[Jimbob1977]

Remarkable cold spell for the United States, especially the Deep South.

Temperatures were about -15c in Houston, which is fairly close to the Gulf of Mexico.

As the houses aren't constructed for cold weather, the inevitable burst pipes have made drinking water a public health issue.

Energy prices have increased from about $0.10 per kilowatt to c. $7.00 per kilowatt.

One lady's electricity bill for her house was $6,000 for a few days.

Is this a "once in a generation" event.... or likely to become more commonplace?

[nacho libre]

Originally Posted by Jimbob1977

Remarkable cold spell for the United States, especially the Deep South.

Temperatures were about -15c in Houston, which is fairly close to the Gulf of Mexico.

As the houses aren't constructed for cold weather, the inevitable burst pipes have made drinking water a public health issue.

Energy prices have increased from about $0.10 per kilowatt to c. $7.00 per kilowatt.

One lady's electricity bill for her house was $6,000 for a few days.

Is this a "once in a generation" event.... or likely to become more commonplace?

It depends who you ask, some will say with a warming Arctic it will become more common , others that it's just weather variability- once in a generation type thing, as you put it

[Graces7]

Originally Posted by Jimbob1977

Remarkable cold spell for the United States, especially the Deep South.

Temperatures were about -15c in Houston, which is fairly close to the Gulf of Mexico.

As the houses aren't constructed for cold weather, the inevitable burst pipes have made drinking water a public health issue.

Energy prices have increased from about $0.10 per kilowatt to c. $7.00 per kilowatt.

One lady's electricity bill for her house was $6,000 for a few days.

Is this a "once in a generation" event.... or likely to become more commonplace?

And the death rate from the cold is growing; we have friends out there. Folk are literally being found dead of cold. Others are better prepared with working fireplaces and fuel in.

Whatever the thinking we all need to be fully prepared for extremes.

[JCX BXC]

A 7000% increase on energy prices on struggling people?

Oh America, you never fail to impress me.

[Gaoth Laidir]

My aunt's house just north of Houston flooded during the week when a pipe burst. An inconvenience, but at least she didn't freeze to death. There was another case where a grandmother and her three grandchildren burned to death while the mother of the children watched helplessly from outside. It was due to them lighting a fire to keep warm.

Look at this sounding from Fort Worth, with a surface temperature of -17.

[Akrasia]

The atmosphere scientist Jennifer Francis has been talking about how polar amplification is reducing the temperature difference between Arctic and temperate regions and this is causing changes to the jet stream which is now meandering much more, when the jet stream meanders, it pulls colder arctic air south with it which results in these kinds of extreme events. The same phenomenon caused the blocking systems that led to Houston getting flooded after Hurricanes Harvey in 2017, and another blocking system caused Superstorm Sandy to travel up the east Coast of the USA instead of traveling east across the Atlantic as most gulf hurricanes tend to do

A paper recently published warns that the slow down of the polar vortex and diminishing temperature gradient between the poles and tropics will also lead to worse and longer lasting summer heatwaves in the US. We have seen that the Texas energy infrastructure is vulnerable to cascading failures, If there is a similar power grid disruption in an extreme heatwave, many people will die from heatstroke

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/e...ged-heat-waves

[Oneiric 3]

2014:

"In Much of U.S., Extreme Cold is Becoming More Rare"

https://www.climatecentral.org/news/...-context-16931


Extreme cold is becoming more rare because of climate change, but when extreme cold occurs, it's down to climate change.

If ever there was a perfect example of the term 'gaslighting', then this is it.

[Akrasia]

Originally Posted by Oneiric 3

2014:

"In Much of U.S., Extreme Cold is Becoming More Rare"

https://www.climatecentral.org/news/...-context-16931


Extreme cold is becoming more rare because of climate change, but when extreme cold occurs, it's down to climate change.

If ever there was a perfect example of the term 'gaslighting', then this is it.

What do you think of the actual mechanisms involved in the Texan winter storm? How did that polar air reach so far south? Do you think Francis’ explanation has any scientific merit?

[Oneiric 3]

Originally Posted by Akrasia

What do you think of the actual mechanisms involved in the Texan winter storm? How did that polar air reach so far south? Do you think Francis’ explanation has any scientific merit?

Care to address the contradictory messaging from 'climate scientists' as I showed in my post (and that is just one of many, many examples) rather than asking totally unrelated questions?

[Danno]

Originally Posted by Akrasia

What do you think of the actual mechanisms involved in the Texan winter storm? How did that polar air reach so far south? Do you think Francis’ explanation has any scientific merit?

How did Houston TX record 20 inches of snow in the year 1895? Pretty sure there was no climate change then?

[Rikand]

Originally Posted by Akrasia

What do you think of the actual mechanisms involved in the Texan winter storm? How did that polar air reach so far south?

Because mother nature just does whatever the **** she wants to do!

[Gaoth Laidir]

Originally Posted by Akrasia

The atmosphere scientist Jennifer Francis has been talking about how polar amplification is reducing the temperature difference between Arctic and temperate regions and this is causing changes to the jet stream which is now meandering much more, when the jet stream meanders, it pulls colder arctic air south with it which results in these kinds of extreme events. The same phenomenon caused the blocking systems that led to Houston getting flooded after Hurricanes Harvey in 2017, and another blocking system caused Superstorm Sandy to travel up the east Coast of the USA instead of traveling east across the Atlantic as most gulf hurricanes tend to do

A paper recently published warns that the slow down of the polar vortex and diminishing temperature gradient between the poles and tropics will also lead to worse and longer lasting summer heatwaves in the US. We have seen that the Texas energy infrastructure is vulnerable to cascading failures, If there is a similar power grid disruption in an extreme heatwave, many people will die from heatstroke

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/e...ged-heat-waves

Can't have a thread about a weather event now without the usual people immediately claiming it can be attributed to the ole agw. It's like that "meteorologist" on a tv clip posted on some thread here the other day who blamed the "almost ice-free Arctic ocean" for this Texas outbreak. We're reaching the annual peak in Arctic ice, so he's 100% wrong with his "ice-free", but that will go unchallenged and the population will swallow it without question.

[AuntySnow]

Its not unusual for Dallas and northern Texas to have snow
Its just a freak event to get it so severe so far douth,easier to happen actually than snow in the Sahara albeit at altitude,low enough altitude at times

https://www.space.com/39411-satellit...ll-sahara.html

[Akrasia]

Originally Posted by Oneiric 3

Care to address the contradictory messaging from 'climate scientists' as I showed in my post (and that is just one of many, many examples) rather than asking totally unrelated questions?

How exactly is the cause of the winter storm ‘totally unrelated’ to the topic

[Akrasia]

Originally Posted by Rikand

Because mother nature just does whatever the **** she wants to do!

I don’t believe in Mother Nature. I believe in science