The weather at Glacier Bay National Park (Crystal Ice Chime) is amazingly frigid, but, considering there was an Arctic Blast that closed of an entire city in Canada, it's not a surprise:
Gustavus, Alaska
Elevation :: 33 ft / 10 m
Temperature :: 9 °F / -13 °C
Conditions :: Scattered Clouds
Humidity :: 79%
Dew Point :: 3 °F / -16 °C
Wind :: Calm
Pressure :: 30.23 in / 1024 hPa
Visibility :: 10.0 miles / 16.1 kilometers
UV:
0 out of 16
Clouds:
Scattered Clouds 1200 ft / 365 m
(Above Ground Level)
Moscow, Dec 2 (Prensa Latina) Russia-Canada cooperation agreements signed this week to develop transport infrastructure and exploit other resources in the Arctic Glacial Ocean are of great importance, a well-known political scientist said in this capital on Sunday.
The director of the International Research Center of the US-Canada Studies Institute, Anatoli Utkin, considered that the economic impact of transport of freights between the Russian harbor of Murmansk and the Canadian Churchill will be positive.
Flight schedules agreed during the visit to Canada of Russian Prime Minister Víctor Zubkov will also contribute to the considerable increase of commercial exchange, emphasized Utkin.
The parties decided to boost investments in the gas field and jointly exploit natural resources, such as silver and uranium.
A Greenpeace activist dressed in a polar bear costume hugs a globe in sweltering heat outside the U.N. Climate Change Conference in Nusa Dua, Bali island December 3, 2007. REUTERS/Supri
A view the opening ceremony of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Nusa Dua, Bali, December 3, 2007. REUTERS/Murdani Usman
An armed Indonesian policeman stands guard in front of a U.N. Climate Change Conference billboard in Nusa Dua, Bali island December 2, 2007. Delegates from about 190 nations gathered in Bali on Sunday to try to build on a fragile understanding that the fight against global warming needs to be expanded to all nations with a deal in 2009.Photograph by : Reuters
Heat on Rudd ahead of visit to Bali climate talks
Marian Wilkinson and Mark Forbes, Nusa Dua, Bali
December 6, 2007
Advertisement
The Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, signalled his support for developed countries, including Australia, agreeing to making deep cuts in their greenhouse gas emissions in the next 12 years.
In a significant move last night the Australian delegation to the UN climate talks stated it "fully supports" the proposal that developed countries need to cut their greenhouse gas emission by 25 to 40% by 2020.
The public statement came after China and Indonesia demanded at the UN climate change talks in Bali yesterday that developed nations who have ratified the Kyoto Protocol stick to this understanding reached earlier this year.
Last night Australia publicly aligned itself with the nations under the Kyoto Protocol that have agreed to consider these cuts, distancing the new Rudd Government further from the US position. Saying Australia "fully supports" the position, the delegation said Australia was, "happy to proceed on this basis".
http://www.theage.com.au/news/climate-watch/heat-on-rudd-ahead-of-visit-to-bali-climate-talks/2007/12/05/1196812829394.html
Scientists issue declaration at Bali
International researchers put their names to a proposal for emissions cuts.
Narelle Towie
More than 200 international climate scientists issued a declaration today urging politicians at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bali to agree on strong targets for tackling climate change.
Global greenhouse-gas emissions need to be reduced by at least 50% below 1990 levels by 2050, the declaration says. For comparison, the Kyoto Protocol aims for a reduction in developed nations of at least 5% below 1990 levels by 2012.
They declare that the goal "must be to limit global warming to no more than 2 ºC above the pre-industrial temperature". Many countries have already taken this limit as a benchmark figure for attempting to avoid dangerous levels of climate change, which would put millions of people around the world at risk from extreme-weather events.
