3" of snow in Louisiana

[torchbearer]

Were I'm sitting, it is 29f, still below freezing. The snow may make it for another day!

perhaps the white snow on the ground is somehow keeping the temps lower? reflecting sunlight instead of absorbing it into the ground?
the spot on louisiana that is still below average temp is the area that got lots of snow.

 

[Dr.3D]

I was surprised to see that people still used Smokey the Bear. That's an old bear.
But remember kids, only you can prevent forest fires!

Well, it would be more fun if the sign said, "Smoky Lynx welcomes you." And had a picture of a Lynx holding a shovel.

 

[GunnyFreedom]

Awesome!

Snow is one of those strange human things that would be impossible to explain to aliens. Snow is like hitting the intergalactic lottery. Your planet and star needs to be just the right size, they need to be just the right distance apart. Then you need just the right atmosphere with just the right pressure and a billion other things. Instead of rejoicing in the complete weirdness of snow many complain because it slows our 5 million year old oil burning metal box from 70mph to 40mph. Humans in 2014 are like a Greek myth they just don't know it.

If I can disagree here without being disagreeable; you would be right if you are talking about water only. However there are thousands of substances with different temperature melting points that can 'snow.' Titan, for example, the 6th moon of Saturn, is thought to be covered in methane snow (which if true may be a pretty good fuel source should we advance into space travel that much before coming up with something way way better), while Enceladus (another moon of Saturn) snows a mixture of water and ammonia. Io (a moon of Jupiter) snows sulphur dioxide, while Triton (a moon of Neptune) snows a mixture of nitrogen and methane. The icecaps of Mars, we believe, see carbon dioxide snow.

Likewise, any potential aliens that are carbon-based are almost certain to originate from a planet in the "Goldilocks Zone" where they would probably have water snow at least somewhere on the planet even if it were extremely rare, like only ever on mountain tops or the polar regions.

 

[torchbearer]

Well, it would be more fun if the sign said, "Smoky Lynx welcomes you." And had a picture of a Lynx holding a shovel.

people love smokey lynx here.

 

[GunnyFreedom]

Is there any such thing as a wet cold? Doesn't the humidity freeze up and cease to be... you know... moist?

There must be. 12° in NC feels a lot colder than 12° in Wisconsin, which in turn feels a lot colder than 12° in Montana, which in turn feels a lot colder than 12° in Wyoming. What else but humidity could account for that?

 

[cajuncocoa]

almost as if the weather keeps missing those states. the arctic dips have been aimed more our direction.

I'm not going to complain about the temps we've been getting. I'll take this over 6 straight months of 90°+ any day!!

 

[torchbearer]

There must be. 12° in NC feels a lot colder than 12° in Wisconsin, which in turn feels a lot colder than 12° in Montana, which in turn feels a lot colder than 12° in Wyoming. What else but humidity could account for that?

I tell people to imagine how cold they would feel if they hosed themselves down first with water, then got into the cold weather.
would they feel colder than if they were dry?
water acts like a radiator, removing heat from the body.

 

[Zippyjuan]

There must be. 12° in NC feels a lot colder than 12° in Wisconsin, which in turn feels a lot colder than 12° in Montana, which in turn feels a lot colder than 12° in Wyoming. What else but humidity could account for that?

Humidity does make a big difference in how hot or cold it feels- the moisture in the air more readily transfers the heat or cold to your body. 90 degrees in Arizona is not as uncomfortable as 90 degrees in Chicago. Dry heat doesn't feel nearly as hot as the same temperature with high humidity- ditto for cold. Damp cold soaks into you more.

 

[Occam's Banana]

If I can disagree here without being disagreeable; you would be right if you are talking about water only. However there are thousands of substances with different temperature melting points that can 'snow.' Titan, for example, the 6th moon of Saturn, is thought to be covered in methane snow (which if true may be a pretty good fuel source should we advance into space travel that much before coming up with something way way better), while Enceladus (another moon of Saturn) snows a mixture of water and ammonia. Io (a moon of Jupiter) snows sulphur dioxide, while Triton (a moon of Neptune) snows a mixture of nitrogen and methane. The icecaps of Mars, we believe, see carbon dioxide snow.

