Frigid Friday: A Callendar Effect

Now

Sunny, breezy, cold. After last evening's scattered first flurries of the season, temperatures have struggled to get beyond the mid 30s throughout the National Capital region this afternoon under mostly clear skies and brisk northwesterly breezes. Highs were unofficially 35° at National and 33° at Dulles.

Tonight and Tomorrow

Cold, then moderating. Under clear skies and light winds, tonight's lows will be near 20° downtown, ranging as low as the low teens in the 'burbs. Temperatures will rebound to much more seasonable levels tomorrow. Highs will be in the mid 40s with mainly clear skies.

For the outlook through the rest of the weekend, scroll down to Camden's post below.

Tropical Topics

The Atlantic hurricane season officially ended last week, so it must be time for the 24th annual extended hurricane season outlook for 2007 issued today from land-locked Colorado State. The forecast calls for above-average storm activity, with a total of 14 named storms, including 7 hurricanes, 3 of those severe. The long-term average numbers are 9.6, 5.9, and 2.3, respectively.

Climate Calendar

This Monday, the 11th, from 3-5pm, the Woodrow Wilson International Center is presenting a seminar entitled, "Climate Change: Historical Perspectives and the Current Debate". The speaker, James Fleming, is Professor of Science, Technology, and Society at Colby College. He is the author of "The Callendar Effect", which has just been published by the American Meteorological Society. The book is

the untold story of the remarkable scientist who established the carbon dioxide theory of climate change. Guy Stewart Callendar discovered that global warming could be brought about by increases in the concentration of atmospheric carbon dioxide due to human activities, primarily through burning fossil fuels. He did this in 1938!

The event is also scheduled to be webcast live. The Wilson Center is located adjacent to Federal Triangle Metro.