Snow fall in New York - 30/10/2011
Record levels of snow were recorded on the East Coast of the US yesterday. According to the National Weather Service, 31.4 inches fell in Jaffery New Hampshire. The storm blanketed New York city's Central Park with 3.3cm (1.3in) of snow, almost doubling an 86-year-old record set on October 30, 1925. The storm caused chaos, killing 9 people and leaving over 3 million homes without power (The full story and news video can be found here).
In trying to find some up to date information on this storm and any links to climate change I came across a blog called 'Weather Underground' which is written by meteorologist Dr. Jeff Masters. It is well worth a look and keeps up to date with all the latest notable weather events across the world.
Jeff states on his blog that the recent snows do not, by themselves, demonstrate anything about the long-term trajectory of the planet. "Climate is, by definition, a measure of decades and centuries, not months or years." But Dr. Masters also re-emphasises that government and academic studies have consistently predicted an increasing frequency of just these kinds of record-setting storms, because warmer air carries more moisture.
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