Dr. Jeff Masters' WunderBlog

Volcanic Winter

Posted by: Dr. Jeff Masters, 1:18 PM GMT on April 24, 2009

"The sun was dark and its darkness lasted for eighteen months; each day it shone for about four hours; and still this light was only a feeble shadow; the fruits did not ripen and the wine tasted like sour grapes." As this Michael the Syrian quote regarding the weather of 536 A.D. demonstrates, a climate catastrophe that blots out the sun can really spoil your day. Procopius of Caesarea remarked: "During this year [536 A.D.] a most dread portent took place. For the sun gave forth its light without brightness. and it seemed exceedingly like the sun in eclipse, for the beams it shed were not clear." Many documents from 535 - 536 A.D.--the time of King Arthur in Britain--speak of the terrible "dry fog" or cloud of dust that obscured the sun, causing widespread crop failures in Europe, and summer frosts, drought, and famine in China. Tree ring studies in Europe confirm several years of very poor growth around that time, and ice cores from Greenland and Antarctica show highly elevated levels of atmospheric sulfuric acid dust existed.

Though some scientists believe the climate calamity of 535-536 A.D. was due to a comet or asteroid hitting the Earth, it is widely thought that the event was probably caused by the most massive volcanic eruption of the past 1500 years. This eruption threw so much sulfur dioxide (SO2) gas into the stratosphere that a "Volcanic Winter" resulted. Sulfur dioxide reacts with water to form sulfuric acid droplets (aerosol particles), which are highly reflective and reduce the amount of incoming sunlight. The potential eruption that led to the 535 - 536 A.D. climate calamity would have likely been a magnitude 7 event on the Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI)--a "super colossal" eruption that one can expect to occur only once every 1000 years. The Volcanic Explosivity Index is a logarithmic scale like the Richter scale used to rate earthquakes, so a magnitude 7 eruption would eject ten times more material than the two largest eruptions of the past century--the magnitude 6 eruptions of Mt. Pinatubo in the Philippines (1991) and Novarupta in Alaska (1912).

Figure 1. An 18 km-high volcanic plume from one of a series of explosive eruptions of Mount Pinatubo beginning on 12 June 1991, viewed from Clark Air Base (about 20 km east of the volcano). Three days later, the most powerful eruption produced a plume that rose nearly 40 km, penetrating well into the stratosphere. Pinatubo's sulfur emissions cooled the Earth by about 1°F (0.5°C) for 1 - 2 years. (Photograph by David H. Harlow, USGS.)

Super-colossal eruptions
There has been only one other magnitude 7 "super-colossal" eruption in the past 1500 years--the massive eruption of the Indonesian volcano Tambora in 1815. The sulfur pumped by this eruption into the stratosphere dimmed sunlight so extensively that global temperatures fell by about 2°F (1°C) for 1 - 2 years afterward. This triggered the famed Year Without a Summer in 1816. Killing frosts and snow storms in May and June 1816 in Eastern Canada and New England caused widespread crop failures, and lake and river ice were observed as far south as Pennsylvania in July and August. The Tambora eruption was about 40% smaller than the 535 - 536 A.D. event, as measured by the number of sulfur aerosol particles deposited in Greenland ice cores.

In an article published in 2008 in the American Geophysical Union journal EOS, Dr. Ken Verosub of the University of California, Davis Department of Geology estimated that future eruptions capable of causing "Volcanic Winter" effects severe enough to depress global temperatures by 2°F (1°C) and trigger widespread crop failures for 1 - 2 years afterwards should occur about once every 200 - 300 years. Even a magnitude 6 eruption, such as the 1600 eruption of the Peruvian volcano Huaynaputina, can cause climatic change capable of killing millions of people. The Huaynaputina eruption is blamed for the Russian famine of 1601-1603, which killed over half a million people and led to the overthrow of Tsar Boris Godunov. Thankfully, the climatic impacts of all of these historic magnitude 6 and 7 eruptions have been relatively short-lived. After about two years, the sulfuric acid aerosol particles have settled out of the stratosphere, returning the climate to its former state.

