In West, September Brought Record Heat and Dry Weather
At Needles, California, which is also located in the unforgiving Mojave Desert, the average monthly temperature of 91.3°F tied for the hottest September on record. In addition, Reno, Nevada had its warmest September since records began there in 1888.… Read More
Climate Change and Fall Foliage: Not a Good Match
This year, at least in some places, the money may not be flowing in. “I hope I’m wrong, said Karl Niklas, a professor of plant biology at Cornell, in an interview, “but I just think it’s not going to be a great year in central New York.… Read More
The Age of Western Wildfires
The 2012 wildfire season isn't over yet, but already this year is shaping up to be the worst on record for fires in the American West. According to the National Interagency Fire Center, with two months still to go in the fire season, the total area already burned this year is 30 percent more than in an average year and fires burning right now acros… Read More
Heat Wave Adds to Wildfire Woes, Expands East
The heat, combined with drought conditions and afternoon thunderstorms that brought lightning but little rain, helped create ideal conditions for massive wildfires in Colorado. A thunderstorm-related wind shift caused the Waldo Canyon Fire near Colorado Springs to advance on the state’s second-largest city, prompting evacuation orders for at least … Read More
Western U.S. Faces ‘Extreme’ Wildfire Risk Now and Later
According to NIFC, a federal center that coordinates wildland firefighting efforts, there is an above normal potential for significant wildland fires this summer in much of Arizona and New Mexico, prior to the arrival of seasonal monsoon rains, which typically begin during July. … Read More
Avalanches Taking Toll; Foreshadowing the Future?
Less snow and a thinner snowpack has heightened the risk of avalanches in the Western U.S., with 20 deaths so far. … Read More
Montana Oil Spill Illustrates Climate-Related Risks to Pipelines, Experts Say
The river level, running well above flood stage, may have scoured the riverbed and exposed a pipeline, operated by Exxon Mobil Corp., that was supposed to be buried more than five feet deep.… Read More
Global Warming Brings Unusual Springtime Snowpack Decline in the West, New Study Finds
“We’re talking about simultaneous snowpack decline in Western watersheds that support 70 million people, says U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) climatologist Julio Betancourt, who co-authored the study. “We have to be concerned.… Read More
