How the Heat Wave Started

By Brandon Keim July 26, 2011 | 2:30 pm | Categories: Earth Science

The recent, record-setting heat wave appears to have been triggered by a little-noticed patch of storm activity off the western coast of Central America.

Descriptions abound of the so-called heat dome, a zone of high atmospheric pressure that pushed warm air down over the central and eastern United States, then held it for a sweltering week.

But with the average evening news weather map ending at U.S. borders, the heat dome seemed to come from nowhere. Of course that’s not the case.

“Subsiding” — descending — “air over the United States is associated with the heat wave. Where is the air subsiding from? There has be upwards motion somewhere,” said Kevin Trenberth, head of climate analysis at the National Center for Atmospheric Research.

more

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/07/heat-wave-origins/#more-68803

I always assume all weather comes from Ohio, but that's cause I live in Pennsylvania. I 've often been frustrated at the lack of Canadian sattelite coverage, but i never look at the southern border. Too hot!

Illinois has enough trouble, they have Rahm in Chicago.

and there is little sign that it will change a lot. We have had 1 day in the last 18 when it did not hit 100 at least but still the index was well over 100. 111 today. Forecast for the next 8 days, at least 6 will be triple digits. I know there are areas that have it worse than we do, I can't imagine. My little farm seems immune to the rain that has been around off and on (mostly off). I have had about 1/4 inch since sometime in mid June. My crop is dead and crispy but since it is grass for livestock it is still usable but sparse. Real farmers are having a horrible time.

It was 100 degrees last week at midnight. August is usually our hottest month. Oh boy.

I am glad to know this is simply a weather phenomenon, hopefully that is true and does not repeat itself or I will start to invest in big cactus for my NE Kansas farm. *smiling through the sweat*

Thank you for the information, I was very curious why this dome has not moved.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/peter-h-gleick/its-hotter-than-it-used-t_b_906242.html (Skip the comments--since the merger, HuffPo comments are more troll-ridden than, well, usual.)

But not only is it hot, it's hotter than it used to be. And it's our fault. Welcome to the future of climate change.

Let's keep this simple: we know the Earth is warming up -- the data are unambiguous.* We know that humans are largely responsible -- the scientific community has been clear. And we know that the massive efforts to deny these two facts have confused policy makers, the public, and the media and have seriously delayed taking any sort of effective policy action to slow climate changes.

What this delay means, however, is rarely discussed, but in the most straightforward terms:
It's going to get even hotter. A lot hotter.

http://www.weather.com/blog/weather/8_25097.html

Translation of all of that into what it means for people: The extreme heat of 2011, which has already been remarkable in parts of the country during the early part of the season including before summer officially even started, is about to expand as we enter into the next phase of the pattern.
...
Translation of all of that into what it means for people: The extreme heat of 2011, which has already been remarkable in parts of the country during the early part of the season including before summer officially even started, is about to expand as we enter into the next phase of the pattern.
...
What happened in the 1930s and other decades reinforces that there have always been extremes in weather, and there is always natural variability at play. What's changing now is the nature of those extremes, and also what's important is the context.

This time, the extreme drought, heat, and wildfires are occurring along with U.S. extremes this year in rainfall, snowfall, flooding, and tornadoes, and many other stunning temperature and precipitation extremes elsewhere in the world in recent years as well as, as I posted on my TWC Facebook "fan" page, record-shattering 500 millibar heights in high latitudes. And all of this is happening while there's an alarming drop in the amount of Arctic sea ice.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/07/20/opinion/20cullen.html?_r=3&ref=opinion

Drawing from methods used in epidemiology, a field of climate research called “detection and attribution” tests how human actions like burning fossil fuels affect climate and increase the odds of extreme weather events.Heat-trapping pollution at least doubled the likelihood of the infamous European heat wave that killed more than 30,000 people during the summer of 2003, according to a study in the journal Nature in 2004. And if we don’t ease our grip on the climate, summers like that one will likely happen every other year by 2040, the study warned. Human actions have warmed the climate on all seven continents, and as a result all weather is now occurring in an environment that bears humanity’s signature, with warmer air and seas and more moisture than there was just a few decades ago, resulting in more extreme weather.

The snapshots of climate history from NOAA can also provide a glimpse of what’s in store locally in the future. Using climate models, we can project what future Julys might look like. For example, by 2050, assuming we continue to pump heat-trapping pollution into our atmosphere at a rate similar to today’s, New Yorkers can expect the number of July days exceeding 90 degrees to double, and those exceeding 95 degrees to roughly triple. Sweltering days in excess of 100 degrees, rare now, will become a regular feature of the Big Apple’s climate in the 2050s.

I hope this isn't just a "List(TM)" since I added some context.

Basically, we're screwn. And we're doing it to ourselves, and I'm so, so sorry.

even though I would surely rather hide my head in the sand and say Nooooooo! Then I come to my senses and try to figure out how I keep everything alive out here in the midsection.

Sadly the evidence is hard for the lay person with little actual knowledge and time to sort through. I believe you, it has been discussed for a long time, since I was a kid we have been warned. It makes total sense to me that this is a direct result of what we are doing. My husband and I were both medical people, used to science and cause and effect. How could this not happen?

The studies are mixed with denier studies or studies that look very official but are being done by the people who do not want you to think we cause this. It becomes a huge waste of time trying to filter through it all. Still, if one would take the time I am certain we could find it but these hot days are spent outside in this awful stuff trying to keep both animals and crops alive. I am weary of it but then I guess it is time to get used to it. Thankfully I will be either dead or certainly near enough to dead before 2050 gets here.

I really appreciate your answer to me. It took some time for you to put that down. I will be checking out the links and trying to wrap my mind around it all. Ya know, I would be really keen to know some more if you think of things that you could provide links for. Better to know ahead to plan ahead and be ready. This took us by total surprise.

I have long ago lost my list of DU names with the people I am friends with on FB. You may be one of my friends, maybe not but I will look for your page (TWC-The Weather Channel?) and check it out. Thank you. Really, thank you.

This is what happens when you shit in your own nest.

welcome to my world.

It's hot as hell here in Oklahoma.

and crops start to fail for a few years in a row, folks will finally start paying attention to the scientists warnings about cliamte change.