Warming climate may fuel more lightning

spaminator

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Warming climate may fuel more lightning
Will Dunham, REUTERS
First posted: Thursday, November 13, 2014 02:38 PM EST | Updated: Thursday, November 13, 2014 02:49 PM EST
WASHINGTON - Rising global temperatures may cause a big jolt in the number of lightning strikes in the United States over the rest of the 21st century in the latest example of extreme weather spawned by climate change, scientists say.
Researchers forecast on Thursday that lightning strikes will increase by about 50 percent by 2100 in the continental United States because thunderstorms will become more explosive in the coming decades thanks to a warming planet.
This increase could lead to more wildfires because lightning already triggers half of these blazes in the United States, the researchers said. Lightning also kills dozens of Americans annually, with that risk expected to rise.
Considering factors including precipitation levels, cloud buoyancy and warming air, the scientists predicted a 7 percent increase in the number of lightning strikes with each degree Fahrenheit global average temperature increase (12 percent for each degree Celsius).
The 11 different climate models used in the study pointed to an increase of 7 degrees Fahrenheit (4 degrees Celsius) between now and 2100.
"There are about 30 million strikes per year in the contiguous U.S. now. So, in 2100, we would expect about 45 million per year," said climate scientist David Romps of the University of California, Berkeley and the U.S. government's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, who led the study published in the journal Science.
"For every two lightning strikes in 2000, there will be three lightning strikes in 2100," Romps added.
The researchers said rising temperatures breed lightning because the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere - the fuel for thunderstorms - increases exponentially as the air gets warmer.
"As the planet warms, there will be more of this fuel lying around, so when thunderstorms get triggered, they will be more energetic. This increase in thunderstorm energy is the primary reason for the projected increase in lightning strikes," Romps said.
Many experts blame weather intensity in recent years on global climate change they attribute to human activities.
"The body of research attributing trends in extreme weather to human influence is certainly growing rapidly," said University of California, Berkeley climate researcher Jacob Seeley.
"We are pushing our climate system into uncharted territory, and that means we're going to see phenomena that are extreme compared to what humans have experienced thus far during the relatively short amount of time we have been flourishing on this planet," Seeley added.
A monsoon lightning storm strikes over Las Vegas, Nevada in this file photo taken July 7, 2014. Rising global temperatures may cause a big jolt in the number of lightning strikes in the United States over the rest of the 21st century in the latest example of extreme weather spawned by climate change, scientists say. REUTERS/Gene Blevins/Files

http://vine.co/v/hwUJ9mQbzVu/embed/simple
http://vine.co/v/Ob5jpW5zqz6/embed/simple
Warming climate may fuel more lightning | World | News | Toronto Sun
 

petros

The Central Scrutinizer
Nov 21, 2008
108,901
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Low Earth Orbit
-18C 0F here right now and Sioux Falls is 10-12 hours south of here.

No not really, 39F, they get snow in Monterrey, Mexico and get below freezing..

You're not even a days drive from Arizona 72F there.. WTF you doing freezing your cojones off in El Paso for?

My bro inlaw is down there.
 

JLM

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Nov 27, 2008
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Vernon, B.C.
Exactly.

Just the name "Trudeau" brings shivers to my body.. Sr or Jr.

I would not live in Canada or call myself a Canadian in the population elect Justine Trudeau.


Yep, those two were (are) a piece of work! Jr. should be charged with impersonation for passing himself off as a leader.:)
 

Tonington

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Oct 27, 2006
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Except the OP didn't claim lightning strikes went up in the past 18 years, did it?

Let's check:
Considering factors including precipitation levels, cloud buoyancy and warming air, the scientists predicted a 7 percent increase in the number of lightning strikes with each degree Fahrenheit global average temperature increase (12 percent for each degree Celsius).
The 11 different climate models used in the study pointed to an increase of 7 degrees Fahrenheit (4 degrees Celsius) between now and 2100.
"There are about 30 million strikes per year in the contiguous U.S. now. So, in 2100, we would expect about 45 million per year," said climate scientist David Romps of the University of California, Berkeley and the U.S. government's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, who led the study published in the journal Science.
"For every two lightning strikes in 2000, there will be three lightning strikes in 2100," Romps added.

Nope. Nothing in there about the last 18 years. You're calling a study looking forward from now crap, based on what happened in the previous 18 years?

Your post, and your reading comprehension, is crap. :lol:

I know it's not standard practice these days, but try reading something first, before you make up your mind.
 

Walter

Hall of Fame Member
Jan 28, 2007
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Except the OP didn't claim lightning strikes went up in the past 18 years, did it?

Let's check:


Nope. Nothing in there about the last 18 years. You're calling a study looking forward from now crap, based on what happened in the previous 18 years?

Your post, and your reading comprehension, is crap. :lol:

I know it's not standard practice these days, but try reading something first, before you make up your mind.
Your unimaginative "legal" mind is showing some ankle again.
 

Tonington

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 27, 2006
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Your unimaginative "legal" mind is showing some ankle again.

Legal? What does that have to do with the price of tea in China? :lol:

I have no idea what you're talking about. Did you confuse me with Tbone? Try Lumosity, supposed to be good for keeping old knives from becoming dull.