Drawing on data from the 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, they note that to achieve this, greenhouse-gas concentrations need to be stabilized at a level well below 450 parts per million of CO2 equivalents. This could mean peaking at 475 p.p.m. and then going down to 400 p.p.m. over the next 15 years, says co-signatory Matthew England of the Climate Change Research Centre at the University of New South Wales in Australia.
Even aiming for a stable level of 400 p.p.m. means that "we are only giving ourselves a three-quarter chance" of guaranteeing a less than 2 °C rise, says England.
These numbers have all been discussed before (see for example Dangerous climate change). There is still significant uncertainty when it comes to understanding what level of greenhouse-gas cuts would lead to what level of climate change, and scientists concede that there are no guarantees that the targets in this declaration will be sufficient to avoid dangerous consequences.
Some researchers have recently questioned the wisdom of setting firm targets for greenhouse-gas levels, saying it would be more useful to continually adjust targets as time passes and the consequences of our cuts become apparent (see Climate sensitivity inherently unpredictable).
Watch for ongoing news from the UN Climate Conference in Bali in our special .
http://www.nature.com/news/2007/071206/full/news.2007.361.html
‘Climate refugees’ seek help in Bali
Inquirer
Last updated 03:10am (Mla time) 12/05/2007
BALI, INDONESIA -- As scientists warn of rising seas from global warming, more and more reports of flooding from unprecedented high tides are coming in from villages like the one on Papua New Guinea’s New Britain island. It’s happening not only to low-lying atolls, but to shorelines from Alaska to India.
This week, by boat, bus and jetliner, a handful of villagers are converging on Bali to seek help from the more than 180 nations gathered at the United Nations’ climate conference. The coastal dwellers’ plight -- once theoretical -- appears all too real in 2007, and is spreading and worsening.
Scientists project that seas expanding from warmth and from the runoff of melting land ice may displace millions of coastal inhabitants worldwide in this century if heat-trapping industrial emissions are not sharply curtailed.
A Europe-based research group, the Global Governance Project, will propose at the two-week Bali meeting that an international fund be established to resettle “climate refugees.”
Summarizing the plight of islanders from Papua New Guinea, Ursula Rakova said: “We don’t have vehicles, an airport. We’re merely victims of what is happening with the industrialized nations emitting ‘greenhouse gases.”’
The sands of Rakova’s islands, the Carteret atoll northeast of Bougainville island, have been giving way to the sea for 20 years. The saltwater has ruined the villagers’ taro gardens, a food staple, and has contaminated their wells and flooded homesteads. The remote islands now suffer from chronic hunger.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/world/view_article.php?article_id=104930
Makiko Kawamoto, right, struggled with a plastic covering, and friend Rie Tarkoro, looking at her camera, experienced the windy weather yesterday at the Pali Lookout. Storm blasts through state (click here)Powerful gusts and pounding surf force rescues, shut down ferry service and dim City LightsSTORY SUMMARY »
Hawaii residents and emergency officials held their breaths yesterday as strong winds, big waves and rains battered the islands.
From Kauai to the Big Island, the National Weather Service had Hawaii on high alert until today for high winds and surf and until tomorrow for rain.
Oahu lifeguards rescued three swimmers from waves, and a man was injured seriously when winds apparently knocked down a pole.
The weather yesterday prompted shutdowns of neighbor island parks, city ferry service and Honolulu City Lights.
The city set up emergency shelters mostly on Leeward Oahu.
Strong winds contributed to intermittent power outages and traffic signal failures on the Big Island.
High Winds, Heavy Rains Hit Islands
Forecasters Issue Flash Flood Watch For All Islands
POSTED: 4:10 am HST December 5, 2007
UPDATED: 4:52 pm HST December 5, 2007
HONOLULU -- Strong winds and heavy rains stormed through the islands overnight causing major power outages and fallen trees and utility poles.
The winds reached 78 mph at Schofield Barracks and 58 mph in Kaneohe early on Wednesday morning.
Power was cut to many areas, including the Leeward Oahu, Mililani, parts of Windward Oahu, the North Shore and Kula on Maui.
