Winter Heat Swamps Alaska: Rivers Dump Spring-Like Sediment Into Gulf of Alaska

[Fred Sanders]

(Deep red areas indicate temperatures above normal by 18 degrees Celsius)






(Satellite imagery of rivers flowing and releasing sediment into the ocean; enlarge for better view of river flows)

http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=83032&eocn=home&eoci=iotd_image
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"While much of the continental United States endured several cold snaps in January 2014, record-breaking warmth gripped Alaska. Spring-like conditions set rivers rising and avalanches tumbling.

This map depicts land surface temperature anomalies in Alaska for January 23–30, 2014. Based on data from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite, the map shows how 2014 temperatures compared to the 2001–2010 average for the same week. Areas with warmer than average temperatures are shown in red; near-normal temperatures are white; and areas that were cooler than the base period are blue. Gray indicates oceans or areas where clouds blocked the satellite from collecting usable data.

A persistent ridge of high pressure off the Pacific Coast fueled the warm spell, shunting warm air and rainstorms to Alaska instead of California, where they normally end up. The last half of January was one of the warmest winter periods in Alaska’s history, with temperatures as much as 40°F (22°C) above normal on some days in the central and western portions of the state, according to Weather Underground’s Christopher Bart. The all-time warmest January temperature ever observed in Alaska was tied on January 27 when the temperature peaked at 62°F (16.7°C) at Port Alsworth. Numerous other locations—including Nome, Denali Park Headquarters, Palmer, Homer, Alyseka, Seward, Talkeetna, and Kotzebue—all set January records."

[hobbit709]

1. It's Amanda's fault.

[Fred Sanders]

2. ????????? No idea what you are talking about, is Amanda in Alaska?

[RobertEarl]

4. He just wants to be laughed at.

That's why the post is just trash.

Back on topic.... coupled with the high pressure shunting warm air north into Alaska, there is a rather large anomaly of warm water due south of Alaska.

High pressure systems rotate clockwise, they turn right. As the high south of Alaska turns over the higher than normal sea surface temperatures it ends up pumping warmer than usual air into Alaska.

That air circulation, fueled by warm air and water, invaded the Arctic and forced the cold air of the Arctic out and over Canada and into the US.

[bravenak]

10. Lol!

I think she's in Washington or something. Wrong thread.

[Thinkingabout]

3. Hey, are trying to bust the bubble of anti global warning bunch.

Don't make them cry. I had someone talking to me about global warming and the severe cold but funny he didn't know about the high temperatures in Australia.

[Blue_In_AK]

5. We're moving back towards normal now,

but last month was the fourth warmest January on record. We often get warm winds in January, but it usually doesn't last so long.

[Fred Sanders]

7. Wow. Great website you have there.

[Blue_In_AK]

8. Thank you very much.

. It pleases me when people check it out.

[Fred Sanders]

6. Climate mutation is going to make the formerly weird and rare weather patterns more normal.

[bravenak]

9. It's been too warm for a while, but I noticed it freezing over at night again lately.

The plants have been confused and my moms garden started sprouting a week and a half ago. They're probably dead again now.