SUB TITLE: “News You Can’t Use” (But, I think it is interesting)
AN OLD SAYING AMONG WEATHER HUMANS
“Climate is what you expect, weather is what you get.”
GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAIN PARK
For the third morning in a row, we have a report of seven inches of snow on Mt. Leconte, elevation 6,400 feet. Their high yesterday was 26 and low this morning 2 above zero. They have received some additional snow in the last 24 hours keeping their depth at 7 inches. Newfound Gap has 4 inches on the ground.
ROGERS PASS MONTANA
An unknown location to most people but to weather humans it is a “household word.” In the wee morning hours of a late January day in 1954, the lowest official temperature ever in the Lower 48 was recorded. (70 below zero) About the time it reached the low (before daybreak) there was a loud popping sound in the cabin where the silver miners lived who were the official coop observers. Possible contractions caused the popping and some of the trees could have frozen and popped..
BELOW FREEZING IN HAWAII
That beautiful state in the Pacific is not ALL warmth. The early morning temperature on Mauna Key on the Big Island was 28. Yes, they get snow also because Mauna Key is at an elevation of 13,796 feet!
BITTER COLD
It is very cold over a large part of our northern world, especially for this early in the season. The current temperature at Ojmjakon, Siberia is 53 below zero. That town or city bills itself as the “coldest continuously populated place on earth.” This has been a trend lately. If this is still going on well into December, look for some big chunks of bitter cold air advancing across the North Pole and heading south toward my house.
HEADED NORTH
Geography is very interesting and has always been one of my favorite subjects. If I departed Birmingham and walked due north I would pass very close or through Nashville and Indianapolis but eventually I would have to swim across Canada’s Hudson Bay, a large but shallow lake. Or, this time of year I could walk on the ice and try to avoid polar bears. Churchill, on the SW shore is billed as the Polar Bear Capitol of the world. My little dog would like to walk with me. She never wants to turn around.
SAHARA DESERT
It is a huge desert stretching all the way across North Africa and beyond. In the heart of the Sahara there is a couple of small mountain ranges with some elevations 10,000 feet or more! The Sahara has an impact on weather and climate far from its borders. For example, in hurricane season, we all watch for surface low pressure areas sliding off the west coast into the Eastern Atlantic. Sometimes, those develop into tropical storms or hurricanes.
ANTARCTICA
In 1966, the average temperature for the entire year at Plateau Station was 70 below zero. People who are supposed to know say that if a person, lightly clothed, stood outside they would freeze to death in only 60 seconds.
CHERRAPUNJI INDIA
They got 366 inches of rain in only one month, July, 1861. If there had been no runoff, that is more than 30 feet of water, deeper than lots of lakes or rivers.
THUNDERSTORMS
It is estimated that 1,800 of those are in progress around the world at all times.
LIGHTNING IS FRIGHTENING
Around this old, old globe, it is estimated that lightning strikes 100 times each second. Men are six times more likely to get killed by lightning than women.
SPEAKING OF OUR WORLD
It is comprised of 196,938,000 square miles. 71% is covered by water. The lowest elevation on earth is 1,349 feet below sea level on the shore of the Dead Sea. 28% of the earth is covered by forests and woodlands. I sure would like to know how many leaves fall to the ground each autumn. Please excuse my out-of-control 4th grade inquisitive mind. 3% of the world is barren desert.
NO NEW WATER
We are not manufacturing any additional water. It will stay the same. But with big population increases, it looks scary for the future. According to the National Geographic Society, studies show, that by 2025, about one billion people in North China, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Tunisia, among others will have “absolute drinking water scarcity.” Remember back in the 50s and 60s hearing that Birmingham would always have an endless supply of water?
A WATER FACT
It takes 120 drops to fill a teaspoon. I am sure you wanted to know that.
USA EXTREMES TODAY
Coldest this morning in the Lower Four Dozen States was 3 above zero ar Grand Marias, in North Minnesota. It was 2 above zero on Mt. Leconte in the Smoky Mountains. However, that temperature will ne be listed as the national low because the NWS only considers populated areas. High yesterday 96 Riverside, Calif. Lowest in Alaska this morning 20 below at Buckland. 17 inches of snow at Valdez.
Outta here, and I apologize for some of this worthless material.
