Snow and Ice in the Northern Hemisphere 2011/2012

darkman2

See how this thread goes. I think it would be a good idea to monitor daily the build up of snow across the Northern Hemisphere from here on.








These charts are updated on a daily basis and can be found here.

http://www.natice.noaa.gov/ims/

Not much to see yet but there should be hopefully very soon as cold air starts to be ejected southward from polar regions particularly over Siberia. We are (very) slightly ahead in snow and ice cover this year on the same time last year.

thetonynator

Are we past the point where melting ends? Is the ice starting to expand now or will it continue to melt for a few more weeks?

darkman2

thetonynator wrote: »

Are we past the point where melting ends? Is the ice starting to expand now or will it continue to melt for a few more weeks?

Still in decline but reaching the bottom now.

http://www.natice.noaa.gov/ims/images/ims_data.jpg

It's usually later this month it starts to increase again.

patneve2

thetonynator wrote: »

Are we past the point where melting ends? Is the ice starting to expand now or will it continue to melt for a few more weeks?

We are very close to the end of the decreasing stage and the start of the expansion point. Unfortunately, the arctic ice sheet is in disastrous conditions this year, worst year (bar 2007):
http://www.ijis.iarc.uaf.edu/en/home/seaice_extent.htm

MiNdGaM3

We're quite close to the end of the sea ice melt season

The average date for the sea ice minimum over the last 10 years is the 16th, and over the last 30 years is the 12th, but this can vary from the end of August to the end of September.

Here's a graph I created with my sea ice data from '79 - present





We're second lowest on record currently by about 100,000km2 and are already below the final minimum of every year except 2007 (at least we will be when IJIS site updates later today)
We're also joint lowest on record for ice area according to cryosphere today http://arctic.atmos.uiuc.edu/cryosphere/

darkman2

Here is a live webcam from Longyearbyen in Svalbard, Norway.




It is on the largest island of the archipelago.



They are likely to see their first snowfall by next weekend. Nothing as of yet but it's imminent I tells yeh:D The mountains in the distance on the first camera have already got their first coating of snow. In a couple of weeks that inlet will be coated in ice.

thetonynator

darkman2 wrote: »

They are likely to see their first snowfall by next weekend. Nothing as of yet but it's imminent I tells yeh:D The mountains in the distance on the first camera have already got their first coating of snow. In a couple of weeks that inlet will be coated in ice.

While I like snow and all, snow from september until whenever it melts would be bloody horrible . . .

J6P

Sea ice animation

nacho libre

thetonynator wrote: »

While I like snow and all, snow from september until whenever it melts would be bloody horrible . . .

You don't appreciate it enough:(

I'd take cold crisp days, with pleasant white views, over grey and gloomy conditions everytime.

Iancar29

nacho libre wrote: »

You don't appreciate it enough:(

I'd take cold crisp days, with pleasant white views, over grey and gloomy conditions everytime.

I totally agree!

Not many people seem to realise that with snowy cold weather we nearly always get Clear , Crisp & bright days too! ... Especially when the snow reflects all the light !

So ye id much rather that than gloomy , rainy days

MiNdGaM3

A comparison with this time last year

up for anything

There doesn't seem to be much difference between last year and this year. In fact, this year some parts seem to show as whiter/snowyier.

Rikand

Iancar29 wrote: »

I totally agree!

Not many people seem to realise that with snowy cold weather we nearly always get Clear , Crisp & bright days too! ... Especially when the snow reflects all the light !

So ye id much rather that than gloomy , rainy days

Rain and gloom please. I play golf. You can play golf in the rain, you can't play in the snow

patneve2

Notable differences north of Svalbard (less ice this year)...however there seems to be more ice this year on the Greenland coast...

gothwalk

darkman2 wrote: »

Here is a live webcam from Longyearbyen in Svalbard, Norway.

(...)

They are likely to see their first snowfall by next weekend. Nothing as of yet but it's imminent I tells yeh:D The mountains in the distance on the first camera have already got their first coating of snow. In a couple of weeks that inlet will be coated in ice.

Well, no snow there as yet, but I just took a peek at their forecasts, and it looks like they could have sleet and maybe even snow by Monday. Certainly they're looking at temperatures below freezing in the next week.

Although we're not going that far north, I and my wife are going on a Norwegian coast cruise next February, so I'll have some personal reports of late-winter snow and ice then.

vicwatson

From the OP's first post -

How come Greenland is so covered in snow and yet northern Canada and Siberia aren't?

patneve2

vicwatson wrote: »

From the OP's first post -

How come Greenland is so covered in snow and yet northern Canada and Siberia aren't?

