Eye Into the Future

An interesting new report was just released from the US Climate Change Science Program and the Subcommittee on Global Change Research.

It seems that extreme weather has become the norm recently. From terrible flooding in the Midwest to a record number of tornadoes and tornado deaths. What will happen to weather and climate extremes if global warming continues? That's the question answered in this recent report.

This report is the first of its kind to detail projected changes in weather and climate extremes in North America. The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) evaluated similar events but on a global basis.

The report doesn't have a very optimistic outlook for the future. According to scientific evidence, a warming world will be accompanied by changes in the intensity, duration, frequency, and geographic extent of weather and climate extremes. The report also states that droughts, heavy downpours, excessive heat, and intense hurricanes are likely to become more common as heat-trapping greenhouse gases continue to be pumped into the atmosphere.

Alarming changes, due to the warming of the Earth, have already taken place over the past few decades. The report states that continued change is projected for the future...

• Abnormally hot days and nights, along with heat waves, are very likely to become more common. Cold nights are very likely to become less common.
• Sea ice extent is expected to continue to decrease and may even disappear in the Arctic Ocean in summer in coming decades.
• Precipitation, on average, is likely to be less frequent but more intense.
• Droughts are likely to become more frequent and severe in some regions.
• Hurricanes will likely have increased precipitation and wind.
• The strongest cold-season storms in the Atlantic and Pacific are likely to produce stronger winds and higher extreme wave heights.

Hurricane Katrina's eyewall

Source: NOAA