Global warming believers have emailed me saying that the snowfall in Johannesburg was not all that unusual.
This article tells a different story
By mid-afternoon on Tuesday, officials had recorded snowfall across most of South Africa, part of an extreme cold snap now biting into the nation.
Forecasters acknowledged snow remains so unusual that they typically aren’t prepared to provide details about snowfall in the nation. The snow closed some roads and at least one high-altitude pass. The snowfall also closed several border posts in the country.
As the snow fell, workers at offices in Johannesburg rushed outside. Some twirled and danced as the flakes fell. One man rushed to the top of a snow-covered hill and slid down, using a cardboard box as an improvised toboggan.
The snow grew heavier in the afternoon in Johannesburg, covering rooftops and slicking roads. Snowflakes are a rare commodity in Johannesburg, even during winter.
South African Weather Service records show it has snowed in Johannesburg on only 22 other days in the last 103 years. The last snow fell there in June 2007.
In Pretoria, the country’s capital, flurries filled the sky during a visit by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. It was the first snowfall there since 1968, the weather service said.
That doesn’t sound like a very common occurrence to me.
http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/2012/08/09/rare-snowfall-stuns-residents-of-joh annesburg-south-africa/
Thanks to Kenneth Lund and Argiris Diamantis in the Netherlands for this link
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15 Responses to Rare Snowfall Stuns Johannesburg
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I am sorry to say this but to all global warming believers you are riding a dead horse
Amen
So, when people that the Weather Channel interview from NOAA or whatever agency say that we have been warming since the 18th century – what numbers do they look at? Seriously, I want to know why the data is interpreted in so many different ways? Island heating effect? e.t.c.?
Ken Deardorf do your own look up. Small towns have kept records since 1940, and they are going down. It is a shame, no one points out small town average temperatures since 1940 to today are on a decline. If anyone is interested here is an example: Average temperature of Kenton, Ohio as compiled by Wolfram Alpha. Liner trend -0.031 deg. F per year +or – 0.017 deg. F per year. Even small towns have a heat growth over that many years, so guess what that does to the results.
“Do my own lookup”, why didn’t I think of that? It’s not exactly what I was looking for but thanks for the reply.
While Winter seems to be holding on in the Southern hemisphere, is it just beginning to gear up in the North?
I thought this was worth noting, especially as we have passed the Summer solstice, and are inexorably headed towards Winter, though it is only a few months away…:
http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/arctic-storm.html
Despite some NASA speculation about this storm possibly causing further deterioration of sea ice, I thought this statement to be of most interest:
…”Paul A. Newman, chief scientist for Atmospheric Sciences at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., estimates that there have only been about eight storms of similar strength during the month of August in the last 34 years of satellite records. “It’s an uncommon event, especially because it’s occurring in the summer. Polar lows are more usual in the winter,” Newman said.”
And even as we speak, snow is falling today at Barrow,AK and Isachsen, Northern Canada. Also the Dalton Highway in AK had about 5 inches of snow just yesterday in the forecast. Not bad for early August !
What would be “unusual” is alarmists (“believers” is another good, unscientific word they can cling to if they insist) not trying to dismiss less usual weather events that don’t fit their AGW divination.
As opposed to cherry picking less usual events to suit themselves (the warm US Summer for example).
The US Summer is warmer than usual, but not unprecedented. But that’s OK to blame on the AGW Ogre, apparently.
They are consistent in their inconsistency – and predictable.
