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To: Wharf Rat who wrote (1005049)

3/9/2017 10:38:09 AM

From: Wharf Rat

Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 1574258

February’s Warmth, Brought to You by Climate Change

By Brian Kahn

Published: March 8th, 2017

A bonanza of heat records fell throughout February in almost all quarters of the U.S. and research released on Wednesday shows that this pervasive spring-like warmth was made possible by climate change.

The rise in planetary heat made the freakishly warm February at least three times more likely than it was around 120 years ago, according to the analysis by scientists working on the World Weather Attribution team. While it was a month to remember, by mid-century that type of heat could occur every three years unless carbon pollution is curtailed.

February temperature anomalies over North America. ECMWF analysis compared to ERA-interim 1981-2010.

The warm spell is just the latest piece in a growing body of evidence that climate change is playing a role in almost all extreme heat events. Winter is the fastest warming season in the U.S. and February is no exception. February temperatures in particular have risen by 3°F since 1895, which is roughly twice as fast as the global average.

This February fits right in line with that trend. It was the second warmest on record for the U.S., trailing only 1954, according to the National Centers for Environmental Information. The U.S. average for February was 7.3°F above normal, the fifth-most anomalously warm month ever recorded. In all, 16 states had their warmest February on record from Texas to New York.

RELATEDThe weather map was painted in red from border to border in the eastern two-thirds of the country for nearly all of February (and winter for that matter) with only the Pacific Northwest cooler than average. The heat drove a record-setting ratio of daily record highs vs. record lows and sped the arrival of spring in some areas by up to four weeks.

Scientists used historical data and climate models to understand what was driving the heat. Historical observations show that around 1900, this type of persistent heat was a 1-in-160 year event, but in our current climate it’s now a 1-in-12 year event. Using models to tease out the specific role climate change played, they found that it made the Ferbuary heat at least three times more likely.

If the world continues on its current pace of greenhouse gas emissions, this type of February could become the norm by 2050.

Temperature rankings across the U.S. in February.
Credit: NOAA NCEI

“What our research shows is that this kind of heat has become more common and will continue to get more common in the future,” said Andrew King, a fellow at the ARC Centre of Excellence for Climate System Science in Melbourne and one of the report’s authors.

While the findings are not peer reviewed, the analysis used peer reviewed methods that have been used extensively in previous attribution studies. The vast majority of those studies have shown that climate change is driving extreme heat events around the globe.

“Across the world we're finding that we can link unusually warm weather events to climate change,” said King, adding that climate change is almost certainly playing a role in almost all extreme heat “for most of the world.”

“I’m aware of similar large changes in odds in other studies of wintertime high temperature events over the U.S., and so this is not too surprising,” Martin Hoerling, a climate scientist at the Earth System Research Laboratory, said.

He said that while the results are in line with climate change, there was one caveat to the study. While February has warmed by 3°F, much of that warming came in the early part of the temperature record. In comparison, the globe has warmed rapidly in the latter part of the temperature record.

Hoerling suggested that mismatch should be addressed in future research, though the “main points of the paper appear otherwise solid.”

A footnote to the report is that this February didn’t set a record for warmest February on record. That title belongs to February 1954. King said that month saw a very weird weather pattern that trapped heat over the entire U.S. (and much of Canada for that matter). The jet stream made a huge swoop that essentially cut off the majority of North America from Arctic air to the north in what meteorologists would call an extreme meridional jet stream pattern.

Temperature departures from normal in February 1954.
Credit: NOAA

In comparison, February 2017 had a fairly normal weather pattern, interrupted only by the string of storms marching through California, reminiscent of a negative Pacific North American Pattern or PNA.

“This negative PNA reflects circulations that specifically don’t encourage high-latitude air to drop down into the Southeast,” Scripps Institution of Oceanography climate researcher Michael Dettinger told Climate Central last month.

“These days we wouldn't need the same atmospheric conditions to match that heat because of the background warming trend,” King said.

climatecentral.org

To: Wharf Rat who wrote (1005049)	3/9/2017 10:40:36 AM
From: locogringo	1 Recommendation Recommended By FJB Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1574258

Why do you think he has to hold a position in the administration? Because he's a nobody. Nobody cares about the liberal hysterics and whining anymore, except the mindless viewers of MSNBC or CNNFAKENEWS. It's a non-story except to grubers and nitwits.

