Celebrating Eight Years of Writing about Weather and Climate

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It is hard to believe, but today marks the eighth anniversary of The Weather Gamut.

Initially begun as a way to deepen and share my knowledge about weather and climate change, this blog has allowed me to expand on my interests and concerns in ways that I never thought possible. This past year, I gave a variety of presentations on creative climate communication and was invited to share my climate-related artwork in several exhibitions around the world.

Producing this blog has been an interesting journey that has taught me a great deal about the science of weather and climate as well as the art of writing. It has also put me in touch with many wonderful people working in this fascinating field. I am grateful for all their support and encouragement.

As always, thank you for reading!

The Science Behind the Autumnal Equinox

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Today is the Autumnal Equinox, the first day of fall in the northern hemisphere. The new season officially began at 7:50 UTC, which is 3:50 AM Eastern Daylight Time.

The astronomical seasons, as opposed to the meteorological seasons, are a product of Earth’s axial tilt – a 23.5° angle – and the movement of the planet around the sun. During the autumn months, the Earth’s axis is tilted neither toward nor away from the sun. This position distributes the sun’s energy equally between the northern and southern hemispheres.

Since the summer solstice in June, the arc of the sun’s apparent daily passage across the sky has been sinking and daylight hours have been decreasing. Today, the sun appears directly overhead at the equator and we have approximately equal hours of day and night. The word “equinox” is derived from Latin and means “equal night”.

Transitioning from summer to winter, autumn is also a season of falling temperatures. According to NOAA, the average high temperature in most US cities drops about 10°F between September and October.

Earth’s solstices and equinoxes. Image Credit: NASA

Climate Week NYC Focuses on “A Race We Can Win”

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Climate Week NYC begins on Monday. This annual event is taking place alongside the UN Climate Action Summit, the theme of which is “A Race We Can Win. A Race We Must Win.”

Organized by The Climate Group, the week-long event brings together leaders from a variety of sectors, including government, business, and non-profit organizations, to discuss solutions to climate change. Their overall goal is to accelerate climate action and limit global warming to 1.5°C.

Public events to raise awareness and support of the summit’s mission are scheduled all around the city. They range in style from panel discussions and seminars to concerts and exhibitions. One early event taking place this Saturday is the “Our Future Festival”, which has been organized by the NYC Chapter of the Climate Reality Project.  For the full program of events, go to the Climate Week website.

Credit: The Climate Group

Earth Posts 2nd Warmest August and 2nd Warmest June-August Season on Record

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Our global temperature continued its upward trend last month. August 2019 marked not only Earth’s second warmest August, but also closed out the planet’s second warmest June-August season on record.

According to the State of the Climate Report by NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Earth’s combined average temperature for August – over both land and sea surfaces – was 61.76°F, which is 1.66°F above the 20th-century average. This August also marked the 416th consecutive month with a global temperature above its long-term norm. That means the last time any month posted a below average reading was December 1984.

The three-month period of June, July, and August – meteorological summer in the northern hemisphere – was also unusually warm. NOAA reports that Earth’s average temperature for the season was 1.67°F above the 20th century average of 60.1°F. That makes it the second warmest such period on record. It is also important to note that nine of the ten warmest June-August periods have all occurred since 2009.

While heat dominated most of the planet this August, some places were particularly warm, including Europe, Africa, and parts of Hawaii and Alaska. For the contiguous US as a whole, August 2019 tied August 1955 as the 13th warmest on record.

These soaring temperatures are largely attributed to the long-term trend of human-caused climate change. As greenhouse gases continue to spew into the atmosphere, global temperatures are expected to continue to rise.

Year to date, the first eight months of 2019 were the third warmest such period of any year on record. At this point, it is very likely that 2019 will finish among the top five warmest years ever recorded. Global temperature records date back to 1880.

Credit: NOAA

“Weather the Weather”: An Art Exhibition at the NY Hall of Science

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Art and science have come together at the New York Hall of Science to highlight the fascinating world of weather. In a group exhibition titled Weather the Weather, artworks of various mediums explore the different ways we understand and experience the forces of nature.

Curated by Marnie Benney, this SciArt Initiative exhibition features the work of twenty-one artists from around the world. Honored to be one of them, images from my American Glaciers: Going, Going, Gone and Wildfires series are on display.

The exhibition will be on view from September 10, 2019 through January 10, 2020 at The New York Hall of Science, 47-01 111th Street, Queens, NY. For hours, directions, and a list of associated events visit www.nysci.org

Icebergs break off from Portage Glacier, AK. Credit: Melissa Fleming

Climate Indicator: Record Highs Outpacing Record Lows

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There are a variety of indicators that show our climate is changing, including increasing average temperatures, melting glaciers, and sea-level rise. Nevertheless, it is extreme events, such as record heat, that usally garner the most attention.

Around the globe, the number of record high temperatures are out-numbering record low temperatures. In the US, according to an analysis by the AP, record warm days have out-paced record cold days by a ratio of 2:1 since 1999. This is a clear sign of our climate is shifting to a “new normal”.

