You are browsing the archive for September 2016 - Dan's Wild Wild Science Journal.
30 September 2016
Historic Rainfall Event in Maryland and Delaware
In my last post, I wrote about the possibility of a severe flood/rain event in Eastern Virginia/Delaware/Maryland. Unfortunately my forecast was correct, and in short, it’s still raining. The town of Harbeson Delaware had over a foot of rain in 24 hours! Schools were closed, roads washed out, and many other closed. I mentioned yesterday that the water temps in the Atlantic are at record levels, and it’s hard to …
28 September 2016
Another Severe Flood Event May Be On The Way for the Mid-Atlantic
The location of the heaviest rainfall will likely be different from this model run (See below), but very heavy rainfall threat is increasing for the next 72 hours. I rarely post raw model data here, since it can lead to people assuming they’re not going to get the worst of the storm, when they are at risk, but I am making an exception because of the threat to so many …
27 September 2016
The Only Science in The Debate
Since the whole world is talking about the debate, it’s worth mentioning the only science question that came up. Fact check: The images on the left were published on Slate. The tweet is apparently still there. Just to be clear every major science body on Earth has said the IPCC reports are good science. That includes NOAA/NASA, and The Royal Society/National Academies of Science, the American Meteorological Society, and the …
22 September 2016
This Photo Speaks Volumes and Gives Me Hope For A Better World
The state of science literacy in America is frankly abysmal. Yes, I could write paragraphs about the chemtrail folks; those who think the world is 6,000 years old, and the 6% of the population who are convinced that the Moon landing was a hoax. Then I could start with the climate scientists I know who get death threats. BUT THIS PHOTO GIVES ME HOPE. It’s a photo of …
21 September 2016
From Scientific Skepticism to Conspiracy Theory
Science is all about skepticism. We demand data, and ANY theory must be able to submit itself to an experiment that could possibly disprove it. If it cannot, then it is NOT science. If an experiment disproves it, then the theory is wrong, period. However, when you reach a mountain of well understood evidence, those who refuse to believe it are no longer skeptics. Some folks call them conspiracy theorists or …
20 September 2016
NOAA: Earth Has 16th Record Hot Month in a Row
From NOAA today: Global highlights: August 2016 The August temperature across global land and ocean surfaces was 1.66°F above the 20th century average of 60.1°F. This was the highest for August in the 1880–2016 record, surpassing the previous record set in 2015 by 0.09°F. August 2016 was the highest monthly temperature departure since April 2016 and tied with September 2015 as the eighth highest monthly temperature departure among all months …
16 September 2016
Arctic Ice Melt Reaches 2nd Lowest On Record
This press release from the National Snow and Ice Data Center this evening: BOULDER, Colo.—The Arctic’s ice cover appears to have reached its minimum extent on September 10, 2016, according to scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC). Arctic sea ice extent on that day stood at 4.14 million square kilometers (1.60 million square miles), statistically tied at second lowest in the satellite record with the 2007 …
14 September 2016
Randall Munroe at XKCD Puts it All in Perspective
Like most geeky people, I’m a big fan of the comic XKCD (along with Bloom County). Munroe has had some great ones but this ranks with the best. Almost all of civilization as we know it developed during what Brian Fagan called “The Long Summer“. He was talking about the very stable climate of the last 5,000 years. Take a look at the image below, and you’ll see that it …
13 September 2016
Hottest August On Record- NASA
NASA announced Tuesday that August 2016 was the hottest August ever measured on Earth, with records going back to 1880. It also ties July for the hottest month ever measured. Much of the Northeast U.S. also had the hottest August on record as well. It is now virtually certain that 2016 will pass 2015 as the hottest year on record. Notice in the image below how much hotter 2015 was …
The Colors You Can Get from Sunlight and Air/Water Molecules
I have a rule about great sunsets, which I want to pass on to my fellow sunset fanatics. The most colorful sunsets happen when you have ALL of the ingredients below: 1. A dewpoint below 60. (Below 50 is better) 2. Cirrus in the western sky. 3. Cirrcocumulus in the western sky. 4. Altocumulus and some altostratus in the western sky. 5. Few low level clouds, but some scattered about …