The official weather thread

[Indy Coug]

Yep. Dust bowl. Greatest environmental tragedy in US history.

That's a great Ken Burns documentary if you haven't seen it yet.

[Jeff Lebowski]

That's a great Ken Burns documentary if you haven't seen it yet.

I read the Timothy Egan book that was the National Book Award winner, but have not seen the Ken Burns doc. I see it is on netflix. In the queue now. Thanks.

[RC Vikings]

I like the heat.

[imanihonjin]

Its a good thing that political ideology has rejected science, particularly on global climate change - otherwise all these extremes would be somewhat troublesome.

Yeah that is true.....the earth has never really had much variation in seasonal temperatures.

Signed,

The Dinosaurs


Say, professor, did you ever finish your dissertation? For a while there I know you were ABD....just wondered if you ever made it official and all.

[Coach McGuirk]

I like the heat.

yes. I would take 100 over 0 everyday all day for the rest of my life.

[San Juan Sun]

I like the heat.

I do too. I also like humidity.

[wuapinmon]

It's currently 77F here with 100% humidity. A cold Coke left outside will draw about 2-3 tbps of moisture out of the air from condensation. Only a fool would open his freezer today.

[MarkGrace]

Don't think I feel asleep until 2am last night because it was so hot in our place.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

Yep. Dust bowl. Greatest environmental tragedy in US history.

Bad/uneducated management of the soil played an equal part in that.

[Indy Coug]

Bad/uneducated management of the soil played an equal part in that.

Ding ding ding

[Jeff Lebowski]

Bad/uneducated management of the soil played an equal part in that.

I never said it didn't. But they also were developing agricultural practices based on the assumption that a temporary wet climate would continue.

[Color Me Badd Fan]

I never said it didn't. But they also were developing agricultural practices based on the assumption that a temporary wet climate would continue.

You said the heat from the 1910s and 1930s led to the Dust Bowl and mentioned nothing about all of the events of the preceding 50 years that led to it. I can guarantee you that there were droughts that had occurred over the previous 100 years, but they never had something like the dust bowl because they hadn't stripped the land of grass and soil. A confluence of the wet weather and the federal government encouraging the mass farming of the semi-arid area led to this happening when a drought inevitably hit.

Not surprisingly since the 30s they've had droughts and severe weather but no dust bowl. And it's because of the farming methods used (and initially promoted by FDR's agriculture secretary).

[Jeff Lebowski]

You said the heat from the 1910s and 1930s led to the Dust Bowl and mentioned nothing about all of the events of the preceding 50 years that led to it. I can guarantee you that there were droughts that had occurred over the previous 100 years, but they never had something like the dust bowl because they hadn't stripped the land of grass and soil. A confluence of the wet weather and the federal government encouraging the mass farming of the semi-arid area led to this happening when a drought inevitably hit.

Not surprisingly since the 30s they've had droughts and severe weather but no dust bowl. And it's because of the farming methods used (and initially promoted by FDR's agriculture secretary).

The previous droughts didn't strip the land of soil because the land was covered in prairie grass that had a much deeper root system and was drought-resistant, unlike wheat. They also practiced dry farming because during this wet period they had plenty of rain. They couldn't have irrigated anyway because there are very few streams in the high plains. They watered their animals using shallow wells tapped into the surficial aquifers (only about 10-20 ft deep) powered by small windmills. When the drought hit, the crops died and there was nothing left to protect the topsoil so it blew away. I doubt they had any long-term data to consult on weather patterns. They just assumed that the current condition was normal.

One of the things that helped end the dustbowl was the invention of deep-drilling equipment and diesel-powered pumps. This allowed the farmers to tap into the deeper Ogalala aquifer and mine glacial meltwater. One of the reasons they haven't had a recurring dust bowl even though they still farm wheat is that they are pulling water from the Ogalala. Once the Ogalala runs dry (which will happen in the not-too-distant future), agriculture will be drastically modified in the region.

[YOhio]

78 and partly cloudy.

[MarkGrace]

78 and partly cloudy.

Fortunately we're almost back to that. Today is the last projected hot day at around 84-85.