In a stable climate, record highs and lows would be more balanced, with the ratio being closer to 1:1.

While climate change is a global phenomenon, we can see it playing out at a local scale. Here in New York City, we still get the occasional cold snap in winter, but the record highs have been outpacing the record lows for decades.

Credit: Climate Central

NYC Weather Wrap-up: August 2019

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August 2019 was another month of noticeable temperature swings in New York City. Highs ranged from an unseasonably cool 74°F to a balmy 90°F. In the end, however, the extremes balanced each other out. The city’s mean temperature for the month was 75.5°F, which is only 0.3°F above average.

In terms of precipitation, the city was unusually dry. Overall, eleven out thirty-one days posted measurable rainfall that added up to only 3.70 inches for the month. Of those eleven days, two produced strong storms that delivered more than an inch of rain each. This was the first time since March that the city received below-average rainfall. New York City, on average, gets 4.44 inches for the month.

Credit: The Weather Gamut

Weather and Art: Louisa McElwain’s “Desert Rain God”

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The weather has long been a muse for artists. For Louisa McElwain (1953-2013), an American painter based in the southwest, summer storms were particularly special.

According to Evoke Contemporary, the gallery that represents her estate, McElwain was drawn to “the way the light changes and the clouds dance across the horizon ahead of the rain.” While visiting the Phoenix Art Museum recently, I came across her 2009 piece, Desert Rain God.

This large-scale oil on canvas painting captures a storm in the New Mexico desert just as a dramatic downpour is starting. These storms, largely associated with Monsoon Season in the southwest, are a vital source of moisture in the arid region.

Working outdoors, using the bed of her pick-up truck as sort of mobile studio, McElwain’s paintings aimed to capture her experience of nature. In a statement, she described her approach to painting as a “dance made to the tempo of the evolving day”.  Working quickly to depict the changing effects of the atmosphere, she often used palette knives and masonry trowels to apply paint to the canvas. These tools allowed her to avoid being overly descriptive and to create an impasto effect. Most of her paintings, regardless of size, were completed in less than four hours.

Louisa McElwain’s “Desert Rain God” on display in the Phoenix Art Museum. Photo Credit: Melissa Fleming

Weather and Health: Summer Colds

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Dealing with a cold is annoying any time of the year. During the summer, however, when you want to be outside enjoying the beautiful weather, it is especially frustrating.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 200 different viruses can cause the common cold. The two most frequently found types are rhinoviruses and enteroviruses. While present throughout the year, the prevalence of the different viruses tends to shift with the seasons. Winter colds, generally speaking, are usually the result of rhinoviruses and summer colds tend to be the product of enteroviruses.

Most enterovirus infections, according to the National Institute of Health, occur between June and October.

While the weather does not cause colds, it does influence peoples’ behavior. In winter, when temperatures are chilly, people spend more time indoors where germs are more easily spread. During the warmer months of the year, people are outdoors more often, making summer colds less common than winter ones. Nevertheless, colds are spread the same way throughout the year – through close contact with infected people and contaminated surfaces.

Along with the usual sneezing, sniffling, and sore throat associated with a winter cold, certain strands of enteroviruses can also cause fever and gastrointestinal issues. Adding insult to injury, a summer cold also tends to linger a bit longer than a winter cold.

To help reduce your odds of getting sick, doctors recommend frequent hand washing and avoiding sick people.

Summer colds keep you indoors. Credit: mlive

July 2019: Earth’s Warmest Month on Record

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Our global temperature continued its upward trend last month with July 2019 marking not only the warmest July on record, but also the warmest month ever recorded for the entire planet. The previous record was set just three years ago in July 2016.

According to a report by NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information, Earth’s combined average temperature for the month – over both land and sea surfaces – was 62.11°F. That is 1.71°F above the 20th-century average. Since July is the Earth’s warmest month of the year climatologically, the July 2019 global temperature is now the highest temperature for any month on record.

July 2019 also marked the 415th consecutive month with a global temperature above its long-term norm. That means the last time any month posted a below-average reading was December 1984. Furthermore, nine of the ten warmest Julys have occurred since 2005, with the last five years producing the five warmest Julys on record. July 1998 is the only year from the last century on the top ten list.

While heat dominated most of the planet this July, some places were particularly warm, including Europe as well as parts of Asia, Africa, and Australia. In the United States, Alaska posted its warmest month ever recorded. For the contiguous US, the month tied July 1917 as the 27th warmest July on record.

These soaring temperatures are largely attributed to the long-term trend of human-caused climate change. As greenhouse gases continue to spew into the atmosphere, global temperatures are expected to continue to rise.

Year to date, the first seven months of 2019 tied 2017 as the second warmest such period of any year on record. At this point, it is very likely that 2019 will finish among the top five warmest years on record. Global temperature records date back to 1880.

July 2019 was the warmest month ever recorded on this planet. Credit: NOAA