Likewise, any potential aliens that are carbon-based are almost certain to originate from a planet in the "Goldilocks Zone" where they would probably have water snow at least somewhere on the planet even if it were extremely rare, like only ever on mountain tops or the polar regions.

This reminds me of a classic science fiction story from the late '50s - The Gentle Earth by Christopher Anvil.

Cold-blooded aliens from a very hot & watery (i.e., swampy & steamy) planet invade Earth. The story is told entirely from the point of view of the alien commanders, as they confront and try to deal with things like snow & ice, tornadoes, etc. It's hilarious. And the ending - wherein peace is made and one last "bizarre & incredible" aspect of life on Earth is revealed to the aliens - will tickle the hell out anyone here at RPFs.

It was published in the November 1957 issue of Astounding Science Fiction.

You can read it here (with a brief editorial preface): http://hell.pl/szymon/Baen/The best...e World Turned Upside Down/0743498747__24.htm)

 

[Scrapmo]

LOL...

About a foot of snow cover that I can count on being here pretty much until April.

-6F last night.

Currently 9F.

The hell with that. I briefly considered moving to New Hampshire to be a free stater but, being born and raised in South Louisiana, I could guarantee that the winters up north would kill me. 101 degrees with 95% humidity I can deal with. Average N.H. temp in July is 70, shit, I still have a jacket on at 70.

 

[pcosmar]

There must be. 12° in NC feels a lot colder than 12° in Wisconsin, which in turn feels a lot colder than 12° in Montana, which in turn feels a lot colder than 12° in Wyoming. What else but humidity could account for that?

It depends on what you are used to.

When I was in the Keys,, 50 was freakin' cold.

And after weeks of Sub Zero,, 20 is nice and 30 is a heat wave. I'll be out without a coat on.

 

[cajuncocoa]

No, this isn't NOLA.

 

[Dr.3D]

It's not the cold that bothers me, it's the wind. It's around 14 degrees here but the wind is making my furnace stay on all the time.

 

[willwash]

Global warming my ass. I'm ecstatic that 2013 and 2014 are both proving to be some of the coldest winters on record.

 

[willwash]

PS, it's not global warming anymore, it's "climate change". They know they can't sell warming anymore.

 

[JK/SEA]

Might want to invest in a ski resort in Lousiana. Any mountains there?

 

[cajuncocoa]

 

[cajuncocoa]

Might want to invest in a ski resort in Lousiana. Any mountains there?

Monkey Hill. Until recently, the highest point in New Orleans....

apparently, it's status as the highest point in NOLA has been challenged by something called "The Mountain" of Couturie Forest in our City Park, but this is the best I can do for an image of that:

 

[Zippyjuan]

Global warming my ass. I'm ecstatic that 2013 and 2014 are both proving to be some of the coldest winters on record.

Like politics, all weather is local.

http://www.foxnews.com/science/2014/01/22/nasa-noaa-say-2013-was-4th-hottest-year-on-record/

Snow storm? NASA, NOAA call 2013 4th hottest year ever

The sweltering year of 1988 first put global warming in the headlines and ended up as the hottest year on record. But on Tuesday, it was pushed out of the top 20 warmest by 2013.

Last year tied for the fourth hottest and 1988 fell to 21st.

The average world temperature was 58.12 degrees tying with 2003 for the fourth warmest since 1880, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Tuesday.

At the same time, NASA, which calculates records in a different manner, ranked last year as the seventh warmest on record, with an average temperature of 58.3 degrees. The difference is related to how the two agencies calculate temperatures in the Arctic and other remote places and is based on differences that are in the hundredths of a degree, scientists said.

'We can have snow even in a globally warmed world.'

- Gavin Schmidt, deputy director of NASA's Goddard Institute of Space Studies in New York

Both agencies said nine of the 10th warmest years on record have happened in the 21st century. The hottest year was 2010, according to NOAA.

The reports were released as a big snowstorm was hitting the U.S. East Coast

 

[PaulConventionWV]

I think it's probably hard to prove how humidity makes people feel, but here's a sciency thing: http://www.decodedscience.com/why-does-damp-cool-weather-make-it-feel-colder/6736

I assume by "cool weather" they mean "above freezing, but still kinda cold". I just assumed we were talking about sub-freezing temperatures.