Congressional Hearing: Foundation for Climate Science

Update: More hearing details at Climate Science Watch.

Original post:
The House Select Energy Independence and Global Warming held a hearing yesterday (May 6) on the "Foundation for Climate Science". The committee majority invited 4 scientists to testify:

• Dr. Lisa Graumlich, Director, School of Natural Resources and the Environment, University of Arizona, and member of the “Oxburgh Inquiry” panel
• Dr. Chris Field, Director, Department of Global Ecology, Carnegie Institution of Washington, and co-chair of “Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability” portion of new IPCC report due in 2014
• Dr. James McCarthy, Professor of Biological Oceanography, Harvard University, past President and Chair of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, co-chair of “Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability” portion of IPCC report published in 2001
• Dr. James Hurrell, Senior Scientist, National Center for Atmospheric Research, contributor to IPCC reports

The minority invited the Discount Viscount, Lord Monckton of Brenchley.

The witnesses were requested to address 3 questions:

1. What are the observed changes to the climate system?
2. What evidence provides attribution of these changes to human activities?
3. What are the observed and anticipated impacts of climate change in the United States and throughout the world?

The highlight of the hearing: Rep. Jay Inslee (D-WA) takes apart the Discount Viscount, beginning at about 1:10:35.

Rep. Inslee: And I would note that there's a dispute about whether we actually landed on the moon, and there is a dispute about whether the earth is round, and there is a dispute about gravity in some places. But there's no . . .
Monckton: [Interrupting] Not from me sir.
Rep. Inslee: We'll get to you, "Lord" Monckton, shortly. . .

After discussing real science with the actual scientists, Inslee quizzes Monckton on his false representation as a member of the House of Lords and his utter lack of scientific qualifications.

April 2010 Temperature Review: Very Warm U.S.

The National Climatic Data Center's (NCDC) preliminary analysis of April temperatures, released within the last hour, shows a very warm month across most of the U.S. Record or near-record heat extended from the Northeast through the Mid Atlantic, Ohio Valley, and Great Lakes areas.

Five states had their record warmest Aprils in 116 years of history:

• Maine
• Connecticut
• Rhode Island
• New Jersey
• Illinois

In addition, many other states had top-10 warmest Aprils:

• New Hampshire
• Vermont
• Massachusetts
• New York
• Pennsylvania
• Delaware
• Maryland
• Virginia
• West Virginia
• Ohio
• Kentucky
• Michigan
• Wisconsin
• Minnesota
• Iowa
• Missouri

More details later.

Washington's Warmest Week, Second Consective Month

PM Update: As of 5 pm, the high is 77°, bringing the 7-day average to 74.1°, a full degree above the 1930 record. This value should hold, barring the highly unlikely event of a low below 59° before midnight.

Original post:
Following the record warmest first week of April, Washington's summer-like first week of May is on the verge of setting another record. Since records began at or near the current location of Washington National Airport in 1930, there have been only 2 years in which May 1-7 averaged above 70° (1949 and 1930). Following yesterday's midnight low of 66° after a high of 84°, the average through May 6 is 75.1°, well above the 73.1° for the first week of May in 1930. This morning's low of 59° with a forecast high of at least 75° this afternoon yield an expected weekly average of 73.9° or more.

Interestingly, there have been no daily high temperature records set or tied during this period. On May 3, however, the record high minimum of 70° blew away the old record of 65° in 1983. The minimum of 71° on May 2 was also a new record. In 1930, record highs were set on both the 2nd and 7th.

Dulles Airport, which has less than 50 years of history, did set a record on May 1 with 90° and tied the record of 88° on the 2nd. Dulles also set record high minimums on 3 consecutive days, May 2-4. The 70° low on the 2nd was only 1° below the all-time May high minimum of 71° on the 31st.

Gulf Gush-O-Meter: Gazillions of Gallons

Gulf gusher oil leak estimate meter from the PBS NewsHour:

Ryan Rumors Run Rampant

The rumors regarding a possible move of former WRC (Channel 4) meteorologist Bob Ryan to WJLA (Channel 7) continue. According to a post today at dcrtv.com, Ryan was seen at the Allbritton company Sunday brunch after this weekend's White House Correspondents' annual dinner. Allbritton is the parent of WJLA.

For previous history, see earlier Mediarology posts.

April Anomaly: Washington's Warmest Final Four Five

April 30 PM Update: Today's temperatures:

High           83
Low            49
Average        66
Departure      +5
Month-to-date  60.8 

April 29 PM Update: A couple more cool days have pushed the monthly temperature for April down to 60.7°. Yesterday was the coolest of the month (relative to average). This puts 2010 in fifth place for warmest April, behind 1960 and just ahead of 1941. With an average of around 65° likely to end the month tomorrow, this position should hold. (Charts updated through April 29.)

April 26 PM Update: Today's temperatures:

High           62
Low            54
Average        58
Departure      -1
Month-to-date  61.3 

Today's slightly below average temperatures lowered the monthly average by 0.1°.

Original post:
Heading into the final week of April, the Washington DC monthly average temperature remains in the handful (7 times in the last 140 years) of years above 60°. The average so far of 61.4° is the fourth warmest in history. In order for the monthly mean to drop below 60°, this week would have to average below 53°.

Climate Catfight 2.0: Long Term Vs. Short Term

The Weekday program on KUOW radio in Seattle today had a discussion of the disagreement between many broadcast meteorologists and climatologists on the subject of global warming.

The participants:

• John Coleman is a weather forecaster in San Diego. He is one of the founders of The Weather Channel.
• Bob Henson is a science writer for the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, who trained as a meteorologist. His book "Weather on the Air" about the history of TV weather is coming out in June.
• Nate Mantua is the co–director for the University of Washington Climate Impacts Group and a professor at the School of Aquatic and Fisheries Sciences.