Pirate's Cove

With a serious cold snap going on, Warmists are quick to point this out, such as Marshall Shepherd

A Response For People Using Record Cold U.S. Weather To Refute Climate Change

If you are reading or watching the news, winter weather is the current headline. Negative wind chills, feet of lake effect snow in the Great Lakes region, and possibly the coldest New Year’s Eve ball drop in almost a half century are on tap. Forecasts are suggesting that temperatures will be in the teens and wind chills below 0 deg F as the famed ball descends from the New York City skyline. The top 3 coldest temperatures were: 1 degree F in 1917, 11 degrees in 1962, and 15 degrees in 1976/1996, respectively. Like clockwork, you will also start seeing tweets and posts refuting climate change even though 2017 will end as one of the top 3 warmest years on record. It is very common to see statements like”those climate scientists are full of it, I have 30 inches of global warming in my yard.” These moments are perfect opportunities to increase science literacy. Here is a template for how I often explain cold weather within the context of a warming climate.

The key thing to convey to that skeptical uncle or vociferous social media friend is that “weather is mood, climate is personality.” My University of Georgia colleague Dr. John Knox mentioned this a few years ago, and it has been one of my favorite techniques to use while dealing with this pesky climate communication challenge for the public.  Weekly or daily weather patterns tell you nothing about longer-term climate change (and that goes for the warm days too). Climate is defined as the statistical properties of the atmosphere: averages, extremes, frequency of occurrence, deviations from normal, and so forth. The clothes that you have on today do not describe what you have in your closet but rather how you dressed for today’s weather. In reality, your closest is likely packed with coats, swimsuits, t-shirts, rain boots, and gloves. In other words, what’s in your closet is a representation of “climate.” Even my colleagues in the broadcast meteorology world are not immune to the snarky comments about cold weather and global warming.  WMAZ-Macon Meteorologist Matt Daniel summed it up this way, (snip)

What we are seeing right now in the United States is just,………well……wait for it……”winter”…..Even as climate warms, we will always have winter (cold weather, snowstorms, blizzards). Winter is related to how the Earth is tilted on its axis as it moves around the Sun. In a previous Forbes piece, I described how the axial tilt of our planet determines our seasons.

Interesting. And correct. Because weather happens. Seasons happen. Some years will be warmer or colder than others. Earth will go through warm periods and cool periods, along with hot ones and ice ages. None of this proves that mankind has mostly/solely caused any of this. Perhaps Dr. Shepherd should explain this to his Warmist brethren, who blame every weather event on ‘climate change.’ Or, to himself

Oh, and to throw a another counterintuitive thing out there, there are some studies that suggest that a warming climate (because more water vapor is available to a warmer atmosphere) may fuel bigger blizzards or snowstorms. That science is also emerging.