We are in the Northern Hemispere where Im am at and I can say we have had some very bizzare weather here in southeastern U.S. it has been dry and comfortable then go to hot humid then humid to cool,ect ect ect.clouds/storms suddenly very unpredictable in action, movement cloudbursts clouds that turn black quick,, and look to produce a storm only to peter out and reform in the opposite part of the sky. Need I say more!!! :”Facinating, yet! very scary! I know right now the sun is acting up now,,but this behavior in weather would seem to fit a magnetic abnomalty/Cosmic disturbance descriped of a magnetic excursion and or reversal other stuff related to this event starts sounding weird and impossible! other more even immposible theories involve rapid rise and fall of tectonics landmasses in some areas without noticible earthquakes,i.e microquakes expecially in uplift syncline areas. Plant, animal and insects changes appearing to morph and mutate out of nowhere in a short period of time i.e. months,years,decades,ect! This stuff sounds almost impossibe unless you read revelations.. dieoffs of,plants,animals,Humans…very sad! most people I know including myself have lost A loved one that was taken from this earth too quickly.All of these weird theories,catyclisms,events seem to line up exactly with the preparation and creation of the new heaven and earth.In any event of the long run outcome.. regardless I have made my peace now.
It has snowed in Johannesburg on only 22 other days in the last 103 years. As I see it, most children did not know what snow was, but they are learning now, to refrase the words of Dr. David Viner.
That’s a snowfall about every 5 years on average. So its not common but also not rare.
This is very unusual !
These crazy bird-brained warmists need to go back to grade school and take elementary science and MATH all over again. If you look at the long term record since 1900 – you can see very clearly how unusual this is becoming for Johannesburg. No snow for 47 years between 1909-1956.
Now in the last 7 years (2006-2012) it has snowed 3 times since !! Snowfall is increasing dramatically in unlikely areas. In addition, what about the exploration ship being stuck in arctic ice up there (early August) just north of Barrow ?? They need to get a grip and stop spitting out those relentless lies in the last 35 years, which everybody is sick and tired of.
I met yet another customer at work from New Mexico last week, who said the same thing – mentioning that ski resorts there opened on Oct 11 last year -the earliest ever. He told me that very few people are aware that snowfall is getting heavier and starting earlier and lasting later into the spring in the higher elevations. Doesn’t look like these “warmists” understand math too well.
And as of right now we have a pretty good cool spell for early August across the Great Lakes region into the midwest – with “fall-like” gale warnings out due to strong northerly winds near the lakes. It will feel more like mid September in these areas.
On the one hand one can believe the psychotic dellusional [schizophrenia] belief structures being held by the global warmists camp that according to them the snow in South Africa is “normal”. Or else on the other hand one can look at the actual meterological records that state “South African Weather Service records show it has snowed in Johannesburg on only 22 other days in the last 103 years. The last snow fell there in June 2007″. In my opinion the whole global warming theory is built on an ediface of ignorance and willing self dillusion. The whole global warming theory is in the same category as some kind of religious hysteria [insanity] and is typical of the whole political spectrum. Politicains are not the kind of persons most suited to being in positions of government. As hot as it is getting to be this summer [at ground level] in the northern hemisphere, I guarantee that it will be all the more deadly cold this coming winter. At all times no matter how hot it gets on the ground nevertheless in the sky above the air is frigidly cold in the minus 50′s centigrade and that frigid air is extremely dry. Thus the drought in the USA as that extremely cold upper atmoshpere is coming down.
The UNISYS analysis of sea surface anomaly
http://weather.unisys.com/surface/sst_anom_new.gif
has been showing consistently negative anomalies for the southern part of the African continent and Australia.
These “cool news” are a confirmation of the trend.
A large pool of cold water is also forming in between Australia and S. America, a possible indication of a future trend caused by the always increasing Antarctic icecap anomaly,
http://arctic.atmos.uiuc.edu/cryosphere/IMAGES/seaice.anomaly.antarctic.png
Unusually Strong Arctic Storm Spied from Above-
http://www.space.com/17031-strong-arctic-storm-image.html
my comments: There is a pro and con to this storm- according to the article, it is unusual to see this type of storm in August, this kind of polar low is more common in winter. The con is that it has the potential to push sea ice out into warmer water, thereby diminishing the already low arctic sea ice. But as we know, Arctic sea ice is very variable from year to year, it can climb back up quickly.