Guest contribution by Willis Eschenbach
I keep reading that the freezing cold weather in Houston, Dallas and the central US is the result of “global warming”.
When I heard this, my first thought was, “Whaaa ?? How would it work if it got warmer, would it get colder? “
As I followed that logic, my next thought was, “I wonder how much colder the world would have to get to keep Houston from freezing again?”
That sounded great to me, no more ice and snow because I’m a tropical boy. After two decades on beautiful warm Pacific islands, when I see the ice with the little umbrella pop out of my beautiful drink and cover the landscape, I call it “water that behaves badly!”
So I thought I’d take a look and see how cold the globe would have to get for the US to stay warm all the time. I thought I would see how many days of the year it was frozen in Houston to see how much “global warming” increased ice and snow there. Here is this graphic:
Hmmm … doesn’t look like “global warming” made freezing worse in Houston. But I kept looking undeterred. I figured Dallas would have to show a sign of the dreaded “global warming” that is making icy roads and frozen pipes more common …
Well, it seemed like the theory that “global warming” is making things colder wasn’t looking that good. But I reckoned that this mysterious phenomenon would certainly be found in the heart of the United States. So I looked to Oklahoma City to show myself the truth …
Sixty days a year below freezing? As a tropical boy, I can only say YIKES! But I digress …
Well, to be clear, these are only three cities. I suppose it’s possible that “global warming” is making a city icier somewhere, making frosts and burst pipes more common somewhere … but that certainly doesn’t happen in Houston, Dallas or Oklahoma City.
Here on our hill in Northern California with a tiny portion of the Pacific visible in a gap between the hills, I live in a climate anomaly. The area between 180 and 240 m altitude on the west side of the first chain of hills from the sea in this stretch of coast is called the “banana belt” because it stays warm. We are at about 700 feet altitude and we can grow guavas and avocados on our land.
But just half a kilometer from my house, on the east side of the ridge, it routinely freezes every year. I can’t remember the last time it was frozen where I live. The world of climate is a strange and wonderful place.
My warmest and least icy greetings to everyone and my goodwill and prayers for those concerned in Texas.
w.
PS: Misunderstandings are common on the internet. So when making a comment please quote the exact worlds you are referring to so that we can all understand who and what you are talking about.
4.8
17th
be right
Item rating
Like this:
Loading…
Comments are closed.