Judgment Delayed In Cuccinelli's UVA Climate Witch-Hunt

The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that a ruling has been delayed in a case regarding Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli's demand for all documents and emails from the University of Virginia involving climate researcher Michael Mann, who worked at the university from 1999 to 2005. Albemarle County Circuit Court judge Paul Peatross announced this afternoon that he would make a decision on the case within 10 days.

UVA administrators have strongly opposed the Attorney General's subpoena on the basis that it puts a "severe chill on academic freedom and scientific debate." Four organizations have also filed briefs in support of the UVA position. They are: ACLU of Virginia, the American Association of University Professors, the Union of Concerned Scientists and the Albemarle County-based Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression. Students, faculty, and alumni held a small rally on campus this afternoon to protest the case.

BBC Weatherman Gives One-Finger Salute on Air

BBC weathercaster Tomasz Schafernaker was caught live on-camera earlier this week giving his middle-finger reaction (known in German as the Stinkefinger) to a sarcastic introduction by the news anchor:



According to the UK Sun, this is not the first gaffe by the 31-year-old TV weatherman:

Last year he stumbled over his words in a live broadcast and forecast a "muddy sh*te" for Glastonbury instead of a "muddy site".

He was also forced to make an apology after referring to the Outer Hebrides or Western Isles of Scotland as "nowheresville" in a weather bulletin in February 2007.

Early this year Tomasz caused controversy when he posed without his top on for the cover of Active - a supplement in gay magazine, Attitude.

The Beeb itself reported its regrets:

"The News Channel presenter in the studio acknowledged a mistake had been made, and we apologise for any offence caused," a BBC spokesman said.

"Tomasz was not aware that he was on air, and whilst the gesture was only shown for a second, it was not acceptable."

The Guardian's MediaMonkey blog comments

And, you guessed it... Schafernaker again who couldn't stop laughing after BBC News presenter Simon McCoy – him again! – suggested he had a "frozen ball". "Just the one," replied TS. Schafernaker, who as well as predicting warm fronts has quite an impressive front himself (as revealed in Attitude magazine earlier this year) has also been known to break into song, read out the wrong forecast and occasionally make no sense whatsoever.

Summer of Simmer: August Week 2 Update

See here for more Washington, DC weather records

Following highs of 98° and 97° on Tuesday and Wednesday, temperatures cooled through the weekend with highs of only 80° on Friday and Sunday. These were the lowest daily highs since the temperature last failed to reach 80° on June 9. Today is the 68th consecutive day with temperatures of 80° or higher.

Today's preliminary high was 91° after a low so far of 74°. This makes the daily average 5° above average. Friday, August 13, through Sunday, August 15, were the first 3 consecutive days below average since the first 3 days of July, but they were only below average by 1° each.

Overall, the August average has declined slightly from its peak to 80.9°, which is 2.4° above average. If it continues at this rate, this month will be the 6th warmest August on record. The summer average to date is 81.6°, which continues well above the previous record pace. If temperatures for the rest of the month merely equal the long-term average, the summer will still easily break the record with a temperature of 80.8°. In fact, however, temperatures in the coming week as well as into the extended range are forecast to be above average.

Images (click to enlarge): Washington, DC average summer temperatures to date for 2010 and previous record years 1980, 1991, 2002, and climatological period 1971-2000; Daily high temperatures, summer 2010 (portion above 90° in dark red); CapitalClimate charts from National Weather Service data, background photo from Kevin Ambrose; 6-10 day and 8-14 day temperature outlooks from Climate Prediction Center/NWS

Chicago Extends Record Heat Streak to 45 Days

August 18 Update: The streak ended yesterday (August 17) with a high of 79°.

August 16 Update: The National Weather Service notes that today is the 46th consecutive day of 80°+ temperatures at Chicago by listing the 10 longest streaks:

1.   46 DAYS...WITH THE STREAK STILL CONTINUING ON AUGUST 16 2010
2.   42 DAYS...WITH THE STREAK ENDING ON AUGUST 7 1955
3.   34 DAYS...WITH THE STREAK ENDING ON SEPTEMBER 6 1995
4.   32 DAYS...WITH THE STREAK ENDING ON AUGUST 8 1983
5.   30 DAYS...WITH THE STREAK ENDING ON JULY 19 1921
6.   29 DAYS...WITH THE STREAK ENDING ON AUGUST 18 1988
7.   27 DAYS...WITH THE STREAK ENDING ON AUGUST 6 1999
8.   27 DAYS...WITH THE STREAK ENDING ON JULY 14 1966
9.   25 DAYS...WITH THE STREAK ENDING ON AUGUST 15 2007
10.  24 DAYS...WITH THE STREAK ENDING ON JULY 26 2005 

Original post:
At 10 am local time today, Chicago reached a temperature of 81°. This is now the 45th consecutive day that temperatures have been 80° or higher at Chicago in a streak which began on July 2. According to Tom Skilling's ChicagoWeatherCenter blog, the city set a record of 28 consecutive days above 80° on July 2-29. Counting temperatures of 80° or higher, the current streak exceeds the 42 days from June 27 to Aug. 7, 1955.