Not 100% sure, Greenland is surrounded by a cold sea, whilst Northern Canada and Siberia have whole massive continents below them....the heat can travel up easily during the Summer months from hot central asia and the hot southern united states....lets say that in Greenland's case the absence of a direct land connection with a warm continent and the presence of a cold sea act as "buffers" and therefore snowmelt isn't as significant as in the other two....

Tabnabs

gothwalk wrote: »

Well, no snow there as yet, but I just took a peek at their forecasts, and it looks like they could have sleet and maybe even snow by Monday. Certainly they're looking at temperatures below freezing in the next week.

Although we're not going that far north, I and my wife are going on a Norwegian coast cruise next February, so I'll have some personal reports of late-winter snow and ice then.

Watch their forecast here
http://www.yr.no/sted/Norge/Svalbard/Longyearbyen/langtidsvarsel.html

No snow forecast in text of weather.

nacho libre

Snow in the North of Iceland

some more cams here:

http://www.vegagerdin.is/english/

TheInquisitor

1st September vs 12th september





And what the place looked like the same time last year!

opinion guy

Rickylovesuall wrote: »

Rain and gloom please. I play golf. You can play golf in the rain, you can't play in the snow

Paint the balls orange and you'll be grand

darkman2

Some white fluffy goodness has arrived on the hilltops in Svalbard. Better late then never.

MiNdGaM3

First big increase in sea ice extent today, 47,000km2.
We may require another few days to call the minimum for this year though.
http://www.ijis.iarc.uaf.edu/seaice/extent/plot.csv

gothwalk

darkman2 wrote: »

Some white fluffy goodness has arrived on the hilltops in Svalbard. Better late then never.

I was staring at that this morning, trying to work out if it was snow, or just cloud - I'd been caught on cloud there earlier in the week. Those cameras are great.

Spindle

darkman2 wrote: »

Here is a live webcam from Longyearbyen in Svalbard, Norway.
....
....
They are likely to see their first snowfall by next weekend. Nothing as of yet but it's imminent I tells yeh:D The mountains in the distance on the first camera have already got their first coating of snow. In a couple of weeks that inlet will be coated in ice.

gothwalk wrote: »

Well, no snow there as yet, but I just took a peek at their forecasts, and it looks like they could have sleet and maybe even snow by Monday. Certainly they're looking at temperatures below freezing in the next week.

Although we're not going that far north, I and my wife are going on a Norwegian coast cruise next February, so I'll have some personal reports of late-winter snow and ice then.

I was meant to go in to Longyearbyen in July, bit did not make it in due to there being to much ice in the inlet. Winds had blown ice around from the east side of the island, causing it to build up at the entrance to Longyearbyen harbor, forcing them to close the harbor. At least it was an experience going through an ice field and if we are to get a polar low coming in from Svalbard this winter at least I know where it came from.

Conor30

Spindle wrote: »

I was meant to go in to Longyearbyen in July, bit did not make it in due to there being to much ice in the inlet. Winds had blown ice around from the east side of the island, causing it to build up at the entrance to Longyearbyen harbor, forcing them to close the harbor. At least it was an experience going through an ice field and if we are to get a polar low coming in from Svalbard this winter at least I know where it came from.

What was going to be taking you there? It's not exactly Spain, is it?! :P

Hooter23

http://www.ouramazingplanet.com/arctic-sea-ice-record--2000/?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=OAP_09152011

Spindle

Conor30 wrote: »

What was going to be taking you there? It's not exactly Spain, is it?! :P

I really like the Arctic, I was in Greenland and Iceland before, so really wanted to experience the high Arctic.

The cold and freezing fog off the Spitsbergen coast was something unreal, so bring on a cold winter

fizzycyst

Spindle wrote: »

I really like the Arctic, I was in Greenland and Iceland before, so really wanted to experience the high Arctic.

The cold and freezing fog off the Spitsbergen coast was something unreal, so bring on a cold winter

I too would love to go somewhere like this someday, far more than a holiday in Spain I have to say

pauldry

fizzycyst wrote: »

I too would love to go somewhere like this someday, far more than a holiday in Spain I have to say

Nothin bates a day in Belmullet

fizzycyst

pauldry wrote: »

Nothin bates a day in Belmullet

Never been to Belmullet, must take that trip soon, preferably on a nice stormy day