Frozen fog on North Abany evergreens.
Maybe it’s lucky that we don’t believe the hyperventilating about global warming in the papers and other mainstream media. If we relied on them, we might be tempted to think it’s been getting warmer in Oregon. And then we might step out the door into freezing fog without being properly dressed.
Even if the weather did not remind us that it’s winter, we can check the facts online. I did just that the other day. On one of the data sites maintained by NOAA, an agency of the federal government, I got the average annual temperatures for Oregon about a century apart, for the period from 1900 through 1912 and then for the years from 2000 through 2012. The first thing I noticed was that the year 1900 itself was slightly warmer in Oregon than the year 2000. In both years the annual average temperature was 49 degrees Fahrenheit. But in 1900 it was just slightly above 49, and in 2000 slightly below, 49.2 versus 48.7.
Then I averaged all the annual medians from a century ago and did the same for the first 13 years of our current century. And here is what I found: The average for the period right after 1900 was 48.1 degrees, and for the first part of this century it was 48.9. A difference of point 8 degrees, less than a single degree Fahrenheit over 100 years. And remember, if the averages mean anything, 1900 was a bit warmer or less cold than 2000. But only a slight bit.
These averages show that while annual mean temperatures have gone up and down slightly over the decades, essentially there’s been no change over all this time. (hh)
From Nancy Sturm: It’s a frigid 15 degrees in Applegate (Ore.) this morning, and I for one am grateful for global waring. Think how cold it might have been.
(Here’s an example of the global reach of this forum, essentially calling attention to a news story in a German paper reporting that the British Met Office had revised sharply downward its forecast of global warming, saying the current pause in warming will likely continue at least through 2017.)
From Alfons Moog in Walldorf, Germany: Einige Deiner Beiträge läßt vermuten, dass Du an der “global warming” Diskussion interessiert bist. Zu diesem Thema gibt es eine lesenswerte Notiz in der “Welt” vom 10.01.13, S.9: “Das britische “Met Office”, indem maßgebliche Temperaturermittler für den Weltklimarat IPPC sitzen, korrigierte vorgestern seine Prognosen zur globalen Klimaerwärmumg radikal nach unten. Danach soll sich …nun die seit 1998 anhaltende Pause der Erderwärmumg bis mindestens 2017 fortsetzen. Zu diesem Thema noch eine persönliche Bemerkung: Macht es eigentlich Sinn, von einer Weltdurchschnitttemperatur zu sprechen? Wenn du z.B. mit deiner linken Hinternhälfte in einer heißen Pfanne und mit der rechten in Eiswasser sitzt, dann könnte dein”Allerwertester” durchaus eine Durchschnittstemperatur von 36,8 Grad Celsius aufweisen. Aber Hand auf`s Herz: Würdest du dich wohlfühlen?
Oregon temps essentially unchanged
Frozen fog on North Abany evergreens.
Maybe it’s lucky that we don’t believe the hyperventilating about global warming in the papers and other mainstream media. If we relied on them, we might be tempted to think it’s been getting warmer in Oregon. And then we might step out the door into freezing fog without being properly dressed.
Even if the weather did not remind us that it’s winter, we can check the facts online. I did just that the other day. On one of the data sites maintained by NOAA, an agency of the federal government, I got the average annual temperatures for Oregon about a century apart, for the period from 1900 through 1912 and then for the years from 2000 through 2012. The first thing I noticed was that the year 1900 itself was slightly warmer in Oregon than the year 2000. In both years the annual average temperature was 49 degrees Fahrenheit. But in 1900 it was just slightly above 49, and in 2000 slightly below, 49.2 versus 48.7.
Then I averaged all the annual medians from a century ago and did the same for the first 13 years of our current century. And here is what I found: The average for the period right after 1900 was 48.1 degrees, and for the first part of this century it was 48.9. A difference of point 8 degrees, less than a single degree Fahrenheit over 100 years. And remember, if the averages mean anything, 1900 was a bit warmer or less cold than 2000. But only a slight bit.
These averages show that while annual mean temperatures have gone up and down slightly over the decades, essentially there’s been no change over all this time. (hh)
From Nancy Sturm: It’s a frigid 15 degrees in Applegate (Ore.) this morning, and I for one am grateful for global waring. Think how cold it might have been.
Tags: global warming, NOAA, Oregon climate change