U.S. Drought Falls To Record Low

via The Global Warming Policy Forum (GWPF)
http://www.thegwpf.com

Drought in the U.S. fell to a record low this week, with just 6.1% of the lower 48 states currently experiencing such dry conditions, federal officials announced Thursday.

That’s the lowest percentage in the 17-year history of the weekly U.S. Drought Monitor report. The previous record low occurred in July 2010, when 7.7% of the contiguous U.S. was in a drought.

“Drought has certainly been disappearing at a rapid rate this spring,” said meteorologist Brad Rippey of the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The five-year drought in California is practically over, with only about 8% of the state currently in drought.

The strong El Niño of 2015-16 may have caused the initial decrease last year, he said. “El Niño is historically a ‘drought-breaker,’ while La Niña is a ‘drought-maker.’ ”

A persistent low-pressure area sitting along the west coast of North America this year helped fuel the ongoing wet weather, USDA meteorologist Eric Luebehusen said. Low pressure causes air to rise, which allows clouds and precipitation to form. Those storms and wet weather then typically meander east-northeast across the central U.S., he said.

The current record low is in sharp contrast to September 2012, when drought reached a record high — 65.5% — in the U.S.

Full story

via The Global Warming Policy Forum (GWPF) http://www.thegwpf.com

April 27, 2017 at 05:45PM

Up to 2 feet of snow to hit Rockies – in late April!

via Ice Age Now
http://ift.tt/2qcAwB3

A WINTER storm moving across Colorado will bring heavy snow and gusty winds from Friday evening into Saturday night. 

National Weather Service Pueblo CO Apr 27 2017 –

WINTER STORM WATCH FROM FRIDAY EVENING THROUGH LATE SATURDAY NIGHT…

* LOCATION…Lake county, western Chaffee county Between 9000 and 11000 feet, Sangre de Cristo mountains, western Mosquito Range and eastern Chaffee County above 9000 feet, La Garita mountains, eastern San Juan Mountains, northwestern Fremont county above 8500 feet, Wet Mountain Valley below 8500 feet, Wet Mountains, Teller county, Rampart Range and Pike`s Peak region, northern El Paso county, the upper Huerfano River Basin below 7500 Feet and western Las Animas County below 7500 Feet.

* SNOW ACCUMULATION…Total snow accumulation in excess of 8 inches will be possible, with the potential for 1 to 2 feet over the higher elevations of the the eastern mountains.

* WIND…North to northeast winds 15 to 25 mph with locally
higher wind gusts.

* IMPACT…Snow and blowing snow at times is expected to create hazardous weather and travel conditions in the watch area. In addition, heavy wet snow will be capable of producing tree and powerline damage.

Includes:
Leadville Vicinity/Lake County Below 11000 Ft-
Western Chaffee County Between 9000 and 11000 Ft-
Western Mosquito Range/East Chaffee County above 9000Ft-
La Garita Mountains Above 10000 Ft-
Eastern San Juan Mountains Above 10000 Ft-
Northern Sangre de Cristo Mountains Between 8500 And 11000 Ft-
Northern Sangre de Cristo Mountains above 11000 Ft-
Southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains Between 7500 and 11000 Ft-
Southern Sangre de Cristo Mountains Above 11000 Ft-
Northwestern Fremont County Above 8500Ft-
Wet Mountain Valley Below 8500 Ft-
Wet Mountains between 6300 and 10000Ft-
Wet Mountains above 10000 Ft-
Teller County/Rampart Range above 7500fT/Pike`s Peak Between
7500 And 11000 Ft-Pikes Peak above 11000 Ft-
Northern El Paso County/Monument Ridge/Rampart Range Below 7500 Ft-
Walsenburg Vicinity/Upper Huerfano River Basin Below 7500 Ft-
Trinidad Vicinity/Western Las Animas County Below 7500 Ft-
Eastern Las Animas County-
INCLUDING Leadville, Alpine, Granite, St Elmo, North Pass,
Cumbres Pass, Wolf Creek Pass, La Veta Pass, Poncha Pass,
Blanca Peak, Cuchara, Stonewall, Weston, Spanish Peaks,
Silver Cliff, Westcliffe, Rye, Woodland Park, Pikes Peak,
Black Forest, Walsenburg, Trinidad, Branson, and Kim

http://ift.tt/1QUPbLr

http://ift.tt/2pF69ac

Thanks to Kenneth Lund for these links

The post Up to 2 feet of snow to hit Rockies – in late April! appeared first on Ice Age Now.

via Ice Age Now http://ift.tt/2qcAwB3

April 27, 2017 at 05:26PM

A Climate Hysteric’s Fake Enemies List

via The Global Warming Policy Forum (GWPF)
http://www.thegwpf.com

Who really has the power in the climate-change debate?

