• Weather

Ho Ho No: Ice on Top of Snow — Bad for Humans and Reindeer Too

• climate change
• ice storm
• reindeer
• Sami
• snow

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.

• Weather

One Cold Thing: Weather Whiplash in Colorado

• Denver
• snow
• weather

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 […]

• People

Our Daily Planet talks climate change with Lindsey Vonn

• climate change
• Lindsey Vonn
• olympics
• skiing
• snow
• snow pack

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 […]

• Climate Change

New Climate Change Study: Seeing Is More Important Than Believing

• climate change
• community
• glaciers
• ski resorts
• snow
• snow pack
• snowfall

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.

• Weather

One Cool Thing: Summer Snow in Colorado Mountains

• Colorado
• Rocky Mountain National Park
• snow

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 […]

• Climate Change

Climate change causing winters to become more erratic

• skiing
• snow
• snowpack
• winter

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 […]

• Weather

Winter Going Out Like a Lion: With Avalanches and A Major March Blizzard

• avalanche
• blizzard
• bomb cyclone
• Capital Weather Gang
• Drought
• extreme weather
• heavy winds
• snow
• white out

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.

• Climate Change

DC Gets Winter Storm Impact Scale Courtesy of Capital Weather Gang

• Capital Weather Gang
• ice
• sleet
• snow
• winter storm

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.

Climate change threatens fragile Himalayan glaciers

• Himalayas
• snow
• SOTU
• warming
• water

The Himalayan range is home to our planet’s highest peaks and it would be easy to assume that it’s protected from the effects of climate change due to this staggering altitude. Unfortunately, as it turns out, neither the ocean floor nor the tallest mountain is immune from planetary warming as a new study has discovered […]

• Weather

Polar Express — Bitter Cold Air Hits Midwest

• Arctic
• bitter
• climate change
• cold
• freeze
• polar
• snow
• storm
• vortex
• winter

If you ever wondered what a polar vortex looks like from above, this is it.  Grab a blanket and bundle up.  The midsection of the country — even places like Minnesota that are accustomed to cold air — are bracing for the worst cold weather that has been seen in a generation.  Temperatures could break […]

• Climate Change

Warming winters a major threat to snow sports economy

• economic threat
• economy
• Lindsey Vonn
• snow
• snow boarding
• warming
• winter sports

While the thought of avoiding winter might sound nice, the actual impact of warming temperatures in cold months is nothing to wish for. Already in most U.S. states, winters have already warmed faster than any other season and as Climate Central reported those warmer winters are coming with serious (and rising) costs. America’s cold-weather recreation sector has a particularly big stake in warming winters. Activities from downhill skiing to ice fishing and outdoor ice hockey all rely on low temperatures, ample snowfall, or both. Every year, winter recreation contributes billions of dollars to the United States’ economy.

• People

Our Daily Planet talks climate change with Lindsey Vonn

• climate change
• Lindsey Vonn
• skiing
• snow
• snow pack

Lindsey Vonn will go down in history as one of the most decorated female alpine skiers to ever grace the slopes. She has won 4 overall World Cup championships (one of only two women to ever do so) and 3 Olympic medals and while this will be her last racing season she will leave generations […]