Al Gore advocates 'emergency rescue of human civilization.'
In an editorial in the New York Times last week, Al Gore made his case with a plan to, “begin an emergency rescue of human civilization from the imminent and rapidly growing threat posed by the climate crisis.”
Framing his argument with today’s economic uncertaintly, he advocates an extensive jobs program centered around environmental related works. According to Gore, his plan would put millions to work while helping to ensure our ‘survival’ against the spectre of manmade climate change.
“Our children and grandchildren need you to hear and recognize the truth of our situation, before it is too late.”
– Al Gore, November 9, 2008
Mr. Gore advocates a number of solutions and alternative fuel sources. Interestingly enough, nuclear power is not included in his proposals despite the fact that it is one of the most powerful and environmentally sound solutions available.
This week in Denver weather history - November 16th to the 22nd.
Looking back into the Denver weather history books for this week, November 16th to the 22nd, we see a lot of the normal things we would expect to – lots of wind and snow.
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
645 PM MST SAT NOV 15 2008
..THIS WEEK IN METRO DENVER WEATHER HISTORY…
14-18 IN 1964…THE FIRST MEASURABLE SNOWFALL OF THE SEASON
TOTALED 6.0 INCHES AT STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
WHERE NORTHEAST WINDS GUSTED TO 32 MPH ON THE 14TH.
MOST OF THE SNOW…4.2 INCHES…FELL ON THE 14TH. THIS
WAS THE ONLY MEASURABLE SNOW OF THE MONTH.
15-16 IN 1894…WINDS BEHIND AN APPARENT STRONG COLD FRONT WERE
SUSTAINED TO 60 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 75 MPH ON THE 15TH.
SNOWFALL TOTALED 2.6 INCHES IN THE CITY. TEMPERATURES
PLUNGED FROM A HIGH OF 72 DEGREES ON THE 15TH TO A LOW
OF ONLY 5 DEGREES ON THE 16TH. THE HIGH TEMPERATURE
ON THE 16TH WAS 24 DEGREES…WHICH OCCURRED SHORTLY
AFTER MIDNIGHT.
IN 1996…AROUND A FOOT OF NEW SNOW FELL IN THE FOOTHILLS
WEST OF DENVER WITH 3 TO 6 INCHES AT LOWER ELEVATIONS
ACROSS METRO DENVER. SOME OF THE SNOWFALL TOTALS
INCLUDED: 15 INCHES AT GEORGETOWN…12 INCHES AT IDAHO
SPRINGS…10 INCHES AT CHIEF HOSA…AND 9 INCHES IN COAL
CREEK CANYON. SNOWFALL TOTALED 2.9 INCHES AT THE SITE
OF THE FORMER STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT. NORTHEAST
WINDS GUSTED TO 23 MPH AT DENVER INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT ON
THE 16TH. Continue reading November 16th – 22nd – This week in Denver weather history→
Today we’ll take a look at some of the best books out there for the weather enthusiast in your life as well as for kids interested in learning more about the weather.
Weather-related gifts for the “weather geek” in your life abound. From books to increase ones knowledge of weather to personal weather stations and even clothes and novelties all make great gifts this holiday season. Today we’ll take a look at some of the best books out there for the weather enthusiast in your life as well as for kids interested in learning more about the weather.
ThorntonWeather.com’s top four weather books for the weather enthusiast
The Weather Book: An Easy-to-Understand Guide to the USA’s Weather – By Jack Williams of USA Today, this covers the entire gamut of weather phenomena and conditions all with the beautiful illustrations USA Today’s weather section is famous for. This easy to read book is a great one for those wanting to learn more about the weather but it also has plenty of in depth information for even those already well versed on the basics.
Weather: The Ultimate Book of Meteorological Events – This newly released hardcover book has some of the most beautiful (and scary) photos you will ever see of weather events. Accompanied by essays from meteorology and climate change experts, book has 20 years worth of photos of significant weather events. Also included are U.S. and international monthly climactic data charts, 365 days of weather trivia and significant events in meteorological history.