In a widely cited 2014 study, the sociologist Robert Brulle purportedly exposed a network of nonprofit groups executing “a deliberate and organized effort to misdirect the public discussion and distort the public’s understanding of climate change.” He provided scant evidence of the public’s ignorance but lots of numbers supposedly exposing its source: center-right groups that form a “climate change counter-movement.”

Mr. Brulle’s smoking-gun statistic—call it the Brulle Number—was the combined annual income of 91 alleged conspirators. He calculated that from 2003 to 2010, these groups’ revenues averaged “just over $900 million” annually. The media twisted that into an even more extreme claim: “Conservative groups spend $1bn a year to fight action on climate change,” as a Guardian headline put it.

That’s false twice over. Mr. Brulle didn’t measure spending but income. Nor did he isolate the amount spent on climate issues, although most of the groups he studied had many policy interests.

Mr. Brulle’s wide net snared groups like the Intermountain Rural Electric Association, which provides electricity to Coloradans. He counted every penny of the nonprofit’s annual income as though it were a K Street powerhouse.

A new Capital Research Center study cuts Mr. Brulle’s calculations down to size. He claimed that the 91 “conspirators” had a combined income of $1.51 billion in 2010. Simply by counting income rather than spending he inflated their efforts by $169 million.

By speaking to the organizations, examining itemized IRS filings, tallying media mentions and webpages, and reading annual reports, we found that no more than 6% of their 2010 spending engaged the public on climate science. That knocks $1.24 billion off the $1.51 billion Brulle Number for that year.

Once corrected, the 2010 Brulle Number shrinks by 93% to only $100 million. That’s an imperfect estimate, but we’ve posted our data online at ClimateDollars.org. Unlike Mr. Brulle, we welcome debate.

Full post

via The Global Warming Policy Forum (GWPF) http://www.thegwpf.com

April 27, 2017 at 05:23PM

Top Trump Aides Clash on Legal Risks of Paris Climate Accord

via The Global Warming Policy Forum (GWPF)
http://www.thegwpf.com

Senior advisers to Donald Trump were divided over the Paris climate accord in a meeting Thursday, as Cabinet members and staffers considered whether staying in the pact could legally jeopardize the president’s regulatory rollbacks, according to people familiar with the high-level gathering.

The split means Trump’s staff could end up giving the president dueling advice, with one camp of advisers urging the U.S. to stay in the treaty and another urging an exit. The White House has said a decision on whether to remain in the pact will be made by the end of next month, when world leaders gather for the Group of Seven summit in Italy.

The question has divided top administration officials. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has said the U.S. should keep its seat at the table, while EPA chief Scott Pruitt wants the U.S. to get out. Energy Secretary Rick Perry says the U.S. should remain in the deal, but renegotiate.

All three were in the roughly hour-long meeting at the White House on Thursday, that also included Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin; White House advisers Jared Kushner, Steve Bannon and Ivanka Trump; and Attorney General Jeff Sessions, according to administration officials.

Under the accord, signed by more than 190 countries, the U.S. set a target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 26 percent by 2025 from 2005 levels. It’s one of former President Barack Obama’s signature achievements on climate change, but Trump vowed on the campaign trail he would seek to end U.S. involvement in it, calling it a bad deal.

A draft three-page internal State Department memo circulated in advance of the meeting said the accord imposes few obligations on the U.S., noting that “legal obligations are relatively few and are generally process-oriented.”

That was the one area of emerging consensus Thursday, according to people familiar with the meeting, who declined to be identified because it was an internal discussion. The top-level officials seemed to agree that there is no legal mechanism for the United Nations to punish the U.S. for flouting its commitment.

But there are potential domestic legal implications of staying in the deal anyway, representatives from the White House counsel’s office told the group. There is some risk that if the U.S. stays in the agreement and doesn’t take actions to cut emissions, it could surface in legal challenges to Trump’s moves to roll back environmental regulations, they said.

Full story

via The Global Warming Policy Forum (GWPF) http://www.thegwpf.com

April 27, 2017 at 05:23PM