Mega-colossal eruptions
Even more extreme eruptions have occurred in Earth's past--eruptions ten times more powerful than the Tambora eruption, earning a ranking of 8 out of 8 on the Volcanic Explosivity Index (VEI). These "mega-colossal" eruptions occur only about once every 10,000 years, but have much longer-lasting climatic effects and thus are a more significant threat to human civilization. According to the Toba Catastrophe Theory, a mega-colossal eruption at Toba Caldera, Sumatra, about 74,000 years ago, was 3500 times greater than the Tambora eruption. According to model simulations, an eruption this large can pump so much sulfur dioxide gas into the stratosphere that the atmosphere does not have the capacity to oxidize all the SO2 to sulfuric acid aerosol. The atmosphere oxidizes as much SO2 as it can, leaving a huge reservoir of SO2 in the stratosphere. This SO2 gradually reacts to form sulfuric acid as the OH radicals needed for this reaction are gradually produced. The result is a much longer-lasting climate effect than the 1 - 2 years that the magnitude 6 and 7 events of 535, 1600, 1815, and 1991 lasted. A magnitude 8 eruption like the Toba event can cool the globe for 6 - 10 years (Figure 3), which may be long enough to trigger an ice age--if the climate is already on the verge of tipping into an ice age. Rampino and Self (1992) argued that the sulfur aerosol veil from Toba was thick and long-lasting enough to cool the globe by 3 - 5°C (5 - 9°F), pushing the climate--which was already cooling and perhaps headed towards an ice age--into a full-scale ice age. They suggested that the response of Canada to the volcano played a particularly important role, with their model predicting a 12°C (22°F) reduction in summer temperatures in Canada. This would have favored the growth of the Laurentide ice sheet, increasing the reflectivity (albedo) of the Earth, reflecting more sunlight and reducing temperatures further. The controversial Toba Catastrophe Theory asserts that the resulting sudden climate change reduced the Earth's population of humans to 1,000 - 10,000 breeding pairs. More recent research has shed considerable doubt on the idea that the Toba eruption pushed the climate into an ice age, though. Oppenheimer (2002) found evidence supporting only a 2°F (1.1°C) cooling of the globe, for the 1000 years after the Toba eruption. Zielinski et al. (1996) argued that the Toba eruption did not trigger a major ice age--the eruption merely pushed the globe into a cool period that lasted 200 years. Interestingly, a previous super-eruption of Toba, 788,000 years ago, coincided with a transition from an ice age to a warm period.

Figure 2. The 100x30 square kilometer Toba Caldera is situated in north-central Sumatra around 200 km north of the Equator. It is comprised of four overlapping calderas aligned with the Sumatran volcanic chain. Repeated volcanic cataclysms culminated in the stupendous expulsion of the Younger Toba Tuff around 74,000 years ago. The lake area is 100 square kilometers. Samosir Island formed as a result of subsequent uplift above the evacuated magma reservoir. Such resurgent domes are typically seen as the concluding phase of a large eruption. Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) browse images for path/row 128/58 (6 September 1999) and 129/58 (21 January 2001) from http://landsat7.usgs.gov/. Copyright USGS. Image source: Oppenheimer, C., 2002, "Limited global change due to the largest known Quaternary eruption, Toba 74 kyr BP?"Quaternary Science Reviews, 21, Issues 14-15, August 2002, Pages 1593-1609.

Figure 3. Total mass of sulfur dioxide and sulfate aerosol in the stratosphere (heavy solid and dotted lines, respectively) modeled for a 6 petagram stratospheric injection of SO2. Observed SO2 and aerosol mass for the 1991 Pinatubo eruption are shown for comparison. The much larger amount of SO2 in the Toba simulation soaks up all available oxidants in the stratosphere leading to a much longer lifetime of SO2 and, in turn, prolonging the manufacture of sulfate aerosol. Data from Read et al. (1993) and Bekki et al. (1996). Image source: Oppenheimer, C., 2002, "Limited global change due to the largest known Quaternary eruption, Toba 74 kyr BP?"Quaternary Science Reviews, 21, Issues 14-15, August 2002, Pages 1593-1609.

