Naked Science Forum

Life Sciences => The Environment => Topic started by: mrsmith2211 on 03/08/2022 07:14:57

Title: What's causing cool and North winds in northern MN?
Post by: mrsmith2211 on 03/08/2022 07:14:57
We have been cool and North winds for the longest stretch I remember. Wondering if the heat dome down south is drawing hot air upwards causing our unusual airflow by drawing air towards the heat zone due to the hot air rising.
Title: Re: What's causing cool and North winds in northern MN?
Post by: evan_au on 03/08/2022 22:20:16
Weather is a chaotic system (in the mathematical sense). Local weather can have arbitrarily large deviations from the average at that location.

But the total amount of solar radiation striking the Earth is roughly constant, so if it's colder-than-average where you are, it is warmer-than-average somewhere else. That's why climate scientists measure global average temperature when looking at the global impacts of CO2 emissions.

I was amused when Donald Trump trumpeted record cold temperatures in the USA as proof that global warming was a hoax.
- But the cause of cold air over the USA was a bubble of hot air moving into the arctic past Greenland, recording the highest ever temperatures recorded there.
- Regardless of the fanfare, the upward trend of increasing temperatures is proceeding apace.
Title: Re: What's causing cool and North winds in northern MN?
Post by: Petrochemicals on 03/08/2022 23:45:17
 I seem to remember this before, the jet stream does not seem particularly strong at present and seems to be quite splintered and erratic.
Title: Re: What's causing cool and North winds in northern MN?
Post by: Janus on 05/08/2022 16:15:36
We have been cool and North winds for the longest stretch I remember. Wondering if the heat dome down south is drawing hot air upwards causing our unusual airflow by drawing air towards the heat zone due to the hot air rising.
We can get something like that here in the PNW.  When it gets really hot inland, we can get stronger onshore winds at the coast.  This will even occur over the course of the day.  6 mph winds in the morning grow to 15 mph by afternoon as it heats up inland.  It's not unusual for there to be a 30 degree difference between the coast and 60 mi inland during the Summer.

BTW, what part of Northern Minn.? I only ask because I was born, and lived the first 11 yrs of my life in the Range.