The recent cold snap was “highly unusual in the current climate,” and not the product of man-made global warming, a new study found.
But wait, other scientists said the two-weeks of frigid weather and snow in the eastern U.S. was “very much consistent with our expectations of the response of weather dynamics to human-caused climate change.”
The group Climate Central put out a new study countering that claim. Climate Central specializes in an emerging area of research called “attribution” where scientists try to pin specific weather events on man-made warming.
Climate Central’s new study, however, only shows the malleable nature of trying to attribute individual weather events to long-term changes in global climate. The answer to questions of “is this weather the product of global warming” still depends largely on who you ask.
While Climate Central has research suggesting no global warming link, other scientists spent weeks hyping the alleged connection between warming and the recent cold snap.
In a blog post for former Vice President Al Gore’s environmental group, Penn State University climate scientist Michael Mann wrote, “the unusual weather we’re seeing this winter is in no way evidence against climate change,” it’s “an example of precisely the sort of extreme winter weather we expect because of climate change.”
Gore himself promoted Mann’s argument, suggesting the record cold in the eastern U.S. was just global warming.
It’s bitter cold in parts of the US, but climate scientist Dr. Michael Mann explains that’s exactly what we should expect from the climate crisis. https://t.co/6UfJ9Xxpq6
— Al Gore (@algore) January 4, 2018
Mann has often invoked the global warming “consensus” in the past, but his views on extreme winter weather and global warming seem to be outside what the bulk of evidence suggests. While Mann points to individual weather events, long-term weather trend observations — you know, climate — point to the opposite conclusion.
“Such claims make no sense and are inconsistent with observations and the best science,” University of Washington climatologist Cliff Mass previously told The Daily Caller News Foundation. “The frequency of cold waves have decreased during the past fifty years, not increased. That alone shows that such claims are baseless.”
Mann’s argument was largely informed by research by Rutgers University scientist Jennifer Francis, who argues receding Arctic sea ice levels are causing the jet stream to become more wobbly, causing cold spells and nor’easters more persistent along the eastern U.S.
As a nor’easter bore down on the East Coast at the opening of the new year, Francis herself weighed in, and like Mann argued the massive winter storm was consistent with our expectations of global warming. She even said these types of storms could become more common.
“The [ridge/trough] pattern that has prevailed across N. America the past few weeks is entirely consistent with research suggesting a warm Arctic tends to intensify this jet-stream pattern and make it more persistent,” Francis said in an emailed statement.
“We can’t say this particular storm is caused by global warming, but we can say that the persistent ridge/trough pattern, which is one factor in causing nor’easters, is likely to occur more frequently,” she said.
Francis is frequently cited in the media, especially amid the clamor to connect freezing U.S. weather to man-made warming. That fervor was only heightened when President Donald Trump tweeted on the subject — it sent liberal pundits into the stratosphere.
A slew of explainers came out attempting to link cold outbreaks to man-made warming, but as Climate Central’s new study points out, “[c]old waves like this have decreased in intensity and frequency over the last century.”
Indeed, Climate Central’s study seemed to be in line with the bulk of research on the relationship between winter weather and global warming.
“The Climate Central-led study conclusions fit exactly with that consensus opinion: less frequent and severe cold is a consequence of global warming,” Weather.us meteorologist Ryan Maue said in an email.
“Winters will still exhibit extreme cold for decades to come but the historical trend is toward less frequent and extreme cold due to global warming,” Maue said. “This winter has been extremely cold over much of eastern North America and we should still prepare for similar Arctic cold over the upcoming weeks.”
Read more at Daily Caller
The mounting evidence of a Fifth Estate working against the public interest and the documented corruption of senior FBI , DOJ
management is it any wonder that the global warming con-game isn’t part of the same organized crime syndicate .
The FBI , Obama officials and the Democrats conspired against a duly elected President . Treason nothing less . If they were prepared to do that the climate con-game was child’s play .
How many people knew this was going on and kept their mouths shut ? FISA judges had know idea that the National Enquirer garbage used to justify spying on innocent Americans was complete BS ? No chance .
Replace them they are part of it .
Jim Comey and the rest of his little band of leaking traitors should be in jail .
If Trump was not elected none of this corruption at the highest level of government would have seen the light of day .
I used to think it was just the Democrats had Seth Rich murdered
but now it looks like they had pals .
No wonder they are throwing everything they have at get rump out . Unfortunately the criminals behind the global warming fraud have a bit more time as a result .
I think it’s a mistake to engage the Warmists in debate. We need a clean slate.
