A very chilly Sat. -- breezy, cloudy with temps. in the 50s but lower wind chills. Much the same for Sunday though not quite as cold. Slow warming for Thanksgiving week with a gradual decrease in winds.
Earth Gauge: Geography Awareness Week 2012
You’ve probably heard the saying “you don’t know what you have until it’s gone.” Farmers who suffered through one of the worst droughts in United States history this past year might think the saying refers to water. Even though it covers 70 percent of the globe, water is a scarce resource that can be locked away for thousands of years before evaporating into our atmosphere. And even then, it only stays in our atmosphere for several days before raining back down to Earth. So, conceivably, the water you’re drinking today may have evaporated from somewhere half-way around the world where it had been stuck for thousands of years!
Tip: November 11-17 is Geography Awareness Week. This year, National Geographic wants us to think about “interdependency” and things in our lives – like water – that come from somewhere else. You can celebrate Geography Awareness Week by calculating your own water footprint to discover how much water you use, and how much water is used to create the products you need every day. Then, use the WaterSense calculator to find out how much water, energy and money you can save by installing water-efficient fixtures in your home.
Want even more water conservation ideas? Check out 100 Ways to Conserve.
(Source: The National Geographic Society, “A Freshwater Source,” Accessed Online November 9, 2012)
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State of the Climate Report - Highlights from NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center. Visit -- here -- for more information.
October 2012 National Climate Summary
October 2012 temperatures in the United States averaged 0.3 degrees Fahrenheit below normal, breaking a 16-month streak of above normal temperatures. Only the Northeast and Southwest featured temperatures above normal. Precipitation was slightly above the long-term average, with Hurricane Sandy related rainfall pushing rainfall totals in parts of the Northeast to monthly records while much of the Southwest and South Central regions experienced below normal to record dry conditions. Drought conditions declined over October from 64.6 percent coverage of the United States to 60.2 percent, with improvements in parts of the Midwest and Northeast and deteriorating conditions in the Northern Rockies.
Other items of note include:
· Hurricane Sandy brought record breaking storm-surge levels to New York’s Battery Park, record high Delaware River water levels in Philadelphia, a possible record low center of pressure during landfall for the Northeast coast, as well as myriad October snowfall records from North Carolina to Pennsylvania.
· January through October 2012 was the warmest such period on record for the United States at 1.1 degrees Fahrenheit above the previous mark. These ten months were record warm in 21 states. November 2011 through October 2012 was also the warmest such period on record for the United States, smashing the previous mark by 3.2 degrees Fahrenheit.
· The United States Climate Extremes Index achieved its second highest value on record for the January through October 2012 period.
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Climate in the News: “Revealed: Climate change led to decline of Maya civilisation.” – The Independent, November 9, 2012 – Analysis of cave deposits from Belize show that the decline of Mayan civilization corresponded to a period of low rainfall and drought.
Have a great & safe weekend!
