Shivering in the Surf Atlantic's Sudden Temperature Dive A Midsummer Mystery for Scientists

Washington Post ^ | Aug. 7, 2003 | John F. Kelly

[FairOpinion]

"During [most of] July, our water temperatures were, I would say, right around normal," said Capt. Butch Arbin, head of the Ocean City Beach Patrol. That's in the low 70s. About two weeks ago, he said, "there was a tremendous change in temperature, [dropping] as much as 10 degrees overnight."

The unseasonable chill started easing this week, but beachgoers from as far afield as Virginia Beach, Nags Head, N.C., Myrtle Beach, S.C., and Daytona Beach, Fla., have been curious about the precipitous drop. So many people have contacted the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that William Tseng, an oceanographer at NOAA's Silver Spring headquarters, is investigating the phenomenon.

[Bikers4Bush]

Same thing in Florida last weekend. The locals said the temp should have been 15 degrees higher.

[Frank_Discussion]

Anybody ever hear of The Coming Global Superstorm by Whitely Strieber? It's Art Bell stuff to a lot of folks, but I read it myself, and it has some interesting ideas that the establishment scientists are starting to expound.

One of the major ideas is that the North Atlantic current drives a lot of our global weather, and if it cools, the climate follows suit. Just an FYI.

[verity]

My pool water is 80 degrees!

[Moose4]

If you're curious about water temps at certain coastal spots, check out this webpage:

http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/dsdt/cwtg/

Hey, our tax dollars pay for it, get some use out of it!

(72 degrees at Hatteras in AUGUST?!? Yoiks!)

}:-)4

[Wright is right!]

Pretty simple, actually, if you understand the Earth's Weather Engine. There's a finite amount of energy hitting the planet every day from the Sun. This energy has to be absorbed and distributed variously by the land masses, the oceans, and the clouds. Because the Earth always has roughly the same amount of cloud cover worldwide at any given moment but the way it's distributed is always changing, and because the gravity of the Moon produces constant tides, you have air and sea currents that move the absorbed energy around.

Some of this energy cause water to evaporate, which produces clouds and further stirs the pot. When currents collide, you can have a large heat buildup, such as is happening in Europe at the moment. This is also causing a warming of waters in Europe, which will create a stir current in the Atlantic. The stirring Atlantic currents bring water from deeper regions that is colder toward American shores. What you're seeing along the Atlantic coast in the US is probably northern Atlantic water stirred by the heat in Europe/Britain.

Of course, I'm not a meteorologist and don't even play one on TV - but that seems to be the simple explanation for it.

Michael

[talleyman]

I blame it on the Dixie Chicks...

[Zavien Doombringer]

http://www.intellicast.com/

Try this link for all your coastal weather needs.

[Constitution Day]

"May St Ives bless us! He will exfoliate the liberals."

[Zavien Doombringer]

ROFLMAO!

[PBRSTREETGANG]

I blame it on the Dixie Chicks...

They're ashamed that America has the audacity to touch the Atlantic Ocean.

[SamAdams76]

UP near Mt. Washington in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, there is a ravine that holds a snowpack until around Labor Day. Just a few weeks later, the snow will begin falling once again.

Thus, we in New England are a lot closer to the next ice age than we might think.

All it will take is one unusually cool summer and the snowpack in that ravine might not melt completely. Then there will be that much more snow that will need to be melted the next summer. If in fact, all the snow does not melt that summer, than there will be even MORE snow the following summer.

This is how an ice age begins. Once there is a snowpack year round, even a small snowpack, the air around it is cooled significantly, inhibiting the melting process even when it is otherwise warm. The larger the snowpack, the cooler the surrounding temperature will be relative to the temperature elsewhere. This causes the snowpack to increase over time.

Eventually, the weight of the snowpack becomes so dense that it begins turning into ice - otherwise known as glaciers. Then we hit a point of no return and nearly all of North America will be covered in ice thousands of feet thick.

If you are wise, you will sell your property now and move to Mexico.

[Constitution Day]

Thanks for the link! I will check it out.

[amused]

While people try to blame Europe's heatwave on "global warming", how do they explain this?!

Simple. They have changed it to the redundant phrase "unpredictable weather patterns" as prima facia evidence of global warming.

[PBRSTREETGANG]

All it will take is one unusually cool summer and the snowpack in that ravine might not melt completely.

Could you please get up there with a blowtorch and prevent the next ice age?

[AnAmericanMother]

ummmm . . . you signed on today to tell us that?

Kits, cats, sacks and wives, how many were going to St. Ives?

[Hatteras]

"Between this and the chance of rain I've seen forecast, I am a bit disappointed."

There's no such thing as a bad day at the beach. Have fun!

[Mike Darancette]

While people try to blame Europe's heatwave on "global warming", how do they explain this?!

Is this is a sign that there is some type of disturbance of the Gulf Stream with warm water not hitting the East Coast of N. America and the current not causing the normal English Summer drizzles and fog (more of a Continental type Pattern is visible now)?

If this continues there will be the Mother of All Winters in Europe and Eastern North America.

[aShepard]

Interesting.

This will really upset the normal hurricane season. Wonder what will happen??