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Weather vs. climate: Why a cold winter doesn't refute climate change
Call it fortuitous timing. Hours before U.S. President Donald Trump issued a tweet last week panning climate change, a University of Georgia climatologist offered a lengthy pre-emptive explanation.
>> ‘Bombogenesis': What is it and why is everyone saying it?
“What we are seeing right now in the United States is just … well … wait for it … winter,” wrote Marshall Shepherd, director of the atmospheric science program at the University of Georgia and a former president of the American Meteorological Society.
>> What is a Nor’easter and how does it form?
Shepherd wrote that he would urge people to keep in mind that “weather is mood, climate is personality” and that weekly weather patterns say little about longer-term climate change.
>> Trump tweets ‘good old Global Warming’ could help with frigid temps
It came about 12 hours before Trump tweeted that forecasts were calling for record cold New Year’s Eve temperatures.
Shepherd wrote that even as climate warms, the seasons will always change to winter and yield frigid weather, snowstorms and blizzards. After all, he said, winter is related to how the Earth is tilted on its axis as it revolves around the sun.
Concludes Shepherd: "For now, the message for this week and the next seven days is that winter is reminding us that it still exists and always will even as our climate warms. Prepare accordingly, stay warm and help others."
'Bombogenesis': What is it and why is everyone saying it?
It seems like this year's wacky weather term is "bombogenesis."
Every year, there seems to be a new weather term that grabs everyone's attention. But they're almost never new and they're always less fantastical than they sound.
>> What is a ‘bomb cyclone’ and what will happen when it arrives?
This year's word is bombogenesis, a term that simply describes the rapid pressure drop in a storm system.
While you may have not heard the term until recently, there have been many New England storms that have undergone the process of bombogenesis.
The nor'easter tracking up the U.S. coast this week will drop pressure fast as it strengthens, increasing its expected wind and precipitation.
>> What is a Nor’easter and how does it form?
Typically, a storm with lower pressure has stronger winds and can produce intense rain or, in this case, snowfall rates.
So now that we know this storm will drop pressure fast or undergo "bombogenesis," we are expecting some hefty snowfall and strong, damaging winds.
The wind could knock out power to many areas and cause problems with the frigid temperatures that will follow this storm over the weekend.
It's so cold in Texas, this car wash froze over
Perhaps it’s not the best day to get a car wash in Central Texas.
If you were wondering just how cold it is in and around Austin, a picture taken Tuesday morning at a Pflugerville car wash might serve as an answer:
Noelle Newton, of Houston’s Fox 7, tweeted a picture Tuesday morning showing a car wash at an HEB in Pflugerville that had completely frozen over.
According to the National Weather Service, it was 30 degrees in Pflugerville around 1 p.m. Tuesday. The temperature in Austin was 31 degrees, with a hard freeze warning in effect till noon Wednesday.
Tuesday's deep freeze stretched across a wide swath of the U.S., from South Texas to Canada and from Montana through New England. In Texas, freezing temperatures were reported in Amarillo, Lubbock, Dallas, Austin and Houston.
The Associated Press and the Cox Media Group National Content Desk contributed to this report.
Look: It even snowed in Florida
It even snowed in Florida on Monday, as far south as the Cape Canaveral area.
Viewers spotted snowflakes shortly before midnight in Seminole and Brevard counties.
Viewers recorded video and captured photos of snowflakes in the air in the Orlando suburb of Oviedo and in Titusville, located on Florida’s Space Coast.
WFTV meteorologist Brian Shields said he received several verified reports of snow mixing into rain.
Supermoon 2018: 12 must-see photos capture New Year's 'wolf moon'
The new year kicked off with a stunning lunar display – the first supermoon of 2018, also known as the "wolf moon."
>> Click here or scroll down to see 12-must see photographs of the phenomenon
Dew point and humidity: What's the difference?
Relative humidity and dew point are often mistaken for the same thing and can be sources of confusion. But what are the differences between the two, and which is more relevant in everyday life?
>> Watch the video to learn more
>> Must-see: Niagara Falls is a winter wonderland in these stunning photos
Relative humidity and dew point both give us an idea of the amount of moisture in the atmosphere; however, only dew point is a true measurement of the atmospheric moisture.
>> When temperatures drop, don't be thrifty with your heat
Relative humidity is defined by the National Weather Service as the amount of atmospheric moisture present, relative to the amount that would be present if the air were saturated. But what does that really mean In short, the relative humidity is a function of both the moisture content in the atmosphere and the actual air temperature. By itself, it does not directly indicate the amount of moisture present in the atmosphere.
>> Could Niagara Falls completely freeze?
Relative humidity is calculated using meteorological variables such as vapor pressure, saturation vapor pressure, temperature and dew point. Without explaining the equation variable by variable, we can simply state that the relative humidity is determined by how close the air temperature is to the dew point temperature. The closer these values are, the higher the humidity. The further apart these values are, the lower the humidity.
Dew point is the term that most meteorologists use to describe the amount of moisture in the air. The National Weather Service defines dew point as the temperature to which air must be cooled to in order to reach saturation, assuming air pressure and moisture content are constant. In short, the dew point is an accurate measurement of the moisture content in the air. When talking about a certain day feeling “muggy” or “sticky,” the dew point temperature is the more accurate term to use.
Must-see: Niagara Falls is a winter wonderland in these stunning photos
A cold wave is sweeping almost all of North America, and as temperatures have dwindled, we’ve seen some pretty bizarre things. But one of the coolest and most beautiful sights right now has to be Niagara Falls, where Jack Frost painted a spectacular scene that looks like something straight out of Narnia.
>> RELATED STORY: Could Niagara Falls completely freeze?
At Least Six Wildfires Burning Across Southern California
California wildfires force thousands to evacuate: Live updates
Wildfires are raging through parts of Southern California, burning thousands of acres, destroying homes and businesses and forcing thousands of residents to evacuate.
>> PHOTOS: California wildfires burn thousands of acres, force evacuations
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