Very cool web page Rookie! Thanks for posting it. I have it bookmarked.
This year spring here was about normal for the 1980-2010 average. I moved to SC in 1984, and because turkey season opened on April 1 every year (no fooling) I have a very good feel for how things have changed from then to now on that specific date. My first turkey season here there was frost on the ground that morning as dawn broke. wild dogwoods didn’t start blooming in the woods until about the 2 week of April. It was such a new experience to watch spring bloom in the wild as opposed to what I had become accustomed to in central FL. I loved it! As the years have passed by I noted that morning frost became less common, The dogwoods bloomed earlier and earlier over time until they were blooming in March. Some years as much as a week before April. However, this year they bloomed about the 1st of April. The breeding cycle of wild turkeys has change as well as the bloom occurring earlier in the year now than it did back then.
One point to consider is that 5 of the hottest years on record have occurred since 2010. A link to the ten hottest years on record. two points of interest, 1) all but one of the ten hottest years have been since 2004, and 2) the cold spot in the North Atlantic off of southern tip of Greenland that is believed to be impacting the Gulf Stream. https://www.climatecentral.org/gallery/graphics/the-10-hottest-global-years-on-record
As a commercial beekeeper for 15 years one of the joys was watching the succession of the various blooming plants through spring, summer, and fall. I developed a keen interest because of the relationship my bees had with this vital need for their well being, and the various weather conditions that impacted this relationship. Another of the joys was watching the season move north in the spring and south in the fall as I transported bees back and forth from South FL to SC, and form the coast to the mountains. It was a most interesting set of environmental lessons to experience.
Oh, nothing like Seattle here string. Saturday afternoon and Sunday were lovely; rain started this afternoon and will continue tomorrow, but sunshine for the rest of the week. Rain is good for the forests: no red alerts for wildfire danger so far.
So if the forecast is right Columbia will have 3 more days of 100 and higher temps, The normal for this time of year is 86. Highs have been running 13 to 15 degrees above normal. Mornings however have been mid 70s and feel wonderful.
@castoff said:
There has been concern that the Gulf Stream may be changing in such a way as to not loop across the Atlantic in the future. If it does slow down and dissipate off of Greenland because of increasing cold freshwater from melting glaciers the weather stands to change radically for Europe. What repercussions it will have for weather in the rest of the Northern Hemisphere is a crap shoot.
I’ve heard warnings for 30yrs. They have been watching the flow and predicting big problems for Europe, maybe a mini ice age.
I’ve heard warnings for 30yrs. They have been watching the flow and predicting big problems for Europe, maybe a mini ice ag
There is a lot of uncertainty regarding how the gulf stream may change, but there is agreement that it has slowed down in the neighborhood of 15%. This is the equivalent of 3 times the flow of all the rivers on earth. Another interesting fact that if you were to walk out from Folly Beach, SC to the middle of the Gulf Stream the water would be 5 feet lower than at the beach. If the flow were to stop it would raise the level at the beach by 3 feet. We tend to think of the ocean as level but it really isn’t Just think of the difference between high and low tide. The flow of the Gulf Stream is so strong it literally draws water away from the coast. Some links that might be of interest.