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☆ California’s biggest snowstorm of the year will paralyze travel with blizzard conditions
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Mary Gilbert | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —An extremely-dangerous winter storm has arrived in California and will unload feet of snow, powerful winds and rare blizzard conditions in the mountains through the weekend. As snow continues to spread across California, so will strong winds and blizzard conditions. Snowfall rates are expected to reach extreme levels of 3 to 5 inches an hour from Friday through Saturday – especially along the Sierra Nevada. Heavy snow and roaring winds are expected to combine to produce rare and long-lasting blizzard conditions for much of the Sierra and parts of the northern ranges. Storm will provide much-needed boost to critical snowpackCalifornia’s Sierra Nevada snowpack got off to a slow start this winter.

Persons: ” Snow, We’ve, Edan, Lindaman Organizations: CNN, National Weather Service, Pacific Northwest, Sierra, Yosemite, National Park Service, Rockies, Storm, Sierra Nevada snowpack, California’s Department of Water Resources, US Environmental Protection Agency Locations: California, Reno , Nevada, Pacific, Klamath, Sierra Nevada, Northern California, Sierra, Reno

☆ The Death of Snow in America; Winters Are Getting Permanently Warmer
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-19 | by ( Alexandria Herr | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

These bands of snow just completely have missed Hayward," Shawn Connelly, the Birkebeiner Ski Foundation's marketing and communications director, said. The climate crisis is altering our winters forever — making them warmer, shorter, and less predictable. "I could not have envisioned a scenario where we could not make snow or we had no snow in January. Peter McClellandWith warmer weather eating into the peak of the season, it's getting harder and harder to sustain a winter-based business. If we get low snow, we're going to find that snow and use it as best we can to get out there."

Persons: Jocie Nelson, Nelson, Hayward, Shawn Connelly, Alexander Gottlieb, Justin Mankin, Snowpack, Gottlieb, we're, Claire Wilson, couldn't, Wilson, It's, Peter McClelland, McClelland, we've, Glenn Albrecht, —, Alexander Lee, it's, Kate Nordstrum, Nordstrum, Connelly, Alexandria Herr Organizations: Office, Northern, Nelson, Loppet Foundation, Alaska Pacific University, Loppet Locations: Minnesota, Hayward , Wisconsin, Midwest, Minneapolis, Minnesota's, Southwest, New York City, Great, Alexandria, Brooklyn

☆ Atmospheric river: Definition, relationship to hurricanes, potential benefits, and more FAQs answered
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-08 | by ( Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Atmospheric rivers are rivers of water vapors low in the Earth's atmosphere. Below, we answer some FAQs about atmospheric rivers. What causes an atmospheric river? Atmospheric rivers and hurricanes have a few things in common, Cordeira said, but "the processes in the atmosphere that give rise to a hurricane are different than the processes that give rise to atmospheric rivers." In 1994, MIT researchers Yong Zhu and Reginald E. Newell published a paper about "atmospheric rivers and bombs."

Persons: Jason Cordeira, Cordeira, El, it's, Carlos Barria, they're, Yong Zhu, Reginald E, Newell, Ralph et al Organizations: Service, Los Angeles Times, Scripps Institution of Oceanography's Center, Western, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, West, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, REUTERS, MIT, University of California Locations: West Coast, Southern California, Mississippi, California, California , Oregon, Washington, Europe, Chile, New Zealand, Australia, West, Bolinas , California, Hawaii, San Diego

COOKE CITY, Mont. They say their work has helped keep deaths from spiking despite more skiers, snowboarders and snowmobilers pushing the limits on remote mountainsides. Cooke City is thronged with tourists by the thousands in summer, when it’s a bustling gateway to Yellowstone National Park. After it snows — and here storms are often measured by the foot — snowmobilers and skiers pack the few hotels and inns. On Saturdays at a backcountry warming hut used by snowmobilers, avalanche educators give basic rescue lessons including how to use avalanche beacons — transmitters that send a signal rescuers can use to find victims.