The average temperature of 77.7° in July at Chicago was the 7th warmest on record. July was also a very wet month; the 8.84" of precipitation was the 3rd wettest on record.

The current forecast calls for high temperatures in the low to mid 80s each day through next Saturday.

DC Held Heat Hostage: Day 51 of 90°+ Temperatures

1 AM Update: The temperature is still 85°; the new record high minimum goes into the books.

Midnight Update: The midnight (EDT) temperature is down to only 85°, so the record high minimum will most likely hold.

Original post:
Today's preliminary high/low temperatures of 97°/80° at Washington raise the summer average to date another notch to 81.9°. The August average is now 82.0°, 3.2° above average and the second hottest August in history. There have now been 51 days of 90°+ temperatures this year, 46 of them this summer. The summer total is now within 2 of the amount in 2002 and more than double last year's. The record for a calendar year is 67 in 1980.

The high missed the daily record by 3°, but the low, if it holds through midnight (1 am EDT), will break the old record high minimum of 78°. If it occurs, this will be the 4th daily low of 80° or higher this summer, the first time there have been more than 3 80°+ lows in the same year. In all, there have been only 28 such lows since records began at or near the current location of National Airport in 1930. The highest was 84° on July 16, 1983. If no rain showers lower the temperature, as seems likely from the current regional radar, the record will undoubtedly hold. Interestingly, however, on July 20, 1981, an impressive 0.76" fell within the 2 hours of 7 to 9 pm (EDT), but the low temperature for the day was still 80°.

The high of 97° at Washington Dulles was enough to beat the old record of 96° in 1980. Records at Dulles extend back to 1962. Wallops Island, VA, which also has a relatively shorter record (since 1963), beat the old record of 92° in 1977 with a high of 97°.

Summer of Simmer: 67-Year Record Tied; 50th Day of 90°+

Evening Update: The monthly and seasonal cooling degree days for Washington continue to run significantly above average, driving up area utility bills:

Today    22 +57%
August  166 +14%
Summer 1205 +33%
2010   1446 +39% 

Original post:
Today's preliminary high temperature of 98° at Washington ties the record for August 10 set in 1943. Along with the low so far of 76°, this brings the August monthly average to 81.4°, which is 2.5° above the long-term average. The summer average to date is 81.8°.

The high of 97° at Baltimore was 3° short of the record, and the high of 95° at Washington Dulles was 2° below the record there. The downtown Baltimore high was also 97°.

The high of 97° at Salisbury, MD tied a record set in 1977 in a temperature history dating back to 1900. The high of 99° at Georgetown, DE broke the record of 98° set in 1949. Georgetown records began in 1948.

This is the 45th summer day with a temperature of 90° or higher and the 50th of 2010 including the 5 in April and May. The record is 67 days of 90°+ in 1980.

Summer of Simmer: August Week 1 Update

See here for more Washington, DC weather records

Following a slight break on Saturday (high 87°, low 68°), Washington, DC's summer was back on simmer by yesterday with a high temperature of 91°. After readings of 92° for 4 consecutive hours, it was likely that today's high would be warmer than that, and in fact the maximum so far is 93°. Meanwhile, the low so far of 75° is 5° above the forecast, and that is likely to hold through midnight.

The cumulative average temperature so far this summer is now a toasty 81.7° for the 70 days of meteorological summer since June 1. This is 4.6° above the 30-year climatological average and an incredible 2° or more above each of the 3 previous hottest summers to date. There has never been a summer in Washington with an average temperature above 80°, but with August so far averaging 80.7°, all 3 months this summer are above 80°.

Using the National Weather Service forecast temperatures for the next 7 days and climatological averages for the rest of the month, the summer of 2010 would average 80.9°, nearly a whole degree above the old record in 1980. However, the extended outlook from the Climate Prediction Center calls for over a 60% chance of above-normal temperatures for August 15-19 and a 50-60% chance of above-normal for August 17-23. If this pans out, the final average could very well be higher.

Images (click to enlarge): Washington, DC average summer temperatures to date for 2010 and previous record years 1980, 1991, 2002, and climatological period 1971-2000; Daily high temperatures, summer 2010 (portion above 90° in dark red); CapitalClimate charts from National Weather Service data, background photo from Kevin Ambrose; 6-10 day and 8-14 day temperature outlooks from Climate Prediction Center/NWS