When can we expect the next mega-colossal eruption?
Given the observed frequency of one mega-colossal magnitude 8 volcanic eruption every 1.4 million years, the odds of another hitting in the next 100 years is about .014%, according to Mason et al., 2004. This works out to a 1% chance over the next 7200 years. Rampino (2002) puts the average frequency of such eruptions at once every 50,000 years--about double the frequency with which 1-km diameter comets or asteroids capable of causing a similar climatic effect hit the Earth. A likely location for the next mega-colossal eruption would be at the Yellowstone Caldera in Wyoming, which has had magnitude 7 or 8 eruptions as often as every 650,000 years. The last mega-colossal eruption there was about 640,000 years ago. But don't worry, the seismic activity under Yellowstone Lake earlier this year has died down, and the uplift of the ground over the Yellowstone caldera that was as large as 7 cm/yr (2.7 inches/yr) between 2004 - 2006 has now fallen to 4 cm/yr, according to the Yellowstone Volcano Observatory. The USGS states that "the Yellowstone volcanic system shows no signs that it is headed toward such an eruption. The probability of a large caldera-forming eruption within the next few thousand years is exceedingly low".

What would happen if a magnitude 8 mega-colossal eruption were to occur today?
If a mega-colossal eruption were to occur today, it would probably not be able to push Earth into an ice age, according to a modeling study done by Jones et al. (2005). They found that an eruption like Toba would cool the Earth by about 17°F (9.4°C) after the first year (Figure 3), and the temperature would gradually recover to 3°F (1.8°C) below normal ten years after the eruption. They found that the eruption would reduce rainfall by 50% globally for the first two years, and up to 90% over the Amazon, Southeast Asia, and central Africa. This would obviously be very bad for human civilization, with the cold and lack of sunshine causing widespread crop failures and starvation of millions of people. Furthermore, the eruption would lead to a partial loss of Earth's protective ozone layer, allowing highly damaging levels of ultraviolet light to penetrate to the surface.

Not even a mega-colossal eruption of this magnitude would stop global warming, though. The level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere would not be affected by the volcanic eruption, and warming would resume where it left off once the stratospheric dust settled out in a decade. With civilization crippled by the disaster, greenhouse gas emissions would be substantially reduced, though (small solace!) If we really want to say goodbye to civilization, a repeat of the only magnitude 9 eruption in recorded history should do the trick--the magnitude 9.2 La Garita, Colorado blast of 27.8 million years ago (Mason et al., 2004).

Figure 4. Annual near-surface temperature anomalies for the year following a mega-colossal volcanic eruption like the Toba eruption of 74,000 years ago, if it were to occur today. Most land areas cool by 22°F (12°C) compared to average. Some areas, like Africa, cool by 29°F (16°C). Image credit: Jones, G.S., et al., 2005, "An AOGCM simulation of the climate response to a volcanic super-eruption", Climate Dynamics, 25, Numbers 7-8, pp 725-738, December, 2005.

What would happen if a magnitude 7 super-colossal eruption were to occur today?
An eruption today like the magnitude 7 events of 535 A.D. or 1815 would cause cause wide-spread crop failures for 1 - 2 years after the eruption. With food supplies in the world already stretched thin by rising population, decreased water availability, and conversion of cropland to grow biofuels, a major volcanic eruption would probably create widespread famine, threatening the lives of millions of people. Wars over scarce resources might result. However, society's vulnerability to major volcanic eruptions is less than it was, since the globe has warmed significantly in the past 200 years. The famines from the eruptions of 1600 and 1815 both occurred during the Little Ice Age, when global temperatures were about 1.4°F (0.8°C) cooler than today. Crop failures would not be as wide-spread with today's global temperatures, if a suer-colossal eruption were to occur. Fifty years from now, when global temperatures are expected to be at least 1°C warmer, a magnitude 7 eruption should only be able to cool the climate down to year 2009 levels.