Persons: COOKE, Wesley Mlaskoch, Mlaskoch, “, ” Mlaskoch, Doug Chabot, it’s, ”, Chabot, “ It’s, he’s, Chabot snowmobiled, Cooke, Kay Whittle, Bill, Shannon Abelseth Organizations: Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center, Avalanche, Cooke, U.S, Experts, U.S ., Antlers Locations: Mont, Montana, , Minnesota, Gallatin, Idaho , Colorado, Wyoming, Cooke City , Montana, Cooke City, Cooke, Yellowstone

Here's a look at the phenomenon:___WHAT IS AN ATMOSPHERIC RIVER? Atmospheric rivers are long and relatively narrow bands of water vapor that form over an ocean and flow through the sky, transporting much of the moisture from the tropics to northern latitudes. While traditional cold winter storms out of the north Pacific build the Sierra snowpack, atmospheric rivers tend to be warm. ___WHERE DID THE TERM ATMOSPHERIC RIVER COME FROM? Atmospheric rivers are often referred to as ARs.

Persons: Yong Zhu, Reginald E, Newell Organizations: National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, . Geological Survey, U.S ., Scripps Institution of Oceanography's Center, Western, California -, NOAA, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Locations: California, Hawaii, West Coast, United States, Mississippi, U.S . West Coast, Sierra Nevada, California - Nevada

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The first of two back-to-back atmospheric rivers drenched Northern California on Thursday, flooding roads while triggering statewide storm preparations and calls for people to get ready for powerful downpours, heavy snow and damaging winds. Forecasters also said the Central Coast could see waves up to 18 feet (5.4 meters) high on Thursday and Friday. The storm came a week after heavy rain caused flooding that inundated homes and overturned cars in the county. Last winter, California was battered by numerous drought-busting atmospheric rivers that unleashed extensive flooding, big waves that hammered shoreline communities and extraordinary snowfall that crushed buildings. ___Associated Press journalists Nic Coury in Capitola, California, and Scott Sonner in Reno, Nevada, contributed to this report.

Persons: Brian Ferguson, Cal OES, ” Ferguson, Joshua Whitby, “ There’s, ” Whitby, Daniel Swain, Swain, Snow, Nic Coury, Scott Sonner Organizations: ANGELES, San, San Francisco Bay Area, National Weather Service, Bay, Service, California Governor’s, Emergency Services, University of California, Yosemite National, Associated Locations: Northern California, San Francisco Bay, Coast, Central, Pacifica, San Mateo County, Humboldt County, Eureka, San Diego County, Hawaii, California, Oregon, San Diego, Capitola, Monterey Bay, Los Angeles, Sierra Nevada, Sierra, Lake Tahoe, Yosemite, Reno , Nevada, Capitola , California

☆ Skiing: A new artificial snow-making technology could offer a lifeline to struggling resorts
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-20 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —Nestled in the Pyrenees mountains, La Molina is Spain’s oldest ski resort. An industry in perilSpain has been struggling with scorching heat waves and a years-long drought, and Catalonia, the region where La Molina is located, has been particularly hard hit. But La Molina is far from the only ski resort trying to plot a future in a warmer, dryer world. “Current best estimates are that 95% of ski resorts rely on snowmaking to some extent to remain viable,” Orr told CNN. That’s exactly what the La Molina project aims to do — to see if the lab results can be replicated in the real world.

Persons: Molina, La Molina, FGC, Albert Verdaguer, Verdaguer, ”, ” Verdaguer, It’s, Ramón Pascual Berghaenel, Madeleine Orr, ” Orr, Snow, Jordy Hendrikx, “, Hendrikx, La, Hendrickx, snowmaking, Laura Rodríguez, ” Hendrikx, let’s, Vedaguer Organizations: CNN, Laboratory, Barcelona Institute of Materials Science, Northern Locations: Spain, Catalonia, Europe, Antarctica New Zealand, La Molina

