you just heard was the Overton window drifting onto the right shoulder.

[realjd]

Honestly, the whole global warming debate could be over if scientists were just smart enough to sell alternative energy with eliminating oil dependence on the middle east rather than tying it in with the environmental movement.

Because American-drilled oil/gas doesn't contribute to global warming.

Back in the early 1900's, the world was cooler. Fact.
Back in the early 1900's, we had essentially no environmental regulations. Fact.

Coincidence? I think not. We need to burn more wholesome American coal without regard air pollution. It's the only chance we have left to reverse global warming!

[Alps]

Halting consumption of fossil fuels won't stop global warming, FWIW. It may decrease the rate of warming by some amount, but this has been going on for decades if not centuries.

[NE2]

Halting consumption of fossil fuels won't stop global warming, FWIW.

Yeah, it's a bit late for the simpler solutions.

[Road Hog]

I'll say this much, give me a polar vortex and 15ºF any day over 75ºF, southwest winds and clouds of mountain cedar pollen.

I have a FWD Honda and can get around fine in ice. The December storm here slowed me down, but was not a problem.

[vdeane]

The "four wheel drive handles snow better" myth needs to die.  It doesn't matter how many wheels are powering the car if the tires are skidding.

[empirestate]

The "four wheel drive handles snow better" myth needs to die.  It doesn't matter how many wheels are powering the car if the tires are skidding.

I agree, but he said front wheel drive, not four wheel drive:

I have a FWD Honda and can get around fine in ice.

[corco]

The "four wheel drive handles snow better" myth needs to die.  It doesn't matter how many wheels are powering the car if the tires are skidding.

Except if you're driving uphill or accelerating from a stop. Then it really does handle snow better. It just doesn't make a difference once you're at speed and you try to slow down.

The myth that you can drive as if the roads are dry when the roads are snowy in 4WD needs to die, but 4WD does handle snow better. If you drive a 4WD car the same way you would a FWD car, you'll have a better time. You're as likely to end up in the ditch, but you're less likely to spin your wheels a shit ton when accelerating from a stop or have to corrective-steer your way up hills, so it does handle better. But don't drive differently.

[ZLoth]

Meanwhile, in Sacramento, the NWS has issued this special weather statement for the month of January, 2014. To quote bits and pieces:

...A PLETHORA OF RECORDS SET IN SACRAMENTO CALIFORNIA THROUGHOUT JANUARY 2014 DURING THIS HISTORIC DROUGHT...

JANUARY 2014 RE-WROTE THE RECORD BOOKS IN SACRAMENTO. HERE ARE THE HIGHLIGHTS, MANY RECORDS NEVER SEEN BEFORE IN THE CAPITAL CITY.

snip

SPECIAL NOTE: SACRAMENTO STATICAL DATA WAS USED DUE TO ITS LENGTHY HISTORY FOR RECORDS DATING BACK TO 1849 FOR PRECIPITATION AND 1877 FOR TEMPERATURES. SEVERAL OTHER LOCATIONS THROUGHOUT INTERIOR NORTHERN CALIFORNIA DID BREAK RECORDS, BUT DUE TO THE DETAILED DATA BASE FOR SACRAMENTO DETAILED INFORMATION WAS VERIFIED.

[sammi]

...A PLETHORA OF RECORDS SET IN SACRAMENTO CALIFORNIA THROUGHOUT JANUARY 2014 DURING THIS HISTORIC DROUGHT...

So, the exact opposite of what's happening in the rest of the country?

[ET21]

Meanwhile, in Sacramento, the NWS has issued this special weather statement for the month of January, 2014. To quote bits and pieces:

...A PLETHORA OF RECORDS SET IN SACRAMENTO CALIFORNIA THROUGHOUT JANUARY 2014 DURING THIS HISTORIC DROUGHT...

JANUARY 2014 RE-WROTE THE RECORD BOOKS IN SACRAMENTO. HERE ARE THE HIGHLIGHTS, MANY RECORDS NEVER SEEN BEFORE IN THE CAPITAL CITY.

snip

SPECIAL NOTE: SACRAMENTO STATICAL DATA WAS USED DUE TO ITS LENGTHY HISTORY FOR RECORDS DATING BACK TO 1849 FOR PRECIPITATION AND 1877 FOR TEMPERATURES. SEVERAL OTHER LOCATIONS THROUGHOUT INTERIOR NORTHERN CALIFORNIA DID BREAK RECORDS, BUT DUE TO THE DETAILED DATA BASE FOR SACRAMENTO DETAILED INFORMATION WAS VERIFIED.

I'm getting your Pineapple Express thanks to the ridge... every other day it's another system

[jeffandnicole]

The "four wheel drive handles snow better" myth needs to die.  It doesn't matter how many wheels are powering the car if the tires are skidding.

Four Wheel Drive Vehicles are definitely better in the snow. 

The drivers, on the other hand...