Volcanoes also warm the climate
While volcanoes cool the climate on time scales of 1 - 2 years, they act to warm the climate over longer time scales, since they are an important source of natural CO2 to the atmosphere. Volcanoes add 0.1 - 0.3 gigatons (Gt) of carbon to the atmosphere each year, which is about 1 - 3% of what human carbon emissions to the atmosphere were in 2007, according to the Global Carbon Project. In fact, volcanoes are largely responsible for the natural CO2 in the atmosphere, and helped make life possible on Earth. Why, then, haven't CO2 levels continuously risen over geologic time, turning Earth into a steamy hothouse? In fact, CO2 levels have fallen considerably since the time of the dinosaurs--how can this be? Well, volcano-emitted CO2 is removed from the atmosphere by chemical weathering. This occurs when rain and snow fall on rocks containing silicates. The moisture and silicates react with CO2, pulling it out of the air. The carbon removed from the air is then washed into the sea, where it ends up in ocean sediments that gradually harden into rock. Rates of chemical weathering on Earth have accelerated since the time of the dinosaurs, largely due to the recent uplift of the Himalaya Mountains and Tibetan Plateau. These highlands undergo a tremendous amount of weathering, thanks to their lofty heights and the rains of the Asian Monsoon that they capture. Unfortunately, chemical weathering cannot help us with our current high levels of greenhouse gases, since chemical weathering takes thousands of years to remove significant amounts of CO2 from the atmosphere. It takes about 100,000 years for silicate weathering to remove 63% of the CO2 in the atmosphere. Thus, climate models predict that chemical weathering will solve our greenhouse gas problem in about 100,000 - 200,000 years.

For further information
PBS TV special on the 535-536 A.D. disaster.
Newspaper articles on the 535-536 A.D. disaster.
Volcanic winter article from wikipedia.
Realclimate.org has a nice article that goes into the volcano-climate connection in greater detail.

References
Bekki, S., J.A. Pyle, W. Zhong, R. Toumi, J.D. Haigh and D.M. Pyle, 1996, "The role of microphysical and chemical processes in prolonging the climate forcing of the Toba eruption", Geophysical Research Letters 23 (1996), pp. 2669-2672.

Jones, G.S., et al., 2005, "An AOGCM simulation of the climate response to a volcanic super-eruption", Climate Dynamics, 25, Numbers 7-8, pp 725-738, December, 2005.

Rampino, M.R., and S. Self, 1993, "Climate-volcanism feedback and the Toba eruption of 74,000 years ago", Quaternary Research 40 (1993), pp. 269-280.

Mason, B.G., D.M. Pyle, and C. Oppenheimer, 2004, "The size and frequency of the largest observed explosive eruptions on Earth", Bulletin of Volcanology" 66, Number 8, December 2004, pp 735-748.

Oppenheimer, C., 2002, "Limited global change due to the largest known Quaternary eruption, Toba 74 kyr BP?"Quaternary Science Reviews, 21, Issues 14-15, August 2002, Pages 1593-1609.

Rampino, M.R., 2002, "Supereruptions as a Threat to Civilizations on Earth-like Planets", Icarus, 156, Issue 2, April 2002, Pages 562-569.

Read, W.G., L. Froidevaux and J.W. Waters, 1993, "Microwave Limb Sounder measurements of stratospheric SO2 from the Mt. Pinatubo eruption", Geophysical Research Letters 20 (1993), pp. 1299-1302.

Verosub, K.L., and J. Lippman, 2008, "Global Impacts of the 1600 Eruption of Peru's Huaynaputina Volcano", EOS 89, 15, 8 April 2008, pp 141-142.

Zielinski, G.A. et al., 1996, "Potential Atmospheric Impact of the Toba Mega-Eruption 71,000 Years Ago", Geophysical Research Letters, 23, 8, pp. 837-840, 1996.