☆ Backcountry Skiing Is Booming in the Northeast. But Can It Survive?
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-19 | by ( Josh Laskin | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Early last February, at the Mount Washington Backcountry Ski Festival in New Hampshire, the organizers faced an increasingly common problem: Terrible snow. Four days of temperatures over 40 degrees combined with an already shallow snowpack had rendered many backcountry ski zones unskiable. Up on Mount Washington, where the higher elevations usually mean colder temperatures, what had been soft, wet snow had hardened into ice when the temperature dropped in the late morning. Corey Fitzgerald, 36, the owner of Northeast Mountaineering in Glen, N.H., who was supposed to photograph a backcountry tour group on the festival’s third day, headed to an area called Gulf of Slides to check out the conditions. And the snow was so low that there was an ice bulge still visible in the middle.”

Persons: Corey Fitzgerald, Fitzgerald, “, ” Organizations: Ski, Northeast Mountaineering Locations: Washington, New Hampshire, Mount Washington, Glen, N.H

☆ Ski season needs fresh snow. Resorts are struggling as the climate crisis forces them to rely on fake snow to make money.
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-18 | by ( Catherine Boudreau | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

For Brendan Gibbons, snow rules the day. "I used to say, 'We'll get our snow," Gibbons, director of snow services for Palisades Tahoe, told Business Insider. "The entire business model and opportunities for profit are getting squeezed into a shorter season with lower quality snow," Mankin said. He worries that little ski towns will suffer the most as the climate crisis worsens and potentially consolidate into larger conglomerates. Areas where average winter temperatures exceed -8 degrees Celcius, or 17 degrees Fahrenheit, will lose more and more snowpack with each degree of warming.

Persons: Brendan Gibbons, Gibbons, Justin Mankin, haven't, they've, Mankin Organizations: Service, Business, Palisades, Northern Hemisphere, Northeastern, Dartmouth College Locations: Sierra Nevada, Southwestern, Europe, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Mankin, Palisade, Business

(AP) — Montana's Supreme Court has rejected an attempt by the state's Republican governor to block a landmark climate ruling that said regulators must consider the effects of greenhouse gas emissions when issuing permits for fossil fuel development. Greg Gianforte and three state agencies to block the August ruling from District Court Judge Kathy Seeley while an appeal by the state is pending before the high court. The state high court ruling means Montana officials must “immediately comply” with Seeley's order pending the appeal, said Mark Bellinger, an attorney for Our Children's Trust, which represented the 16 young plaintiffs who brought the case. The Department of Environmental Quality has created a work group to discuss potential changes to how it uses the Montana Environmental Policy Act, which requires public input in fossil fuel and mining development. Last year's amendment by lawmakers forbid greenhouse gas emission analyses unless the federal government decided to regulate carbon dioxide as a pollutant.

Persons: HELENA, —, Greg Gianforte, Kathy Seeley, Seeley, Seeley “, “, Mark Bellinger, Chris Dorrington, “ We’re, ” Dorrington Organizations: Republican, Gov, Montana Department of Environmental, Energy, Montana Legislature, Republicans, Environmental Locations: Mont, Montana, Yellowstone, Laurel

Fish and Wildlife Service follows more than two decades of disputes over the risks of climate change, and threats to the long-term survival of the elusive species. They also said habitat loss due to climate change — combined with other problems such as increased development such as houses and roads — will likely harm wolverine populations. Environmentalists have argued in multiple lawsuits against the Fish and Wildlife Service that wolverines face localized extinction from climate change, habitat fragmentation and low genetic diversity. The wildlife service received a petition to protect wolverines in 2000 and the agency recommended protections in 2010. Wolverine trapping was once legal in states including Montana.

