You may also see weather and climate releases for 2001, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1997 and 1996.
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White Christmas is possible if there is snow by Dec. 18
N.Y. -- Light the yule log and mull some cider if you live in the Northeast United States because chances of a white Christmas improve if snow still is on the ground by tomorrow, Dec. 18. After examining historical records and extrapolating possibilities, a researcher at Cornell University's Northeast Regional Climate Center has found that if there is an inch or more of snow on the ground on Dec. 18, regardless of when it fell, the chances for a white Christmas in certain areas greatly improve. (December 19, 2002)
White Thanksgiving likely in northeastern U.S.
N.Y. -- If you plan to go over the river or through the woods this Thanksgiving, consider snow tires. The holiday falls on Nov. 28 this year, and for the northern parts of the northeast United States, that means a good chance of snow. Cornell University's Northeast Regional Climate Center predicts a 67 percent likelihood of an inch of snow on the ground in Caribou, Maine, on Thanksgiving morning, and a 34 percent possibility in Burlington, Vt. Not far behind is Concord, N.H., with a 29 percent chance. Keith Eggleston, senior climatologist at the center, based his predictions on a 30-year average of Northeast snowfall, from 1971 to 2000. (November 19, 2002)
Cities have 10 more hot nights a year than 40 years ago
If you think that summers are getting hotter, you could be right -- depending on where you live. Summers are heating up if you live in or near any major U.S. city. But in rural areas, temperatures have remained relatively constant. "What surprised me was the difference in the extreme temperature trends between rural and urban areas," says Arthur T. DeGaetano, Cornell associate professor of earth and atmospheric sciences, who reviewed temperature trends from climate-reporting stations across the United States over the past century and examined data from the last 40 years in greater detail. "I expected maybe a 25 percent increase for the urban areas compared to the rural ones. I didn't expect a 300 percent increase across the U.S." (September 25, 2002)
47 daily high temperature records smashed in Northeast
Creating temperatures more fit for the fourth of July, the mid-April heat wave that crossed the Northeast from April 16 to 18 smashed 47 daily high marks on the thermometer and tied six previous records, according to data compiled by the Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell University. "The influence of the Bermuda High brought those very unusual temperatures to us, as the upper-atmosphere circulation drove that warm weather up from the south," says Keith Eggleston, senior climatologist at the center. "While it was an unusual climate situation for the middle of April, the heat wave had nothing to do with the lack of snow we've had in the Northeast this season." (April 22, 2002)
Severe drought threatens Northeast'
ITHACA, N.Y. --Many coastal and large urban areas in the Northeast are facing their worst precipitation deficits (July through February) since official climatological record-keeping began more than a century ago, say experts at the Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell University. The severest drought faces those communities experiencing at least a 15-inch precipitation deficit since last July, including most of New Jersey, southeastern New York state, Connecticut, Rhode Island and Massachusetts, the climate center says. (March 1, 2002)
Northeast winter destined to be warmest on record
N.Y. -- If current trends continue for the Northeast through Feb. 28, then the meteorological winter of 2001-02 will be the region's warmest on record, with an average temperature above freezing for the first time in 107 years of official record-keeping, say Cornell University climatologists. (Winter is defined meteorologically as Dec. 1 through Feb. 28 or Feb. 29.) (February 22, 2002)