Portlight moves to provide relief for South Carolina wildfires
South Carolina's biggest wildfire in more than three decades --a blaze four miles wide--destroyed dozens of homes near Myrtle Beach yesterday. Portlight Strategies, Inc. is preparing to respond to this disaster, focusing on providing drinks and sanitary products to firefighters, particularly to rural volunteer fire departments and other first responders which do not have the same resources as some of the larger paid departments. To help out, visit the Portlight South Carolina fire relief web page. Thanks!

Jeff Masters

Categories: Climate Change Volcano

Permalink | A A A

Top of Page

Reader Comments

Display: 0, 50, 100, 200

Sort: Newest First - Order Posted

Viewing: 951 - 1001

Page: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 | 34 | 35 | 36 | 37 | 38 | 39 | 40 | 41 | 42 | 43 | 44 | 45 | 46 — Blog Index

951. KEEPEROFTHEGATE (Mod) 5:06 PM GMT on April 26, 2009
it will begin the way it end Member Since: July 15, 2006 Posts: 144 Comments: 40659

952. cdo 5:12 PM GMT on April 26, 2009
Doesnt seem to work...do I have to create a blog or something? Member Since: August 26, 2006 Posts: 0 Comments: 7

954. CatastrophicDL 5:16 PM GMT on April 26, 2009
cdo, I don't know for sure about the blog. I had a hard time with it last year. Sometimes it took a couple of tries for it to take. Member Since: September 3, 2007 Posts: 3 Comments: 1519

955. KEEPEROFTHEGATE (Mod) 5:17 PM GMT on April 26, 2009
click on ignore new screen pops up enter users handle exactly as shown make sure caps are where caps should be in box then scroll to bottom hit update ignore user list your done Member Since: July 15, 2006 Posts: 144 Comments: 40659

956. KEEPEROFTHEGATE (Mod) 5:19 PM GMT on April 26, 2009
Link model gale efs precip if warning enter site its safe its navy Member Since: July 15, 2006 Posts: 144 Comments: 40659

957. KEEPEROFTHEGATE (Mod) 5:21 PM GMT on April 26, 2009
Link heres another one Member Since: July 15, 2006 Posts: 144 Comments: 40659

958. AstroHurricane001 5:24 PM GMT on April 26, 2009
Update: swine flu reported in 6 US states and 9 countries. Member Since: August 30, 2008 Posts: 8 Comments: 2811

959. KEEPEROFTHEGATE (Mod) 5:29 PM GMT on April 26, 2009
bring out your dead Member Since: July 15, 2006 Posts: 144 Comments: 40659

960. CatastrophicDL 5:32 PM GMT on April 26, 2009
Quoting KEEPEROFTHEGATE: Link heres another one Keeper thanks for the link. The NGP 156-180 hours out shows some nice moisture in the Carribean and coming off the coast of Africa. Member Since: September 3, 2007 Posts: 3 Comments: 1519

961. KEEPEROFTHEGATE (Mod) 5:33 PM GMT on April 26, 2009
there good models i used them the most Member Since: July 15, 2006 Posts: 144 Comments: 40659

962. cdo 5:35 PM GMT on April 26, 2009
The only screen that pops up is the one saying that I have no blog entries. This happened last year also. Member Since: August 26, 2006 Posts: 0 Comments: 7

963. cdo 5:37 PM GMT on April 26, 2009
Testing, has JFV posted on this page yet? Member Since: August 26, 2006 Posts: 0 Comments: 7

964. CatastrophicDL 5:39 PM GMT on April 26, 2009
cdo, no he hasn't, but if your ignore button has worked, it will hide all prior postings by the person you are wanting to ignore. Just don't put me on ignore. :o) Member Since: September 3, 2007 Posts: 3 Comments: 1519

965. DDR 5:39 PM GMT on April 26, 2009
Hi everyone,other than a possible storm,the gfs is also showing alot of tropical moisture over the w/atlantic and windard islands,this is good,i can hardly wait. Member Since: April 27, 2007 Posts: 13 Comments: 1476

