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Snowpack in the Sierra Nevada Mountains has been alarmingly low this year and while the rest of the West hasn’t had as dire of a situation, since 1982, some parts of the West have a 41% reduction in the yearly maximum mass of snow. For the skiing industry, climate change is a true existential threat–though […]
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We have heard of helicopter skiing, but this month a French ski resort had to resort to helicoptering in the snow itself, CNN reported. Apparently, it was too warm to even make snow on the mountain so the Superbagnères resort in the Pyrenees had a helicopter delivering bundles of snow to the area in order […]
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If you live in DC you’re probably like us and have been wondering what the heck happened to winter this year. You’re not alone, according to NBC News, In Japan, record low snowfall has forced ski resorts to close prematurely. In Finland, forests that would normally be stark and bare at this time of year […]
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Climate change and clean water are the two biggest environmental issues facing the Democratic Presidential candidates stumping in New Hampshire.
Why This Matters: Pollution and climate change were big issues in Iowa and they will be important in New Hampshire as well. The recreation industry is poised to take a beating due to shortened ski seasons and PFAS contamination is pervasive and too expensive to clean up right now.
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An Associated Press report earlier this week went viral because it hits a little too close to home this time of year — unusual weather patterns are causing reindeer to go hungry because as rain (as opposed to snow) falls during the winter in the Arctic, it creates thick layers of snowy ice that blocks their access to food. In much of the U.S. we will likewise be battered with a “parade” of combo snow/ice storms for the days until Christmas, snarling all kinds of travel plans.
Why This Matters: Ice is only good in Disney movies.
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Oh, what a difference a day makes! It was 82 degrees and sunny on Wednesday afternoon in Denver, but by last night ice and snow walloped the region after a temperature drop of 64 degrees in less than 24 hours. The Denver Airport experienced delays, and major roadways were shut down on account of a […]
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Getting a chance to talk Olympic champion Lindsey Vonn was one of the most unique interviews we’ve ever done. For elite athletes like Lindsey their sport is their life–and for winter athletes in particular–climate change is making it far more difficult to safely compete. We hope you enjoy this interview again (or for the first […]
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Climate change as a “lens” is not always the best way to frame climate impacts for frontline communities in order to spur them to act in the near term. According to a new study by Columbia University anthropologist Ben Orlove, individuals interviewed who have experienced the consequences of global warming – such as glaciers melting or ski seasons shortening — often viewed them through a local community-based experience lens, rather than a climate change one.
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Summer snow is rare but that is just what happened in the mountains west of Denver on Friday, where nearly two feet fell on the first official day of summer. According to CNN, Steamboat Springs, Colorado averages 0.1 inches of snow in June, with May 6 being the average last day of snowfall during a […]
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After years of drought in the Sierra Nevada and Rocky Mountains, this past winter has brought staggering amounts of snow. In the Sierras, snowpack is at a staggering 156 percent of normal as of Wednesday and in Colorado, drought levels dropped by half in just a week as a result of snow storms. This is […]
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Colorado has experienced eight avalanches so far this winter killing 22 people, and another major blizzard is walloping the state today. Coloradoan.com reports that, according to Colorado’s Avalanche Information Center Director Ethan Greene, this year a “perfect storm” of events have created unprecedented avalanche conditions with all the critical factors that result in avalanches coming together at the same time.
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The Washington Post’s Capital Weather Gang has created a scale to rate the winter storms that always seem to snarl travel and impact schools and businesses in the region. Rather than gauging a storm by the number of inches of snow, the Weather Gang scale rates the storm’s impact.
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