Global Warming and Heavy Rainfall Options

[Tate]

Just had the pleasure of driving throught the mid-Atlantic and New England states and they have experienced tremendous rains and flooding. There was a great deal of hoo haw about this being definitive evidence of global warming and a glimpse of future weather patterns. Will your expedition shed any light on this theory? Is this a "pattern" of weather directly related to warming or is this simply a rainy year? Mighty cold and wet this year in Canada too. I realize this is not directly related to your studies but perhaps this tangent is of interest.

[Maggie_Kane]

Just had the pleasure of driving throught the mid-Atlantic and New England states and they have experienced tremendous rains and flooding. There was a great deal of hoo haw about this being definitive evidence of global warming and a glimpse of future weather patterns. Will your expedition shed any light on this theory? Is this a "pattern" of weather directly related to warming or is this simply a rainy year? Mighty cold and wet this year in Canada too. I realize this is not directly related to your studies but perhaps this tangent is of interest.

Great question Tate! In order to really figure out an answer to your question, we need to look at long time periods. This helps us figure out if we are seeing a pattern or not. The storms you experienced may be directly related, as a flow of wet tropical air was responsible. This is not usual and the patterns were considered "off track". These tracks move around as areas of the earth get warmer or colder, so it may be directly related. We will try to figure out some things that should help us add good information to the story. Stay tuned!