966. KEEPEROFTHEGATE (Mod) 5:39 PM GMT on April 26, 2009
then i dont know what your doing Member Since: July 15, 2006 Posts: 144 Comments: 40659

967. KEEPEROFTHEGATE (Mod) 5:42 PM GMT on April 26, 2009
hello ddr yes your sst are also rising fast all along the island chain things are moving allong nicly too nicly if ya ask me Member Since: July 15, 2006 Posts: 144 Comments: 40659

969. Ossqss 5:45 PM GMT on April 26, 2009
Does the GFS run in 2 parts ? Member Since: June 12, 2005 Posts: 6 Comments: 8154

970. CatastrophicDL 5:45 PM GMT on April 26, 2009
Keeper, Drak said yesterday that he thought this year would be similar to 2004. What year do you feel 2009 will be similar to? Member Since: September 3, 2007 Posts: 3 Comments: 1519

971. charlottefl 5:46 PM GMT on April 26, 2009
I will say one thing. I don't like where that High is parked right now.. Member Since: December 18, 2006 Posts: 7 Comments: 2672

972. CatastrophicDL 5:48 PM GMT on April 26, 2009
Quoting charlottefl: I will say one thing. I don't like where that High is parked right now.. I think we should start seeing the high really transition in about 96 hours or so. Member Since: September 3, 2007 Posts: 3 Comments: 1519

973. DDR 5:49 PM GMT on April 26, 2009
Very warm indeed, keeper.Once you go in its hard to come out,lol.I think the dry season has peaked,late may/early june is usually the transition period,but i'd welcome an early start anytime. Member Since: April 27, 2007 Posts: 13 Comments: 1476

974. Cavin Rawlins 5:52 PM GMT on April 26, 2009
2009Hurricane Season FAQ Member Since: July 24, 2005 Posts: 407 Comments: 19076

975. KEEPEROFTHEGATE (Mod) 5:55 PM GMT on April 26, 2009
cat dl i dont really used that simlar year thing it going to be what it will be Member Since: July 15, 2006 Posts: 144 Comments: 40659

976. Tazmanian 5:57 PM GMT on April 26, 2009
US declares public health emergency for swine flu Link Member Since: May 21, 2006 Posts: 5088 Comments: 111361

977. CatastrophicDL 5:59 PM GMT on April 26, 2009
Keeper, ok thanks. Was just wondering... Member Since: September 3, 2007 Posts: 3 Comments: 1519

978. KEEPEROFTHEGATE (Mod) 6:03 PM GMT on April 26, 2009
Quoting Tazmanian: US declares public health emergency for swine flu Link itrs going global this is not contained lets see what 30 days from now will bring Member Since: July 15, 2006 Posts: 144 Comments: 40659

979. Ossqss 6:06 PM GMT on April 26, 2009
The root underlying concern with the recent appearance of the swine flu is that is a bio-terrorist attack. It has not been contracted by human to human contact in the past, hence considered a hybrid. I did find the GFS does run in 2 parts, high res to 180 and low res to 384. Member Since: June 12, 2005 Posts: 6 Comments: 8154

981. KEEPEROFTHEGATE (Mod) 6:17 PM GMT on April 26, 2009
yes you are Member Since: July 15, 2006 Posts: 144 Comments: 40659

982. StormJunkie 6:18 PM GMT on April 26, 2009
Afternoon all Webcam is running from the Destin Portlight Dog Walk today. Member Since: August 17, 2005 Posts: 26 Comments: 15218

984. GBlet 6:20 PM GMT on April 26, 2009
Yo, Vort keep me posted. I'm on the western edge of the watch area. Member Since: September 13, 2007 Posts: 0 Comments: 435

987. StormJunkie 6:22 PM GMT on April 26, 2009
Good SSIG, how's life in coastal Ga? God to see ya JFV Member Since: August 17, 2005 Posts: 26 Comments: 15218

990. stormdude77 6:32 PM GMT on April 26, 2009
Quoting PresidentialElection: LOL Huh?