Persons: Biden, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Matt Rosendale, it's, “, ”, Timothy Preso, who's, I’m, –, We’ll, Matt Bishop, there's, Obama Organizations: wolverine, wolverines, Wolverines, U.S . Fish, Wildlife Service, Fish and Wildlife Service, and Wildlife Service, Western Environmental Law Center, Trump Locations: Mont, U.S, Rocky, Alaska, Florida, Montana, Sierra Nevada, Montana , Wyoming , Idaho, Washington, California , Utah, Colorado, Oregon, Idaho, Canada

☆ Wolverines receive protections as threatened species
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-29 | by ( Rachel Ramirez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —The North American wolverine has officially been listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act and will receive long-anticipated federal protections, US officials announced Wednesday, as the climate crisis melts away their snowy mountain habitats. “Based on the best available science, this listing determination will help to stem the long-term impact and enhance the viability of wolverines in the contiguous United States.”Adding wolverines to the list triggers legal protections for the threatened species under various environmental laws, preventing the population from further declining. The last time the species had been sighted in the region was between 2008 and 2018, according to scientists, though they have already been listed as threatened species under California’s Endangered Species Act. Conservationists and scientists have been calling for federal protections for years now, with some environmental groups like the Center for Biological Diversity even taking legal action. Despite the new science and growing calls for federal protections, initial proposals to protect the species were rejected in 2020 under former President Donald Trump.

Persons: wolverine, ”, Hugh Morrison, Donald Trump, Biden, “ I’m, ” Andrea Zaccardi, they’re Organizations: CNN, wolverines, Wildlife Service Pacific Regional, ”, Yosemite National, Forest, Federal, Center for Biological, and Wildlife Service, Center for Biological Diversity, Fish and Wildlife Service Locations: United States, North America, Rocky, Alaska, Canada, Sierra Nevada, Yosemite, Inyo

☆ Snowfall is changing across the globe, new maps show
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-25 | by ( Manav Tanneeru | Eric Zerkel | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —Snowfall is declining globally as temperatures warm because of human-caused climate change, a new analysis and maps from a NOAA climate scientist show. There has already been a 2.7% decline in annual global snowfall since 1973, according to Brettschneider’s analysis of data from the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. The increase in snowfall in the Northeast seen on the maps illustrates the complicated nature of changing precipitation patterns with climate change, scientists told CNN. “Even though the total snowfall trend was positive, the days per year with snowfall trend is negative,” Brettschneider told CNN. Managing water with less snowUnderstanding the implications of less snowfall on the global water supply is far more complicated than simply saying less snow falling means less available water, Mankin said.

Persons: ”, Brian Brettschneider, ” Snow, Justin Mankin, haven’t, ” Mankin, Jessica Lundquist, Lundquist, ” Lundquist, ” Brettschneider, Brettschneider, Mankin, “ Organizations: CNN, NOAA, Northeast, National Weather Service, Dartmouth College, University of Washington Locations: Alaska, Northern, California, American, “ California, snowpack, South Asia, Spain, Italy, Greece, North Africa, Morocco

☆ As Groundwater Dwindles, Powerful Players Block Change
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-24 | by ( Christopher Flavelle | Mira Rojanasakul | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +19 min

They serve on the board of Groundwater Management District 3, which since 1996 has overseen the pumping of 16.2 trillion gallons of groundwater — enough to fill Lake Mead, the country’s largest reservoir, twice over. From Maryland to Hawaii groundwater levels are falling, often the result of overpumping and underregulation, made worse by climate change. Groundwater Levels at Goldstrike Mine Observation wells at Goldstrike show a pattern of immense groundwater withdrawals. “And money talks.”Kansas City Groundwater Management District 3 KANSAS Wichita KANSAS Groundwater Management District 3 Kansas City Groundwater Management District 3 KANSAS WichitaGrowing corn in the Kansas drylandsIn Kansas, the power of the men who run Groundwater Management District 3 is enormous. Groups like Groundwater Management District 3 have until 2026 to come up with plans to sustain groundwater.