Adventures in Tornado Alley: The Storm Chasers – Quite simply, wow! The images this book contains will amaze and astound you. Professional storm chasers Mike Hollingshead and Eric Nguyen document some of their most incredible chases across the nation’s midsection in photographs and text. Absolutely stunning imagery.
Three weather books for kids
The Kids’ Book of Weather Forecasting – For your 3rd to 5th grader, this book provides a great primer for kids interested in learning more about the weather. Beautiful illustrations make the topics easy to understand and experiments like making a barometer and rain gauge gives kids a hands-on experience.
Storm Chasers! On the Trail of Twisters – Written for kids 7 – 13 years old by veteran storm chasers, this helps to explain severe weather to youth. Colorful illustrations help kids become familiar with various types of storms, learn how to spot them and teaches them storm chasing safety and responsible storm chasing behavior.
The Weather Detectives – This book chronicles three kids as they investigate weather phenomena like the causes of tornadoes, hurricanes, ice and hail storms, flash floods, the Northern Lights, and more. Written by a professional meteorologist, this book is sure to educate and entertain.
Global warming? Not this year in the U.S. Thus far most of the United States is experiencing cooler temperatures in 2008.
According to the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC), much of the United States is experiencing below normal temperatures thus far in 2008. In all, through the end of October, over 80% of the continental United States is experiencing normal or below normal temperatures.
Certainly we cannot draw any real conclusions about manmade climate change or global warming from these isolated incidents but they do have to make you wonder.
For those that may not have noticed it in the most recent issue of Inside Thornton, the city has launched a new service called Thornton Connected. This new website and system allows area residents access to all sorts of new information from the city. First is a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section of the website that covers the entire breadth of city services. That same information is also available by phone. Second is an email subscription service that allows area residents to receive periodic emails from the city on a range of topics from just about every city department.
We have subscribed to many of the email newsletters and have them to be very informative. The city is also doing a great job of ensuring the number of messages isn’t overwhelming and is only sending out the important stuff. We commend the City of Thornton on this new service for residents!
At the current time the system is only for non-emergency messages. We do wish and hope the city will consider expanding the system to include emergency messages such as tornado warnings, Amber Alerts and other emergency alerts. The city does not have an emergency siren system or any other way to disseminate emergency information to residents and we believe this would be a valuable and potentially life saving service. A number of municipalities across the country and in Colorado have implemented such systems. We are going to talk to the city about this and will update you when we learn more about their plans.
Please view the Winter Weather Preparedness series to ensure you are ready for the winter!
We recently published a series of articles from the National Weather Service as part of Colorado’s Winter Weather Preparedness Week. We have now made those stories easier to find by adding them to the Weather Education menu on the left of every page.
This series of articles is a ‘must read’ for anyone living or traveling in Colorado or any place else that receives severe winter weather. Covering a wide range of related topics, these articles help ensure you are ready for the coming winter. The articles cover the following topics:
November 9th - 15th - This week in Denver weather history.
Plenty of snow and wind dominate a look back at the Denver weather calendar for this week in weather history – November 9th to the 15th.
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DENVER CO
645 PM MST SAT NOV 08 2008
…THIS WEEK IN METRO DENVER WEATHER HISTORY…
8-9 IN 1897…WEST WINDS WERE SUSTAINED TO 45 MPH WITH GUSTS
AS HIGH AS 50 MPH IN THE CITY.
IN 1919…POST-FRONTAL HEAVY SNOWFALL TOTALED 8.4 INCHES OVER
DOWNTOWN DENVER. MOST OF THE SNOW…6.6 INCHES…FELL ON THE
9TH. NORTH WINDS WERE SUSTAINED TO 26 MPH WITH GUSTS TO
30 MPH ON THE 8TH.
IN 1950…A MAJOR WINTER STORM DUMPED 10.4 INCHES OF SNOW AT
STAPLETON AIRPORT WITH THE MOST SNOW…7.8 INCHES…FALLING
ON THE 8TH. EAST WINDS GUSTED TO 31 MPH AT STAPLETON
AIRPORT ON THE 8TH. SNOWFALL TOTALED 8.2 INCHES IN
DOWNTOWN DENVER.