992. ronni9 6:38 PM GMT on April 26, 2009
JUST STOP BY TO SAY ---------- \\\\\ COME BY AND SEE ME SOME TIME ///// R9 Member Since: December 3, 2007 Posts: 5 Comments: 848

993. CatastrophicDL 6:38 PM GMT on April 26, 2009
Hey SJ! I would gladly send any of my rain elsewhere. Almost 3 days of rain. My yard is getting too much moisture. It can't get dry enough for me to mow and weed. I've even caught a cold because I was too lazy to drive all the way to the gym yesterday for my run - did it in 44 degrees with light rain. Although I must admit it was invigorating at the time. Member Since: September 3, 2007 Posts: 3 Comments: 1519

994. charlottefl 6:39 PM GMT on April 26, 2009
Finally got my station running. Corrected the temp problem. Raised the anemometer to 15 ft (approx), running a free program now which is cool. Have to decide whether I wanna cough up $100 for rapid fire ability ( updates every 5 mins now) decisions,,,decisions.. Member Since: December 18, 2006 Posts: 7 Comments: 2672

995. KEEPEROFTHEGATE (Mod) 6:40 PM GMT on April 26, 2009
Quoting CatastrophicDL: Hey SJ! I would gladly send any of my rain elsewhere. Almost 3 days or rain. My yard is getting too much moisture. It can't get dry enough for me to mow and weed. I've even caught a cold because I was too lazy to drive all the way to the gym yesterday for my run - did it in 44 degrees with light rain. Although I must admit it was invigorating at the time. i hope its not the swine flu Member Since: July 15, 2006 Posts: 144 Comments: 40659

996. StormJunkie 6:41 PM GMT on April 26, 2009
Quoting PresidentialElection: Sir, you're thoughts on the potential GFS storm? I think it's April and I likely won't watch the models much before June unless something actually forms. Just too early imho. CDL, send it to Myrtle Beach...Fed Ex overnight would be good Member Since: August 17, 2005 Posts: 26 Comments: 15218

997. KEEPEROFTHEGATE (Mod) 6:42 PM GMT on April 26, 2009
hello sj Member Since: July 15, 2006 Posts: 144 Comments: 40659

998. CatastrophicDL 6:43 PM GMT on April 26, 2009
Keeper - funny :o). Nope just a bit of a head cold. Although I am hauling all the kids to New Mexico for vacation this week. I'm hoping it all goes well and no one comes home sick. Speaking of New Mexico, is anyone familiar with how quickly the mountains there can have temperature swings this time of year? I don't want to have to pack too much for the kids. Member Since: September 3, 2007 Posts: 3 Comments: 1519

999. CatastrophicDL 6:47 PM GMT on April 26, 2009
SJ, I would gladly trade with you. So far in April we have had a couple snow storms (15" of snow in April), 80 degree weather, 40 degree temperature changes, rain and hail. Member Since: September 3, 2007 Posts: 3 Comments: 1519

1000. charlottefl 6:49 PM GMT on April 26, 2009
Should any storms pop up this season I'll be uploading data. 2 Stations 40 miles apart. ;) Member Since: December 18, 2006 Posts: 7 Comments: 2672

1001. KEEPEROFTHEGATE (Mod) 6:50 PM GMT on April 26, 2009
Quoting charlottefl: Finally got my station running. Corrected the temp problem. Raised the anemometer to 15 ft (approx), running a free program now which is cool. Have to decide whether I wanna cough up $100 for rapid fire ability ( updates every 5 mins now) decisions,,,decisions.. what kind of station you got set up i have a pro tp1080wc wireless system works great yesterday it clocked a 91.3 kmh wind as a gust front pass by with about 50 mm of rain fall Member Since: July 15, 2006 Posts: 144 Comments: 40659

Viewing: 951 - 1001

Top of Page

New Comment

Community Standards Policy Comments will take a few seconds to appear.

Post Your Comments

Please sign in to post comments.

or Join

Not only will you be able to leave comments on this blog, but you'll also have the ability to upload and share your photos in our Wunder Photos section.

About JeffMasters