Why is it so darned COLD? (My title)

Dr. Jeff Master's Wunderblog ^ | January 08, 2010 | Dr. Jeff Masters

[Aracelis]

Dr. Master's presents a fine essay on the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), which is causing unusually cold weather.

Link only, TOS prohibit even partial quotatons.

[Aracelis]

See this and click on the Wikipedia link provided within the text. Very nice explanations.

[Shady]

uh, beause north of the Equator it is winter?

[dragnet2]

73 degrees, clear, sunny with a light Pacific breeze today in Southern California. A very nice January day.

Hard to believe much of the rest of the country is freezing....

[Aracelis]

Yes indeed it is Winter in the Northern hemisphere! You get a A+ for today. However, the unusual cold we are experiencing throughout the Midwest, and even down to Florida may require a bit more explanation for some people.

The NAO is a naturally occurring cycle.

[mware]

My theory is as good as any other persons including Gore's.

I say that the Northern and Southern Hemisphere is at war with each other.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Why is it so darned COLD?

Because God really hates algore.

Actually a lack of sunspots. The sun burns cooler and the earth gets cooler as well.

[Aracelis]

Hard to believe much of the rest of the country is freezing

It appears the Jet Stream is boxed in by a high pressure ridge over Greenland, which is expected to dissipate starting next week. This will allow the Jet Stream to resume it's normal flow and bring relief to many suffering from the cold.

[madamemayhem]

global warming?? or maybe...... IT’S BUSH’S FAULT.

[Aracelis]

Actually a lack of sunspots.

A contributing factor as well, for the Sun is responsible ultimately for all weather on our planet.

[dragnet2]

And to think winter just started....

[Logic n' Reason]

I don’t know.....write a note to algore.....maybe he knows.

[bert]

cold is normal
warm is anomaly

[Libloather]

Damn sunspots.

[Citizen Tom Paine]

A reason is that the Sun has reduced its output. Less solar input to Earth, the colder it gets. Get a warm coat fellow readers.

[ATOMIC_PUNK]

Lack of Sunspots !?

[El Sordo]

Great...

Thanks...

Now I have that song stuck in my head.

He’s Mr. white Christmas, he’s Mr. snow...

[kempo]

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2010/01/07/suns-magnetic-index-reaches-unprecedent-low-only-zero-could-be-lower-in-a-month-when-sunspots-became-more-active/

[SaraJohnson]

I lived in Florida for some years twenty years ago. Freezes in the winter aren’t unusual.

[Aracelis]

The article is about the North Atlantic Oscillation, which seems stalled because of a high pressure ridge over Greenland. The lack of sunspots certainly must have some effect on this, but I'm neither a meteorologist nor an astronomer, so take my opinion with a grain of salt. Here are the lastest numbers from SpaceWeather.com:

Sunspot number: 15
Updated 06 Jan 2010

Spotless Days
Current Stretch: 1 day
2010 total: 1 day (17%)
2009 total: 260 days (71%)
Since 2004: 772 days
Typical Solar Min: 485 days

[steelyourfaith]

 

Beam me to Planet Gore !