Some Like it Hot!
FYI Report, October 31, 2007
"After an unbearably hot summer along the Wasatch Front, FYI News asked Jim Steenburgh, professor and chair of the Department of Meteorology, for his views on what it all means.
FYI: How would you describe summer 2007 along the Wasatch Front in terms of temperature and precipitation?
Jim Steenburgh: This summer was the hottest on record in Salt Lake City and July was the warmest month on record. Summer precipitation was also below average at the Salt Lake International Airport, although the hit-and-miss nature of summer thunderstorms is such that a few places along the Wasatch Front may have received more rain.
How extreme was it and what does it indicate?
Of the five hottest summers on record for Salt Lake City, four have occurred in the past five years. Overall, the past decade in Utah was warmer than any comparable period in the past century. Although it is not possible to directly attribute the weather during any one season to global warming, these trends and the hot, dry summer we just experienced are consistent with climate change projections.
What are your views on climate change?
Like nearly all scientists who work on climate change, I believe that most of the warming over the past 50 years can be attributed to human activity and associated increases in greenhouse gas emissions.
What are your greatest concerns for the Wasatch Front in the next 10, 50, and 100 years?
My biggest concern is how climate change will impact our snowpack and water resources in the next century.
Do you have an opinion about Al Gore receiving the Nobel Peace Prize?
Al Gore received all the press, but the peace prize was shared with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and I think it is great to see my friends and colleagues recognized. They have worked hard for many years on this highly politicized subject to improve and explain our knowledge of the earth’s climate. The latest IPCC report is an incredible scientific document and a valuable resource to anyone who is interested in climate change. It is available online at www.ipcc.ch.
Is the film An Inconvenient Truth a good way for the average person to learn more about climate change? In general, An Inconvenient Truth is a good overview of global climate change, although it does contain a few inaccuracies (the implied connection between global warming and Hurricane Katrina is one of my pet peeves). For a brief summary of current climate understanding that also discusses Utah, see the report we prepared for Governor Huntsman’s Blue Ribbon Advisory Council on Climate Change at www.deq.utah.gov. Under What’s New, select Final BRAC Report, then Appendix A-1.
What do you think people need to know about our weather patterns in the Salt Lake Valley?
There is really nothing magical about our snow, but the combination of both quality and quantity probably does make the powder skiing in the Wasatch the best snow on earth."
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