Persons: Lake Mead, —, Catherine Hospital —, we’re, ”, Lindsay Vaughn, David Robert Elliott, Joe Newland, Nevada Adam Sullivan, Christina Erling, Erling, Adam Sullivan, Emily Najera, Kim Raff, Julie Pazina, ” Barrick, Michael McCarthy, Barrick, ” Mr, McCarthy, Michael H, Taylor, Patrick Donnelly, don’t, Helena Billings, it’s, Galt, Wylie Galt, Bill Galt, Dutton, Wylie, Errol Galt, Galt’s, Matthew Hamon, The New York Times Eugene Graf, Montana homebuilders, The New York Times Montana, Brad Dundas, Dundas, Mr, John Tubbs, Tubbs, The New York Times Errol Galt, Eugene Graf, Graf, Guy Alsentzer, “, Lucas Bessire, Vaughn, Newland, Mark Rude, Kan, The New York Times Mark Rude, Ms, Lall, Ali Zaidi, Biden, Jared Huffman, Huffman Organizations: Groundwater Management, Walmart, State, The New York Times, Kansas Farm Bureau, New York Times, NEVADA Carson City Las, Barrick, Carson City Las, NEVADA Carson City, North, Barrick Gold Corporation, Nevada Gold Mines, Nevada, of Water, University of Nevada, Center for Biological Diversity, Republican, Representatives, The Times, Galt, state’s Department of Natural Resources, The New York, Montana Fish, Montana Building Industry Association, KANSAS, KANSAS Wichita KANSAS Groundwater Management, KANSAS Wichita, Kansas drylands, Management, Kansas City Topeka, Kansas City, Topeka Wichita, Survey, University of Oklahoma, Groundwater, Kansas, Columbia Water Center, Columbia University, Natural Resources Defense Council, Marin Municipal Water District, Fisheries Locations: United States, Garden City, Kan, America, Lake, Kansas, Maryland, Hawaii, Barrick, NEVADA Carson, Carson, Nevada, Canada, Goldstrike, North America, Barrick’s, ” MONTANA, Helena, Bozeman MONTANA, Helena Billings Bozeman, Montana, Galt, ”, Broadwater County, Elk, Confederate, Sulphur Springs, Mont, Upper Missouri, Townsend, ” Kansas, Groundwater Management District, KANSAS Wichita KANSAS, KANSAS Wichita KANSAS Groundwater Management District, KANSAS, Kansas drylands In Kansas, District, Wichita, Kansas City Topeka, Management District, Topeka, Kansas City, Arkansas, Washington, California, Marin

☆ National Climate Assessment: 5 takeaways on the US climate report
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-14 | by ( Ella Nilsen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

“Climate change is affecting every aspect of our lives,” Hayhoe told CNN. Here are five significant takeaways from the federal government’s sweeping climate report. Climate change doesn’t cause things like hurricanes or wildfires, but it can make them more intense or more frequent. And hotter and drier conditions from climate change can help vegetation and trees become tinderboxes, turning wildfires into megafires that spin out of control. But it’s not happening nearly fast enough to stabilize the planet’s warming or meet the United States’ international climate commitments, the report explains.

Persons: Katharine Hayhoe, ” Hayhoe, we’re, Rick Curtis, Hilary Swift, Joe Biden, ”, John Podesta, Ethan Swope, Biden, West Virginia –, Scott Brauer, Dave White, White, ” White Organizations: CNN, UN, Texas Tech University, New York Times, ” White, United States, Bloomberg, Getty, Arizona State University, Rockies Locations: Barre , Vermont, Maricopa County, Vermont, Maui, Gulf, Aguanga , California, California, Florida , Louisiana, Texas, Kentucky, West Virginia, rainstorms, China, India, Barnstable , Massachusetts, Southwest, California’s Sierra Nevada, West

The National Climate Assessment, which comes out every four to five years, was released Tuesday with details that bring climate change's impacts down to a local level. Compared to earlier national assessments, this year’s uses far stronger language and “unequivocally” blames the burning of coal, oil and gas for climate change. In the Midwest, both extreme drought and flooding threaten crops and animal production, which can affect the global food supply. “Climate change is finally moving from an abstract future issue to a present, concrete, relevant issue. Five years ago, when the last assessment was issued, fewer people were experiencing climate change firsthand.

