{"id":27012,"date":"2013-02-09T19:24:54","date_gmt":"2013-02-09T18:24:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.commondreams.org\/headline\/2013\/02\/09-3"},"modified":"2013-02-09T19:24:54","modified_gmt":"2013-02-09T18:24:54","slug":"slam-dunk-blizzard-buries-northeast-us-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/rinf.com\/alt-news\/breaking-news\/slam-dunk-blizzard-buries-northeast-us-2\/","title":{"rendered":"“Slam Dunk” Blizzard Buries Northeast US"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\"\"(Photo: missusp via twitter)<\/span><\/span>As the Blizzard of 2013 continues its assault<\/a> on the Northeast throughout the day Saturday, marking itself with fierce winds and huge drifts, climatologists are quick to point out that these “slam dunk<\/a>” storms are simply another sign of these increasingly-warming times.<\/p>\n

As of Saturday afternoon, the storm\u2013dubbed “Nemo” by the weather channel in what NPR<\/em> refers<\/a> to as the recurrent “hype cycle” of storms\u2013had claimed<\/a> four lives and left over 650,000 region residents without power.<\/p>\n

Downed power lines<\/a> left some 400,000 without power in Massachusetts alone, where up to two feet of snow was recorded throughout the state.<\/p>\n

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced<\/a> that Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant in Plymouth, Mass. experienced an automatic shutdown at around 9:15 p.m. Friday after fierce winds caused it to lose off-site power. According to spokesman Neil Sheehan, backup generators are currently powering plant equipment.<\/p>\n

As the morning high tide peaked around 10 am, members of the Massachusetts National Guard rushed to coastal communities to evacuate shoreline residents.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat were streets a little while ago could look like canals in a lot of these towns up and down the coast,\u201d said MEMA spokesman Peter Judge.<\/p>\n

The Blizzard left its mark as Portland, Maine’s greatest snowstorm on record with more than 32 inches. And in Connecticut, where snow fell at a rate of up to five inches an hour, 38 inches of snowfall are estimated thus far.<\/p>\n

Climatologists have been quick to point out that an increase dramatic storms, including nor’easters, are another effect of our quickly warming planet.<\/p>\n

In this case, the combination of atmospheric moisture and slightly-below-freezing temperatures contributed the “perfect setup for a big storm,” said Kevin Trenberth, of the Climate Analysis Section at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado.<\/p>\n

“In the past, temperatures at this time of year would have been a lot below freezing,” Trenberth said, which would have been too cold to hold the moisture needed to crystallize water into snow. “The atmosphere’s ability to create those snowflakes drops by 4 percent for every one degree Fahrenheit fall in temperature,” the Huffington Post<\/em> reports.<\/a><\/p>\n

“Storms like this tend to be heavier than they used to be,” said Princeton climate change expert Michael Oppenheimer. “That’s a fact.”<\/p>\n

\"\"Large waves crashed over sand barriers, destroying the decks of homes along the beach on Plum Island on Saturday morning. (Photo:Aram Boghosian\/Boston Globe)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"(Photo: alimae4 via Instagram)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"(Photo: courtkeefe via Instagram)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"(Photo: nyfan81 via Instagram)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\n

\"\"(Photo: missusp via twitter)<\/span><\/span>As the Blizzard of 2013 continues its assault<\/a> on the Northeast throughout the day Saturday, marking itself with fierce winds and huge drifts, climatologists are quick to point out that these “slam dunk<\/a>” storms are simply another sign of these increasingly-warming times.<\/p>\n

As of Saturday afternoon, the storm—dubbed “Nemo” by the weather channel in what NPR<\/em> refers<\/a> to as the recurrent “hype cycle” of storms—had claimed<\/a> four lives and left over 650,000 region residents without power.<\/p>\n

Downed power lines<\/a> left some 400,000 without power in Massachusetts alone, where up to two feet of snow was recorded throughout the state.<\/p>\n

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission announced<\/a> that Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant in Plymouth, Mass. experienced an automatic shutdown at around 9:15 p.m. Friday after fierce winds caused it to lose off-site power. According to spokesman Neil Sheehan, backup generators are currently powering plant equipment.<\/p>\n

As the morning high tide peaked around 10 am, members of the Massachusetts National Guard rushed to coastal communities to evacuate shoreline residents.<\/p>\n

“What were streets a little while ago could look like canals in a lot of these towns up and down the coast,” said MEMA spokesman Peter Judge.<\/p>\n

The Blizzard left its mark as Portland, Maine’s greatest snowstorm on record with more than 32 inches. And in Connecticut, where snow fell at a rate of up to five inches an hour, 38 inches of snowfall are estimated thus far.<\/p>\n

Climatologists have been quick to point out that an increase dramatic storms, including nor’easters, are another effect of our quickly warming planet.<\/p>\n

In this case, the combination of atmospheric moisture and slightly-below-freezing temperatures contributed the “perfect setup for a big storm,” said Kevin Trenberth, of the Climate Analysis Section at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado.<\/p>\n

“In the past, temperatures at this time of year would have been a lot below freezing,” Trenberth said, which would have been too cold to hold the moisture needed to crystallize water into snow. “The atmosphere’s ability to create those snowflakes drops by 4 percent for every one degree Fahrenheit fall in temperature,” the Huffington Post<\/em> reports.<\/a><\/p>\n

“Storms like this tend to be heavier than they used to be,” said Princeton climate change expert Michael Oppenheimer. “That’s a fact.”<\/p>\n

\"\"Large waves crashed over sand barriers, destroying the decks of homes along the beach on Plum Island on Saturday morning. (Photo:Aram Boghosian\/Boston Globe)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"(Photo: alimae4 via Instagram)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"(Photo: courtkeefe via Instagram)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"(Photo: nyfan81 via Instagram)<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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