The USMB Hot and drought thread

PERTH faces a week of blistering heat with four consecutive days of searing 40C maximum temperatures as 2010 is declared the hottest year on record.

Maximum temperatures in Perth averaged at 25.3C, making 2010 the hottest year since records began in 1897.

Meanwhile, Perth recorded just 503mm of rain this year, well below the average 868.3mm, making it the second driest year on record.

Next week’s heatwave follows baking temperatures across Southern Australia with blistering New Year’s Eve temperatures forecast for Melbourne and Adelaide as Queensland battles record floods.

Perth Now | Breaking News from Perth and Western Australia | PerthNow news/ western-australia/ perth-to-sizzle-in-new-year-heatwave/ story-e6frg13u-1225978806936

 

Meanwhile, Argentina’s agriculture industry faces a grim season.

The heat wave is likely to break the country’s all-time records in soy and wheat exports. Argentina is one of the world’s top grain producers – and that explains why officials and experts very worried.

Five provinces are on code orange alert for severe drought – not good news for a nation that depends so heavily on agriculture.

And it’s not just Argentina that will be affected by this extreme weather. A loss of Argentina’s important crops is likely to affect international commodity prices.

PressTV - Heat wave sweeping across Argentina

 

Need we repeat again for the less than swift, this at the time of the strongest La Nina in several decades?

 

Lake Michigan dryin' up...

Lake Michigan water level hits record low
February 5, 2013 - The water levels of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron are lower than they have ever been, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said Tuesday.

 

None of their claims compute.....they think the magic that happens in poorly written computer models = reality. Not to mention the ever growing body of peer reviewed published research that says that the rate of sea level rise is falling, not increasing.

 

I see. So we can expect water to run uphill from the ocean to Lake Michigan? As for your claim that the ocean level is falling, you utterly failed to link to those peer reviewed research articles. Could it be because they don't exist?

Sea Level Rise -- National Geographic

Core samples, tide gauge readings, and, most recently, satellite measurements tell us that over the past century, the Global Mean Sea Level (GMSL) has risen by 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters). However, the annual rate of rise over the past 20 years has been 0.13 inches (3.2 millimeters) a year, roughly twice the average speed of the preceding 80 years.

Over the past century, the burning of fossil fuels and other human and natural activities has released enormous amounts of heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere. These emissions have caused the Earth's surface temperature to rise, and the oceans absorb about 80 percent of this additional heat.

The rise in sea levels is linked to three primary factors, all induced by this ongoing global climate change:

 

Things still looking grim for the midwest;

US Drought Monitor

 

It's interesting seeing these posts on Australia - January 2013 saw both the hottest day in Sydney ever (46C) and the hottest day in Australian history, with an average temp nationwide of 40.5C

 

Really? Are you sure?

Core samples, tide gauge readings, and, most recently, satellite measurements tell us that over the past century, the Global Mean Sea Level (GMSL) has risen by 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters). However, the annual rate of rise over the past 20 years has been 0.13 inches (3.2 millimeters) a year, roughly twice the average speed of the preceding 80 years.

Sea Level Rise -- National Geographic


Sea level rise on the U.S. East Coast has accelerated much faster than in other parts of the world—roughly three to four times the global average, a new study says.

Calling the heavily populated region a sea level rise hot spot, researchers warn that cities such as Boston, New York, Philadelphia, and Baltimore could face a more flood-prone future.

Sea levels worldwide are expected to rise as global warming melts ice and causes water to expand. Those levels, though, are expected to vary from place to place, due to factors such as ocean currents, differences in seawater temperature and saltiness, and the Earth's shape.

Sea Levels Rising Fast on U.S. East Coast