Persons: ”, Zeke Hausfather, Kim Cobb, “, of Colorado's Waleed Abdalati, Katharine Hayhoe, they'd, Hayhoe, there's, Colorado's Abdalati, Arati Prabhakar, Hausfather, Rob Jackson, ” ___ Borenstein, Webber, Seth Borenstein, Tammy Webber Organizations: Berkeley, midcentury, U.S ., Brown University, AP, of Colorado's, NASA, Nature Conservancy, Texas Tech University ., Associated Press, NORC, for Public Affairs Research, Colorado's, Biden, White, ” Stanford University, Twitter Locations: United States, Alaska, Great, Hawaii, U.S, U.S . Caribbean, Brown, America, Kensington , Maryland, Fenton , Michigan

☆ Inside Turkey’s ‘hidden’ ski world
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Rob Hodgetts | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

In winter, moist air from the Black Sea mixes with cold mountain air to produce plentiful powder snow at altitude from January to April. “It was probably my best day’s skiing ever.”Apres ski here is low key, with hot baths, games of table tennis or massages. On bad weather days, alternative activities include skiing from the snowcat, snow shoeing or ski touring. The Kaçkar mountains could soon be on the world ski map, and not just for heli-skiing. “We will be very happy if, one day, there is a ski resort in Ayder,” says Gasser.

Persons: he’d, Thierry Gasser, Gasser, “, Danilo Garin, “ It’s, ”, Oliver Evans, you’ve, You’ve, Evans, they’re, Georg, Yann clambered, Dany, “ You’re, Jeremy Jones, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Organizations: CNN, heli, Air, Turkish Locations: Swiss, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, Europe, Russian Caucasus, Uzbekistan, India, Canada, Alaska, Turkey’s, Georgia, Verbier, Ayder, London, Air Zermatt, Switzerland, “, Italy, Istanbul, Rize, Trabzon, Ayder . Swiss, British Columbia, France, Germany, Austria, Sweden, New Zealand, USA, American

☆ Inside Poland Spring’s Hidden Attack on Water Rules It Didn’t Like
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-24 | by ( Hiroko Tabuchi | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +14 min

The BlueTriton bottling plant in Poland Spring, Maine, this month. Water Clashes NationwideBlueTriton finds itself pitted against local water boards, environmentalists and other groups across the country. Aquifers Water bottling facility BlueTriton facility Aquifers Water bottling facility BlueTriton facility Aquifers Water bottling facility BlueTriton facility Water bottling facility Aquifers BlueTriton facility Water bottling facility Aquifers BlueTriton facility Water bottling facility Aquifers BlueTriton facility Sources: U.S. Geological Survey; Continental U.S. aquifer map data from GebreEgziabher, Jasechko and Perrone, Nature Communications (2022) Mira Rojanasakul/The New York TimesIn California, BlueTriton has publicly criticized and vowed to fight a cease-and-desist order issued by the state’s water board to stop diverting millions of gallons of water from a spring in San Bernardino County. Poland Spring water was first packaged as a local elixir in the mid-1800s. The original Poland Spring water source.

Persons: BlueTriton, ”, Elizabeth M, Frazier, haven’t, Christopher Kessler, Bottlers, Ms, Frazier didn’t, Anthony Moffa, Mark Lawrence, Lawrence, Mira Rojanasakul, State Legislature’s, Margaret M, “, John Mullaney, Roger Crouse, Cheryl Dieter, Metropoulos, Nestlé, John McGowan, Natalie DiPentino, DiPentino, Poland Spring, BlueTriton’s Organizations: The New York Times, Times, Democratic, Energy, Utilities, Technology, Maine State House, ”, Industries, University of Maine School of Law ., Democrat, Water, . Geological Survey, Continental, Nature Communications, New York Times, State, Poland, U.S, Geological, Water Science, Industry, Maine Water Utilities Association, United States Geological Survey, Rock Capital Partners, Metropoulos, Moody’s Investors Service Locations: Maine, Poland, Poland Spring , Maine, South Portland, Michigan, Colorado, Augusta, In Colorado, Arkansas, United States, Continental U.S, GebreEgziabher, California, San Bernardino County, In Michigan, Lincoln, Lincoln , Maine, New York, BlueTriton’s Poland, Chaffee County , Colorado

