Extreme Temperatures
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Snowflake Cold

Arctic plunge: Up to eight inches of snow to sweep parts of Britain

Cars in snow
© GettyForecasters say the cold weather is going to kick off on Thursday

An "Arctic plunge" is set to trigger freezing temperatures this week and could bring snow across much of Britain by Friday.

Severe gales are expected to sweep in from the North and cause blizzards on high ground.

This could be only the start of a particularly bad winter with below-­average temperatures and heavy snow for three months, warn forecasters. They say the blast of cold air could see the mercury dip to -13C (9F) overnight in the North, bringing eight inches of snow with wintry showers as early as tomorrow and heavy snow forecast for Wednesday.

It will feel bitterly cold in the South with night temperatures of -7C.

Ice Cube

Best of the Web: The Ice Age Cometh: Scientists increasingly moving to global cooling consensus

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Critics of those who claim that man-made global warming is a serious threat to the planet and settled science frequently point to the fickleness of scientists on the issue, noting that in the 60s and 70s scientists were warning of just the opposite. It now appears the critic's claims may have merit as a new consensus is beginning to once again return to the global cooling model.

Adherents of man-made global warming have supported the issue in a way akin to that of religious zealots, even to the point of attempting to cover up evidence that runs contrary to their beliefs or portrays it in a negative light.

Comment: New Ice Age 'to begin in 2014'
The coming of a new Ice Age
What's Happening to the Sun? Could its unusual behavior herald a new ice age?


Attention

Huge Snowy Owl invasion becomes official in Canada and U.S.

A few years ago, Indiana birders enjoyed a decent flight of Snowy Owls. The winter of 2011/2012 saw 46 individuals reported. It beat the previous record Snowy Owl flight when 40 were counted during the winter of 1996/1997. It was a memorable flight that made news across the nation. Snowy Owl's invaded much of the county, but the Great Lakes were especially noteworthy. Owls were seen as far south as Texas, and Hawaii recorded it's first state record of this amazing white ghost.

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Snowy Owl reports from eBird.com, 2010-2013.
Birders often wait years or even a decade to see another flight like this. Now, only two winters later, it appears the Indiana Dunes and much of the US is undergoing another invasion. It began light, but by November's end, sightings were literally snowballing in. Already, this invasion is getting more press than the 2007/2008 incursion. Likely due to the fact that the concentrations on the east coast are higher this time around. More people seeing them= more press.

So what have been the early highlights? Early returns? Well, December has just began and we have the following interesting reports:

Comment: See also: Ice Age Cometh: Snowy Owl invasion coming in North America?

Maine experiencing a Canadian owl invasion

Incredible Hawk Owl invasion in Estonia!


Igloo

Record snow fall at north Finnish village

Record Snowfall
© IceNews
A village in Finland's northwest has broken a 50-year-old record for its November snowfall. The country's meteorologists say that on Tuesday the village of Kilpisjärvi had in excess of 80 cm of snow covering it.

The Finnish Meteorological Institute says this breaks the previous record for November set at Sodankylä more than 50 years ago. Statistical records show that Sodankyla was covered by a relatively shallow 72 cm of snow in November 1961.

Kilpisjärvi is in the country's province of Lapland. The meteorology bureau says the new snowfall record in the village proves that winter is settling in and residents of the region should prepare themselves for it. Kilpisjärvi is gaining a certain infamy as Finland's snowiest location. Before establishing the new November snowfall record, the village had previously smashed all snowfall depths since records began for the month of December.

The Alaska Dispatch reported that meteorologists measured snow almost 127 cm deep here in December of 1975. Kilpisjärvi also holds the title for the most snow in a month. In April 1997, the total snowfall in the village was measured at a staggering 190 cm.

Kilpisjärvi is in the far north of the country and is on a strip of land sandwiched between the Finnish borders with Sweden and Norway. The stretch of the E8 Europe highway that passes the village is known as Four Winds Road. The moniker gives some idea of the extreme weather conditions Kilpisjärvi endures.

Magic Wand

New IPCC report discovers the importance of Solar Surface Radiation Intensity as natural climate driver - but then ignores it!

According to its own statutes, the IPCC is mainly responsible for anthropogenic climate change - and much less so for natural climate change, which has been around since the Earth first appeared. That could very well be the reason why the sun gets mentioned only with respect to its solar irradiance intensity at the edge of the atmosphere. There the irradiance is 1361 W/sqm and is relatively constant, and so the role of the sun on mid-term climate change is not taken into account.

However, for the first time in the history of the IPCC reports, the 2013 AR5 report discusses the Surface Solar Radiation (SSR) as a decisively important factor (chapter 2.3.3.). Decisive for the climate and temperature changes is not the solar irradiance at the edge of the atmosphere, rather it is the amount of solar energy that makes it to the Earth's surface.