To: Wharf Rat who wrote (1005049)	3/9/2017 10:52:10 AM
From: Wharf Rat	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 1574258

How The Trump Campaign Is Embracing Dirty Trickster Roger Stone’s Playbook Blog ››› September 28, 2016 3:06 PM EDT ››› OLIVER WILLIS 567 Donald Trump and his campaign are signaling a shift toward an election strategy laid out by conspiracy theorist, dirty trickster, and informal Trump adviser Roger Stone. For months, Stone has pushed for Trump to invoke the Clintons’ supposed “war on women,” and both the candidate and campaign staffers have been making the rounds this week indicating that they plan to do so. Stone heads a pro-Trump super PAC and previously served as a paid consultant to Trump’s campaign. He has been a key promoter of Trump’s candidacy in the media, particularly on the radio and internet program of 9/11 conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. Stone himself is an ardent conspiracy theorist. He recently floated the theory that the Clintons had four people murdered over the summer, which dovetails with his previously stated claim that the couple is “plausibly responsible” for the deaths of roughly 40 people. Stone has also alleged that the Bush family “tried to kill” President Ronald Reagan, that President Lyndon Johnson was behind the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, and that the father of Senator Ted Cruz was involved in the killing as well – a theory that was pushed by Donald Trump. Stone said he had doubts that Clinton would have the stamina to do an entire 90-minute debate and claimed she was wearing an earpiece during NBC's candidate forum because she “clearly has no memory.” He also claimed Clinton was placed on an oxygen tank immediately after the recent presidential debate and “has some advanced form of epilepsy.” Former Trump adviser Michael Caputo, guest hosting on the September 25 edition of WBEN’s Hardline, saidhe “heard more than one time Donald Trump say” that Stone’s book The Clintons’ War on Women “is his opposition research on the Clintons.” He added that Trump “has it on his desk.” The book, co-authored by fellow conspiracy theorist Robert Morrow, describes itself as a guide to “how Bill and Hillary Clinton systematically abused women and others -- sexually, physically, and psychologically -- in their scramble for power and wealth.” Morrow is also a discredited researcher. He has a history of bizarre sexual writings about Hillary Clinton and the Clinton family. Morrow also relishes tweeting the slur “nigger” and was ousted as the chair of the Travis County, TX, Republican Party by “party officials who found him a perpetual embarrassment.” Previously, Trump has promoted Morrow and Stone’s book on his Twitter account. In January, after claiming that Bill Clinton was “one of the great woman abusers of all time," Trump cited Stone’s book for his claim that Hillary Clinton "went after the women very, very strongly and very viciously, according to the women and according to other sources." Following his poorly received performance in Monday night’s debate, Trump appears ready to again follow Stone’s advice. Politico reported that “threats emanated from Trump Tower on Tuesday that the Republican nominee was preparing to name-check Bill Clinton’s mistresses — alleged or otherwise.” Immediately after the debate, Trump told the media, “I'm really happy I was able to hold back on the indiscretions in respect to Bill Clinton. Because I have a lot of respect for Chelsea Clinton.” He added, “Maybe I'll tell you at the next debate. We'll see. But I'm very happy.” Top Trump campaign surrogate and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani said, “The president of the United States, her husband, disgraced this country with what he did in the Oval Office and she didn’t just stand by him, she attacked Monica Lewinsky. And after being married to Bill Clinton for 20 years, if you didn’t know the moment Monica Lewinsky said that Bill Clinton violated her that she was telling the truth, then you’re too stupid to be president.” Trump deputy campaign manager David Bossie appeared on Fox & Friends and said, “I think that if you look at Hillary Clinton's background and if you look at her being an enabler, really, in the '90s and really attacking these women, it goes against everything that she now tries to spout as a candidate for president.” Eric Trump, the nominee’s son, lauded his father’s “courage” for not bringing up Lewinsky during the debate during a radio appearance. The Stone-influenced strategy comes at the same time the Trump campaign is also reportedly receiving advice from Fox News founder and former chairman Roger Ailes, who was ousted from the network after former anchor Gretchen Carlson accused him of sexual harassment and sued him. Soon after, at least 25 women came forward, making very similar allegations about Ailes’ behavior over multiple decades. Recent reports indicate that after the debate debacle, Ailes’ role with the Trump campaign may be expanded. mediamatters.org