PARIS, Oct 5 (Reuters) - The Mont Blanc, Western Europe's highest peak, has lost more than two metres (6.5 ft) in two years and shrunk to its lowest level since precise measurements started 22 years ago as warmer summers reduced snowpack size, researchers said on Thursday. She added this year's particularly low level was probably due to a lack of rain and a hot summer. When precise GNSS satellite measurements started in September 2001, the Mont Blanc stood at 4,010.40 metres. A view of the Mont Blanc mountain from Le Brevent, in Chamonix, France, June 14, 2022. Farouk Kadded at Leica Geosystems said that this year, for the first time since 2015 - when scientists started measurements in June too - Mont Blanc's snowpack in September had remained virtually unchanged from June.

Persons: topographers, Mont, Cecile Taffin, Mont Blanc, Le Brevent, Denis Balibouse, Farouk Kadded, Topographers, Kadded, Kate Entringer, Dominique Vidalon, Manuel Ausloos, Geert De Clercq, William Maclean, Grant McCool Organizations: REUTERS, Leica, Thomson Locations: Blanc , Western, Chamonix, French, Mont Blanc, Le, France, snowpack

☆ An El Niño winter is coming: What could that mean for the US?
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-25 | by ( Mary Gilbert | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

El Niño is one of three phases of the El Niño Southern Oscillation, which tracks water temperature changes in the equatorial Pacific Ocean that can have rippling effects on weather patterns around the globe. A wetter southern tier and a drier northern tier in an outlook for this winter from the Climate Prediction Center have all the fingerprints of an El Niño winter. El Niño winter patterns are less regular in California, the Southwest and the Northeast. The Northeast doesn’t have a well-defined set of expectations during an El Niño winter. A very strong El Niño during the 2015-2016 winter contributed to the warmest winter on record for the US mainland, according to NOAA.

Persons: it’s, Niño, El Niño, Niña, Harry Lynch Organizations: CNN, El, West, NOAA, Rockies, snowpack, ., Raleigh News, Observer, Tribune, Service, Carolinas Locations: El, Southern, Texas , Louisiana, Mississippi, South, Pacific Northwest, Plains, Midwest, Pacific, California, Raleigh , North Carolina, Texas, East Coast

It’s usually an inexpensive, efficient way to transport crops, as a typical group of 15 barges lashed together carries as much cargo as about 1,000 trucks. A narrowed shipping lane also means barges from different companies must squeeze into limited space, forcing backups and delays. Months of dry and warm weather have hit the Midwest hard, damaging crops in much of the region west of the Mississippi River. In Kansas, 40% of the soybean crop was reported in poor or very poor condition, with the same conditions for 40% of the corn crop in Missouri. From his work site beside the Mississippi River in Red Wing, Minnesota, Jim Larson watches as the river rises and falls through the seasons.

Persons: Farmer Bruce Peterson, chuckled, ” Peterson, “, Louis, Paul, that’s, Nature, ”, Merritt Lane, Lane, Tom Heinold, ” Heinold, Heinold, Mike Steenhoek, Steenhoek, Jim Larson, Larson Organizations: DES, Canal Barge, New, Engineers, “, Soy Transportation Coalition, Red Locations: DES MOINES, Iowa, Mississippi, Gulf of Mexico, Minnesota, New Orleans, St, Minneapolis, Illinois, Ohio, Wisconsin, Davenport , Iowa, Savanna , Illinois, Rock, Missouri, In Kansas, U.S, United States, Red Wing , Minnesota

AQUIFERS AQUIFERS AQUIFERS WASH. MAINE MONT. MONITORING WELLS MONITORING WELLS MONITORING WELLS WASH. MAINE MONT. FLA. DECLINING WELLS DECLINING WELLS DECLINING WELLS WASH. MAINE MONT. FLA. UNCHARTED WATERS America Is Using Up Its Groundwater Like There’s No Tomorrow Overuse is draining and damaging aquifers nationwide, a New York Times data investigation revealed. Groundwater level trends Rising Declining Groundwater level trends Rising Declining Groundwater level trends Rising Declining Groundwater level trends Rising Declining Note: Colors depict the median trend for each site over the previous 20 years.

