Environment & Energy
Related: About this forumFive September storms, so far -- is this climate change?
I hate to keep harping on Alaska's really weird weather over the past year, but I believe we are the "canaries in the coal mine" when it comes to the global climate change. Since Alaska's weather doesn't get a lot of press in the Lower 48, I just want to keep "you people" informed. My friend Phil Munger at Progressive Alaska has posted a really good analysis of our September storms and what this could possibly portend for the increased drilling offshore of Alaska in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas, one of the very worst ideas to come along in a while, in my opinion. This is worth the read. Some nice pictures, too, of our recent flooding and wind damage.
http://progressivealaska.blogspot.com/2012/09/five-september-storms-so-far-is-this.html
I. The waves of winds and rains that have pummeled Southcentral Alaska since the beginning of September come on top of a fairly moist and chilly summer, and a winter that broke snow records in many places.
The flooding in Seward, the Kenai Peninsula and Mat-Su Borough late this week, the worst in decades in many places, would have been much worse had Friday been as moist as Wednesday and Thursday. As it is, scores of millions of dollars of damage have been done to private property and public infrastructure:
The Alaska Railroad:
Floodwaters have stopped all train traffic between Anchorage and Fairbanks, washed out the Denali Highway and caused serious problems on the Parks Highway.
The Alaska Railroad was washed out north of Talkeetna on Friday, halting all northbound train traffic until Monday.
A 500-foot section of track just south of Gold Creek was washed out and several bridges are at risk between Willow and Talkeetna.
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GreenPartyVoter
(72,377 posts)Blue_In_AK
(46,436 posts)rsweets
(307 posts)Downwinder
(12,869 posts)AverageJoe90
(10,745 posts)What we do know for sure is that they are likely to become more common as the years go by.
Blue_In_AK
(46,436 posts)If we have snow like we did last year, I'll have to assume something is up. Last year's snowfall here in Anchorage broke a record set in 1954.
AverageJoe90
(10,745 posts)Frankly, I've been asking questions myself. Here in northern Texas we had 2, that's right, two, back-to-back heavily snowy and very cold winters, in 2010 & 2011. I can't help but wonder if we could very well get more of the same in the next couple decades or so.
Blue_In_AK
(46,436 posts)[img][/img]
Blue_In_AK
(46,436 posts)phantom power
(25,966 posts)Blue_In_AK
(46,436 posts)I find it kind of interesting, too, from a scientific standpoint, and where I live we don't have flooding danger, but I am getting kind of tired of not being able to go out without getting wet or blown away.