REMINDER OF THE DUST BOWL ERA
Written By: Scott Hetsko
About 12% of our country is either in drought or extreme drought this Summer. The heat usually comes with drought and Texas has seen an ugly combination of both! Dallas has recorded 31 straight days over 100 degrees!!! Their record is 42 set in 1980.
The reason for the persistent dry weather is the position of the Summer jetstream. A huge ridge of high pressure extends from New Mexico Eastward to Alabama. Storms are much weaker anyway in the Summer because temperatures don't vary as much between mid latitudes and the North pole. No storms, blazing sun and low humidity all contribute to the most extreme conditions since the 1930s!
Scott,
ReplyDeleteCould this dustbowl-type pattern effect our weather pattern in the Great Lakes / Northeast this winter? Looking back on the dust bowl years, what were our winters like here?
I am also interested in the answer to SummerFan's question.
ReplyDeleteLets talk winter a little. Do the experts think we are in for a harsh winter? I think we will get back to several BIG synoptic snow storms this winter. What do people think?
ReplyDeleteI agree. I think "THE Big One" may be in our future this coming winter. The last two or three winters have featured one synptic miss after another. But, that won't be what the winter of 2011-12 will be known for. I think we'll be in that deformation zone more than a couple times, with very intense lake enhancement buring Rochester on several occasions!
ReplyDeleteI like how the mets completely ignore the few participants they have on this blog they setup for us.
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