☆ How much water is left in the Colorado River? Scientists and officials are scrambling to find out
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( Ella Nilsen | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

It’s a remarkable turnaround that will give back billions of gallons of Colorado River water to millions of people in the Southwest, primarily in Arizona and Nevada. Snow-covered peaks near the headwaters of the Colorado River outside Winter Park, Colorado, in March. Scientists estimate that Colorado River flows have decreased by about 20% compared to the early 20th century. “There are tough choices ahead,” Becky Mitchell, the Colorado commissioner for the Upper Colorado River Commission, told CNN. Bill Hasencamp, the manager of Colorado River Resources for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.

Persons: It’s, Brenda Burman, “, Will Lanzoni, Jessica Lundquist, ” Lundquist, Jason Connolly, Jonathan Overpeck, ” Overpeck, you’ve, Brad Udall, Udall, ” Udall, We’ve, haven’t, “ What’s, ” Becky Mitchell, “ It’s, ” Burman, ”, Bill Hasencamp Organizations: CNN, Southwest, Central Arizona Project, of Reclamation, University of Washington, Rockies, Getty, University of Michigan’s School for Environment, Sustainability, Biden, UCLA, Colorado State University, Scientists, The Central, Commission, Colorado River Resources, Metropolitan Water Locations: Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, Rocky, University, Winter, , Colorado, AFP, Lake Mead, The Central Arizona, Scottsdale , Arizona, Phoenix, Metropolitan Water District, Southern California, Los Angeles

☆ Judge sides with young activists in first-of-its-kind climate change trial in Montana
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Youth plaintiffs in the climate change lawsuit, Held vs. Montana, arrive at the Lewis and Clark County Courthouse, on June 20, 2023, in Helena, Mont., for the final day of the trial. A Montana judge on Monday sided with young environmental activists who said state agencies were violating their constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment by permitting fossil fuel development without considering its effect on the climate. That leaves slim chances for immediate change in a fossil fuel-friendly state where Republicans dominate the statehouse. Julia Olson, an attorney representing the youth, released a statement calling the ruling a "huge win for Montana, for youth, for democracy, and for our climate." "Montanans can't be blamed for changing the climate — even the plaintiffs' expert witnesses agreed that our state has no impact on the global climate.

Persons: Lewis, Kathy Seeley, Judge Seeley, Julia Olson, Olson, Emily Flower, Austin Knudsen Organizations: Republicans, Montana, Trust, Montana Attorney Locations: . Montana, Clark, Helena, Mont, Montana, U.S, West, Oregon

EL CAJON, California, Aug 11 (Reuters) - California firefighters are using artificial intelligence to help spot wildfires, feeding video from more than 1,000 cameras strategically placed across the state into a machine that alerts first responders when to mobilize. But AI alerted a fire captain who called in about 60 firefighters including seven engines, two bulldozers, two water tankers and two hand crews. Part of Leininger's job is to help the machine learn. With hundreds of specialists repeating the exercise up and down the state, the AI has already become more accurate in just a few weeks, Driscoll said. "We need to use technology to help move the needle, even if it's a little bit."

Persons: Neal Driscoll, ALERTCalifornia, Shane Montgomery, Mike Blake, Suzann Leininger, Driscoll, Daniel Trotta, Donna Bryson, Diane Craft Organizations: Cleveland National Forest, Cal Fire, University of California, UCSD, Cal, Bronco, Cal Fire Air Attack, REUTERS, Thomson Locations: CAJON , California, California, Cleveland, San Diego, University of California San Diego, Chico , California, Hawaii, Canada, Ramona, San Diego County , California, U.S, El Cajon

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