Between the Earth's surface and the outer edge of the atmosphere we have the atmosphere with its clouds and aerosols, which determine how much solar radiation eventually reaches the surface of the Earth. Since 1983 the International Satellite Cloud Climatology Program (ISCCP) has been measuring global cloud coverage. One spectacular result was the decrease in global cloud cover between 1987 - 2000, from 69% to 64%, i.e. precisely during the period of warming that triggered the CO2 hypothesis.

global cloud coverage
© ISCCPFigure 1: Mid-term variation of mean global cloud coverage according to data from the ISCCP for the period 1983 to 2010.

Igloo

South Dakota farmers describe 'worst storm in 150 years'

Blizzards
© Associated Press
Nearly two months after devastating blizzards hit parts of South Dakota and Wyoming, farmers are still recovering from the loss of cattle and the effect on their businesses.

The week before the storm, it had been wet and mild and the prairies of the Great Plains were deep in mud.

Then, the first winter snow came early and unexpectedly in an icy blast from the north-west.

Trapped in the mud, 30,000 cattle suffocated and froze to death. They were buried in 20ft (6m) snow drifts, entombed in ice in what ranchers call the "breaks and draws" - the slopes and valleys - of the rolling prairie hills.

Larry Stomprud is a tall, thin cowboy wearing a black leather waistcoat and slim-cut blue jeans. Grey hair peeps from beneath his brown cowboy hat.

He is a tough rancher who has spent half a century herding cattle. But his voice falters and there are tears in his eyes as he describes the devastation on his ranch.

"I looked at my grandfather's records," he says quietly. "It was the worst storm for 150 years." His throat is strangled with anguish and with sadness as he says: "God entrusted us with the care of these animals and we failed them."

Snowflake Cold

Another round of Arctic air forecast to deep freeze the U.S.

From Steven Goddard:
Arctic Air Forecast To Deep Freeze The US

Arctic cold blast
© Steven Goddard

Ice Cube

Almost 1,000 record low max. temps versus 17 record high temps for last week of November in U.S.

Let's face it. The idea of human-caused global warming is a con job.

Records in the last 7 days:
205 snowfall records.
969 Low Max. 203 Low temps.
17 High Temp.
61 High minimum.
Record cold events
© Unknown
Yes, those are snowfall records in Texas. And yes, it is still Fall.

Info

Incredible Hawk Owl invasion in Estonia!

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© Remo SavisaarHawk Owl (Surnia ulula)
This year has seen the biggest invasion of Hawk Owls to take place in Estonia for many years. The first birds started to appear in late August - nearly two months earlier than usual. During this autumn up till the end of November birders have found 32 different Hawk Owls, an astonishing number for such a little country. Some of Estonian Nature Tours autumn bird trips offered brilliant views of this stunning northern owl.

Normally there are no more than 10 individuals encountered during one season. Yet this years movement has been already more spectacular than ever. It is impossible to predict the final numbers we will have by the end of winter, but it is clear that this is the best time ever to twitch hawk owls in Estonia this winter.

Comment: See also. Ice Age Cometh: Snowy Owl invasion coming in North America?

Maine experiencing a Canadian owl invasion


Snowflake

Maine experiencing a Canadian owl invasion

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© Bob Duchesne | Courtesy of Rob SpeirsThis northern hawk-owl has been seen regularly in Lincoln, Maine, recently.
Something weird is going on up north. It's a little early for rare owls to be visiting Maine, but here they come. An invasion from Canada is underway.

The star of the show is a northern hawk-owl in Lincoln. It first appeared about two weeks ago in the area between the Lincoln Regional Airport and Penobscot Valley Hospital. Once a rare northern owl finds a place he likes, he tends to stay awhile. This one has.

Snowy owls have been popping up all over southern Maine. They're also early. The owl sighting in Biddeford Pool doesn't surprise me. They've had a habit of visiting the area for years, usually perching offshore on Wood Island. But the other owls have appeared in places where they are not customarily seen. A young male in Kennebunk settled on top of Mt. Agamenticus for a day. It perched on the rail of an observation platform in full view of an existing web cam maintained by the Regional Conservation land trust. The rare owl spent several hours on camera for the world to see. Now that's just lucky.

It's too soon for qualified scientists to offer opinions on why an owl invasion is happening, but nothing prevents unqualified columnists from speculating. I assume it has little to do with weather. No frigid blasts have forced other subarctic birds such as northern shrikes and rough-legged hawks to fly south in unusual numbers. Generally, invasions are triggered by one thing: food scarcity.