IN 1958…STRONG WINDS CAUSED SOME DAMAGE IN BOULDER. WEST-
NORTHWEST WINDS GUSTED TO 40 MPH AT STAPLETON AIRPORT ON
THE 8TH.
IN 1975…HEAVY SNOWFALL HIT METRO DENVER. SNOWFALL AT
STAPLETON INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT TOTALED 8.0 INCHES AND
EAST WINDS GUSTED TO 21 MPH. POWER OUTAGES CAUSED BY THE
STORM AFFECTED OVER 10 THOUSAND PEOPLE IN METRO DENVER. IN
THE FOOTHILLS WEST OF DENVER…10 TO 15 INCHES OF SNOW FELL.
THE STORM PRODUCED THE GREATEST 24-HOUR PRECIPITATION…1.29
INCHES…EVER RECORDED DURING THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER IN THE
CITY. Continue reading November 9th – 15th – This week in Denver weather history→
Weather Geek Stuff is a new site with a wide array of weather related clothing and novelties.
As avowed “weather geeks”, we are never afraid to let folks know of our hobby – some might actually call it an obsession. 🙂 In order to let us proclaim our interest in the weather ThorntonWeather.com has launched Weather Geek Stuff – www.weathergeekstuff.com.
Powered by Café Press, we have created a bunch of “Weather Geek” logo merchandise. There is even “Weather Diva” logo merchandise stuff for ladies and kids can get stuff in their size as well. We have also created some ‘warning sign’ logos that are pretty amusing that can be put on all sorts of different items. There is even ThorntonWeather.com merchandise! Everything from t-shirts to polo shirts and from coffee mugs to clocks are available, all with a cool logos and graphics.
By buying items from Weather Geek Stuff, you will be helping to support this website. All proceeds from sales of items go directly to the somewhat considerable costs for maintaining ThorntonWeather.com and updating with the new features you have come to appreciate.
With the holidays coming up, Weather Geek Stuff will make great gifts for the Weather Geek or Weather Diva on your shopping list!
The probe trucks await an opportunity to deploy their instruments on Discovery Channel's Storm Chasers.
We continue to be granted sneak peeks of new episodes of the Discovery Channel’s Storm Chaser’s (Sunday’s @ 8:00pm MST). Last week corn husks fell from the sky on the scout crew after a tornado had passed and Reed and the TornadoVideos.net team chased a twister in the dark.
As the show chronicles the 2008 storm season, it is now getting into what was the most intense period of the summer. This coming Sunday’s episode guide says:
NIGHTMARE ON DOW STREET – Nov. 9 at 10 p.m. ET/PT
Halfway into the season, TIV1 returns to action, and the whole team heads first toward Oklahoma and then into Arkansas. Monster hail storms batter the fleet, but the vehicles forge ahead as tornadoes start touching down all across this part of the Great Plains. Everyone gets to feast on the tornado bounty, but after dark, a twister chases the chasers in the streets of Stuttgart, Arkansas.
This week’s episode sneak peek – The storm chasers race to outrun a devastating twister as it quickly catches up to the team’s TIV-1 vehicle in this clip from Storm Chasers.
Wild Western Weather 2008 will be held on November 18th.
The channel 7 24 / 7 Weather Center has accounced an exciting event – Wild Western Weather 2008. The event will be held at the Wild Life Experience in Parker on Tuesday, November 18th from 6:00pm to 10:00pm. This looks to be a great event with a number of notable speakers.
Some of the highlights include:
Tim Samaras – Tornado Expert – featured in National Geographic Magazine, “Inside Tornadoes – The Latest Research: Twistex 2008”
Tony Laubach – Storm Chaser – “The Windsor Tornado vs Douglas County Landspouts”
Dr. Walt Lyons – Lightning Researcher – “Flash Facts – Red Sprites, Blue Jets and Other Rare Airities”
Ethan Green – Director, Colorado Avalanche Information Center – “Avalanches and the Big Snow Winter of 2007-08”
Dr. Thomas Schlatter – NOAA’s Earth System Research Lab and the University of Colorado – “The Pine Bark Beetle – A Canary for Climate Change?”
I do wish they had chosen a more central location for it or at least held the event on the weekend. It is pretty tough for anyone who works and lives north to try to make it down there.
