No, no, definitely not an anti-science doomsday cult, nope
‘That comes with a price tag’: How snow removal is busting town budgets
When the February blizzard swept through Martha’s Vineyard, it knocked out a wastewater pump in Edgartown and toppled a historic harbor flagpole near where “Jaws” was filmed. These damages, on top of other snow and ice expenses, have put the town nearly $200,000 in the red for cleanup costs.
Similar steep bills are piling up across Massachusetts. After a blockbuster winter that dumped record-setting snow on southern New England, cities and towns from Boston to Mattapoisett have busted their snow budgets, forcing already cash-strapped municipalities to make hard decisions about how to close the gaps.
It’s counterintuitive — hey, isn’t it getting warmer? — but some experts say these strained budgets may reflect another impact of climate change: rare but intense snowfall. While global warming is on average producing shorter and milder winters, it is also driving up extreme precipitation. That means when temperatures do drop low enough, storms can drop significantly higher snow totals. And that may only get worse as monster storms grow more intense.
“The way we experience climate change is through extremes,” said Shel Winkley, a meteorologist at Climate Central. “All of that comes with a price tag.”
Because big snows only come when it’s hot out, you know.
Across the region, officials are trying to figure out how to pay that price. The Massachusetts Department of Transportation has already spent more than $185 million on snow and ice removal this winter — about $20 million beyond what was spent during the “Snowmageddon” winter of 2015. State officials are weighing whether to seek aid from the Trump administration.
And that’s all because it’s too hot from Other People driving fossil fueled vehicles. Nope, not a cult.
Snow fall amounts is not a good indicator of temps except to the simple minded. Antarctica is the first desert on the planet because it’s super low temps do not permit the air to hold or carry any moisture.
The same is true of the interior of Alaska.
It snows most heavily when the air is warmer, closer to 32F
Counter intuitive, but “science” apparently somewhat difficult for some people to understand
Most of us learned that from high school in Earth Science
Johnny-“Snowfall amounts are not a good indicator of temps except to the simple minded.” Good, then according to you a slight warming should have no effect on snowfall amounts.
Commenter typed: “… slight warming should have no effect on snowfall amounts.”
Only if you ignore physics. Water freezes at temperatures below 32°F. But 30°F air holds more water than does 20°F air. Here in the midwest our greatest snowfalls are at higher temperatures around freezing.
Even Mr William posted an explanation for you: “It’s counterintuitive — hey, isn’t it getting warmer? — but some experts say these strained budgets may reflect another impact of climate change: rare but intense snowfall. — While global warming is on average producing shorter and milder winters, it is also driving up extreme precipitation. That means when temperatures do drop low enough, storms can drop significantly higher snow totals. — ”
Neither Fiji nor Antarctica get a lot of snow. Both the temperature and water vapor content (humidity) need to be right.
Relax, everyone. As a nation, we’ve decided to adapt to global warming rather than to attempt to slow it. The Science Denier (MAGAt) Cult is winning.
Yes, there will be costs associated with adapting to global warming. Seawalls, snow removal, disease(s) spread, neighborhoods rebuilt, whole towns moved up from rivers, better warning systems for tornadoes and flash floods, improved wildfire containment, etc.
Homo sapiens may be the most adaptable of species! Although most live in temperate zones, many live near the equator above the Arctic Circle. Our species, now almost 300,000 years old, survived the Biblical flood (thanks Noah), the asteroid 65 million years ago that wiped out the great dinosaurs, and the ice ages. From scratch, we built civilizations at the dawn of the Holocene some 12,000 year ago.
Since pre-industrial days, the Earth (mean global surface temperature) has warmed 1.2°C (2.2°F), much of that increase in the past 50 years. We’ll adapt!!
There is definately a lot to find out about this subject. I like all the points you made
Despite William’s term “heatsnow”, water still freezes at 0°C (32°F). Whether it 20°F or 30°F, water freezes. Another physical observation is that air at 30°F holds more water vapor than at 20°C!!
even William posted: “It’s counterintuitive — hey, isn’t it getting warmer? — but some experts say these strained budgets may reflect another impact of climate change: rare but intense snowfall. While global warming is on average producing shorter and milder winters, it is also driving up extreme precipitation. That means when temperatures do drop low enough, storms can drop significantly higher snow totals. And that may only get worse as monster storms grow more intense.”
One year, a late April snowstorm hit Hartford. The female, black mayor had already spent what she thought was surplus in the snow removal budget. She decided that the only people who drove in the city were the largely white commuters who worked in the city but lived elsewhere and didn’t pay taxes in Hartford so she left 6” of snow on the city streets to eventually melt.
Why would you live in a city with a female, African-American mayor???
CT does have the highest gdp per capita of these United States!
What year was that? I would like to check and see how long it took to melt.
Lehighton, Pennsylvania, the closest town to Jim Thorpe, where I lived, was having fights with PennDOT over who was supposed to plow Main Street, which is US 209, through Lehighton. The PennDOT plow drivers were instructed to turn around at the used car lot just inside the borough limits, and head back north on 209 toward Jim Thorpe, leaving 209 unplowed by them through the borough limits. The borough refused to plow 209, saying it was PennDOT’s responsibility, and Main Street was a traffic-packed icy mess until it melted, which could take days of traffic going over it to so. The parking areas on the streets stayed a mess.
Lehighton is further south than New England, and the borough would take the snow they did plow and pile it up in a grassy area by the bypass, the you-guessed-it, 209 bypass; Main Street was one way southbound in town, and the 209 bypass was one way northbound. Anyway, that huge pile of dirty snow and packed ice usually finished melting by early June.
That’s a beautful part of the country. Bigger and grander than the Ozarks!.
We spent a day around East Stroudsburg looking at the state school there for a granddaughter – she made another choice.
Gasp! Shockerooni! There was snow in New England!
Another blue state running out of taxpayer money?
Puzzling it ain’t.