An inundation of wintry weather across the country carried snowstorms and freezing temperatures everywhere from the Pacific Northwest to the Southeast.
Most recently, snowstorms in Buffalo, NY have made travel impossible, caused roofs to buckle, and left at least a dozen people dead.
If it's so cold and there's a dangerous amount of snow, then how could the Earth possibly be warming?
Part of the confusion comes down to our understanding of weather and climate. People question the scientific reality of global warming because they don't know the difference between the two.
Weather is what we see day-to-day. It explains changes in the atmosphere over short periods of time and is highly unpredictable. A sudden thunderstorm or blizzard is what we refer to as weather.
Climate, on the other hand, describes the behavior of the atmosphere over long periods of time.
Using weather (i.e a few very cold days) as evidence against global warming (i.e a decade of hotter summers) is kind of like using one man's early death to disprove the fact that, on average, life expectancies are increasing.
There will continue to be hot and cold extremes, but when the weather is averaged over time, a clear warming trend emerges. The 2009 State of the Climate Report, compiled by hundreds of scientists around the world, revealed that the first decade of this century was the hottest since scientists started recording data in the 1880s.
The current decade is shaping up to be a record breaker, as well. Data just released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) show that this October was the hottest one on record – and April, May, June, August, and September all broke their own records this year, too.
NOAA's map below shows how this October's temperatures stack up to average temperatures for this time of year. Red areas are warmer than average and blue areas are colder than average. Overall, there is a general warming pattern across the map — and that's true not just of this month, but of the entire year. In fact, 2014 is currently on track to become the hottest year on record.
Here is what is happening GLOBALLY.
http://www.woodfortrees.org/plot/hadcrut...
This is only for the last decade. I do this because there is no question about the authenticity and interpretation. This is as Baccy Baby says, " Global Warming refers to the accumulation of total heat within the troposphere." That accumulation is cooling GLOBALLY!
Weather is caused by heat and water moving from one place to another within the troposphere. Global Warming refers to the accumulation of total heat within the troposphere.
Cold weather is localized weather, not global. Global warming is global in scope, not localized.
weather is not climate. local is not global.
