9 November 2016

Record Low Temperatures Are Dissapearing

Posted by Dan Satterfield

From NOAA.

From NOAA.

Guy Walton is the former lead forecaster for the Weather Channel, but most of us meteorologists know him these days as the person who keeps track of the “ratio of record highs vs record lows”. As the planet warms, we should expect to see more record highs and fewer record lows, and the data is indeed showing just that. It’s actually impossible to miss, because the ratio itself is in record territory, and has reached stunning proportions. Look at the graphs that Guy put together below, showing how the ratio of record highs to record lows has increased. In the first 8 days of November we had 614 record highs and 2 record lows!

The trend of fewer record lows is very apparent in the data. Image ctsy. Guy Walton.

The trend of fewer record lows is very apparent in the data. Image ctsy. Guy Walton.

Look at the ratio of record highs vs. lows below. +1.0 means 100% more record highs than lows. In other words, twice as many. We are far beyond that in 2016 with about 6 highs to every low! The steady warming since the 70’s is plainly visible, and everything except greenhouse gases have been ruled out as the cause.

Zero on this chart means an equal number of record highs and record lows. In this decade we are seeing more than two highs for every record low.

Zero on this chart means an equal number of record highs and record lows. In this decade we are seeing more than two highs for every record low.

This is exactly what you would see in a rapidly warming climate. Cold weather still happens, it’s just a LOT less frequent than really warm weather.