SONNYHILL, you are right that it is a mistake to engage just the Warmist in debate. These people are motivated by hidden agendas so science of the climate change debate doesn’t matter to them. All that matters is that there is a forced reduction in fossil fuel use which supports their agenda. However, to the extent that the debate is heard/read by others it is very useful. The majority only know what the mainstream media has chosen to tell them and this is 100% in support of the climate change agenda. Exposure to debate gives them a chance to know that there is a more valid view point.
When the initial calculation of the impact of carbon dioxide on warming were made according to the science at the time, the results showed there would be warming but not enough to be a problem. They then added a fudge factor to get the results they were after. When this was proven not to exist they moved on other fudge factors. When it was obvious that warming wasn’t happening as expected “global warming” became “climate change”. It then became necessary to alter historical data to support the cause. When the Antarctic had an unexpected expansion of ice, that was caused by climate change. Now that some weather events are happening that undermine the AWG theory, they address the issue by stating it is caused by climate change. There is a clear pattern here of doing and saying anything to support the phony cause.
Now that we know “global warming ” causes everything does that mean the science fiction is settled . Kind of opens up an endless supply of Hollywood climate horror flicks . Global warming causes volcanos … who knew ? Global warming causes sun spot activity too .
Wasn’t it nice when kids knew what snow was .
What they say:
“Mann’s argument was largely informed by research by Rutgers University scientist Jennifer Francis, who argues receding Arctic sea ice levels are causing the jet stream to become more wobbly, causing cold spells and nor’easters more persistent along the eastern U.S.”
Francis herself weighed in, and like Mann argued the massive winter storm was “consistent with OUR EXPECTATIONS” of global warming.”
What we know:
New evidence deep beneath the Arctic ice suggests that a series of underwater volcanoes have erupted in violent explosions in the past decade.
What they say:
With news this week that polar ice is melting dramatically, underwater Arctic pyrotechnics might seem like a logical smoking gun. SCIENTISTS DON’T SEE ANY SIGNIFICANT CONNECTION, HOWEVER.
“We don’t believe the volcanoes had much effect on the overlying ice,” Reeves-Sohn told LiveScience, “but they seem to have had a major impact on the overlying water column.”
What we know:
Underwater volcanoes melting Arctic Ice, says geologist
“A very interesting high temperature and low salinity hole has just been punched in the sea ice … directly above the deep ocean Gakkel Ridge Rift / Fault System,” wrote Kamis in early November. (The event Kamis is referring to took place on October 12, 2015.)
What they say:
New Studies Say Greenland’s Ice Sheet Could Melt Far Faster Than Scientists Believed
What we know:
Volcano Deep Down Could Be Melting Greenland’s Ice
According to them, the “hotspot” is located in the northeast corner of Greenland — just below a site where an ice stream was recently discovered.
The researchers don’t yet know how warm the hotspot is, but if it is warm enough to melt the ice above it even a little, it could enable the ice to slide more rapidly out to sea.
To measure actual temperatures beneath the ice, scientists will have to drill boreholes down to the base of the ice sheet– a mile or more below the ice surface. The effort and expense make such measurements few and far between, especially in remote areas of northeast Greenland.
“The behaviour of the great ice sheets is an important barometer of global climate change,” said Ralph von Frese, leader of the project and a professor of earth sciences at Ohio State University.
“HOWEVER, to effectively separate and quantify human impacts on climate change, we must understand the natural impacts, too,” he added.
What they say:
Gore himself promoted Mann’s argument, suggesting the record cold in the eastern U.S. was just global warming.
What we know:
Has Al ever been right??? HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA
These significant changes in climatic conditions contribute to worsening the weather in winter. This season is strongly affected by a global warming.
The green nuts are falling from the tree and rolling everywhere and the squrrels and having a field day gathering all those nuts
This is exactly what the study said (below) – almost the complete opposite of what the author states. No surprise there on this rubbish website.
Conclusions
The two-week cold outbreak in the northeastern U.S. and southeastern Canada was highly unusual in the current climate; however, it is not unprecedented.
Cold waves like this have decreased in intensity and frequency over the last century, but still occur.
Temperatures like these are now about fifteen times rarer. This is equivalent to cold waves being about 4ºF (2ºC) warmer than they used to be.
jpm, would you care to lay down a trail of bread crumbs from your synopsis to CAGW?
It is fascinating to watch the shrinking number of climate con-men .
Now down to the size of one jail cell and soon a hula- hoop .
A permanent winter is what a CO2 starved world would look like .
The climate fear industry con-game is over and they know it . Let’s hope for a bit more global warming while we work on some real environmental improvements .
The Green nutcases blame everything on Global Warming/Climate Change and we have idiotic lawsuits being filed by greedy trial lawyers and liberal politicians just to fatten their wallets