Saturday, December 24, 2011

The Quest for Energy: Good News and Bad News

The good news: There's plenty of oil.
The bad news: We're going to burn it all.
Author Daniel Yergin discusses his book The Quest on the PBS News Hour; unlike in some previous interviews, the subject of climate is actually raised:

Watch Author Daniel Yergin on U.S. Need for a 'Diversified Energy Portfolio' on PBS. See more from PBS NewsHour.

Thursday, December 22, 2011

Pre-Christmas Heat Update: Records Set in NY, NJ, PA, DE, MD, VA

Preliminary data from the National Climatic Data Center show that at least 13 major daily high temperature records were set or tied yesterday from Virginia to New York (alphabetically by state):
                                    Previous         Period of
Location Record Date Record (yr)
DE WILMINGTON NEW CASTLE (KILG) 62 58 12/21/1949 67
NJ ATLANTIC CITY INTL AP (KACY) 63 61 12/21/1973 64
NJ NEWARK INTL AP (KEWR) 62 61 12/21/1957 76
NJ MILLVILLE MUNI AP (KMIV) 61 60 12/21/1990 61
NY NY CITY CNTRL PARK (KNYC) 62 62 12/21/1923 135
NY NEW YORK LA GUARDIA AP (KLGA) 61 59 12/21/1993 63
NY NEW YORK JFK INTL AP (KJFK) 59 57 12/21/1957 63
NY WESTCHESTER CO AP (KHPN) 59 57 12/21/2002 49
PA PHILADELPHIA INTL AP (KPHL) 63 59 12/21/1990 70
PA MIDDLETOWN HARRISBG AP (KMDT) 59 59 12/21/1998 67
PA DUBOIS FAA AP (KDUJ) 54 54 12/21/1988 44
PA BRADFORD RGNL AP (KBFD) 53 51 12/21/1988 54
VA WASHGTN DULLES INTL AP (KIAD) 61 60 12/21/1998 49
As previously noted, a record was also set at Baltimore.

The total number of daily low temperature records set or tied in all 50 states yesterday: 1.

Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Pre-Christmas Warmth Breaks Mid-Atlantic Temperature Records


Image (click to enlarge): Surface temperature at 11 pm EST, December 21, 2011, from Unisys

Southerly winds ahead of a strong storm system have broken daily temperature records from Virginia to New York this evening. At Kennedy Airport, New York the previous record high for December 21 was 56° in 1973, but the 11 pm temperature is 57°, where it has been for the last 2 hours. Other preliminary records set or tied (previous records in parentheses) include:
LaGuardia NY          61° (59°, 1993 and 1973)
Atlantic City NJ 63° (62°, 1923)
Reading PA 61° (tie, 1923)
Washington Dulles VA 61° (60°, 1998 and 1971)
Baltimore/BWI MD 63° (61°, 1956 and 1885)
Earlier this evening, the temperature at Central Park, New York, where records began in 1869, reached at least 61°, but the record high there was 62° in 1923.

Seasonal Outlook

Latest seasonal forecast: Click here.


Latest 3-month temperature outlook from Climate Prediction Center/NWS/NOAA.