Officials said 15-20 utility poles fell on Farrington Highway along Oahu's Leeward Coast. Some fell onto businesses, including on two gas stations. Some poles also fell near to houses. One pole crashed through a fence and landed feet away from one home.
http://www.kitv.com/mostpopular/14778899/detail.html
Video:
http://www.kitv.com/video/14785509/index.html
December 6, 20071300zHonolulu, Hawaii Infrared Satellite
NWS Honolulu, HI Point Forecast: 14 Miles E Honaunau-Napoopoo HI 19.49N -155.62W (Elev. 12398 ft)
Last Update: 2:47 am HST Dec 6, 2007Forecast Valid: 4am HST Dec 6, 2007-6pm HST Dec 12, 2007Hazardous weather condition(s):
Blizzard WarningFlash Flood WatchFlood StatementHigh Wind Warning
Overnight: Occasional snow showers. The snow could be heavy at times. Low around 32. Very windy, with a southwest wind around 41 mph, with gusts as high as 75 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. Total nighttime snow accumulation of 4 to 8 inches possible.
Thursday: Occasional snow showers, mainly before noon. The snow could be heavy at times. High near 43. Very windy, with a south wind around 47 mph, with gusts as high as 55 mph. Chance of precipitation is 80%. New snow accumulation of 2 to 4 inches possible.
Thursday Night: Scattered snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 30. Windy, with a south wind around 38 mph, with gusts as high as 46 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%.
Friday: Snow showers likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 44. Breezy, with a southwest wind around 28 mph, with gusts as high as 34 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New snow accumulation of 1 to 3 inches possible.
Friday Night: Snow showers likely. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 30. South wind around 18 mph, with gusts as high as 24 mph. Chance of precipitation is 60%. Little or no snow accumulation expected.
Saturday: Scattered snow showers. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 45. South wind around 13 mph. Chance of precipitation is 50%.
Saturday Night: Mostly clear, with a low around 29. South wind around 16 mph, with gusts as high as 21 mph.
http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?site=hfo&map.x=289&map.y=212Hawaii Superferry Re-Launch Delayed to Dec. 13 Due to Kahului Harbor DamageHighly (click here)Unusual Weather and Surge Conditions Damage Kahului Harbor’s Pier 2By Lori Abe, 12/4/2007 7:41:34 PM
HONOLULU, HI – Hawaii Superferry today announced it is delaying the re-launch of service between Maui and Oahu until the state Department of Transporation makes repairs to Kahului Harbor’s Pier 2 mooring bollards. Due to highly unusual weather and surge conditions in Kahului Harbor on Dec. 3, 2007, the state DOT’s barge damaged two mooring bollards on the pier. No structural damage occurred to the pier or barge.
Hawaii Superferry will resume service on Thursday, Dec. 13, 2007. When repairs are completed, the Alakai will return to Kahului Harbor before the start of service to realign the vessel with the pier and barge.
All passengers who have booked travel between Dec. 6 and Dec. 12 are being contacted and offered a refund or re-accommodation....
December 4, 2007Chehalis, WashingtonPhotographer states :: The area I live in has been hit hard with flooding. Here's Chehalis Denny's - and this isn't the first time this restaurant flooded. They are saying it's worse than 1996!Weekend storm melts snow at ski resorts (click here)
By JENNIFER LANGSTONP-I REPORTER
It was too much to hope that Monday's storm dumped epic amounts of snow on area ski resorts. Instead, it washed newly fallen powder down the mountains.
· Check the P-I snow sports page for the latest conditions on the slopes
At the Mt. Baker Ski Area, which closed Monday but plans to reopen Thursday, base snow levels went from 54 inches to 36 inches in a day.
"We opened last Thursday with absolutely spectacular conditions -- a gorgeously sunny day with beautiful light powder snow. And it seems like a year ago," said Gywn Howat, Mt. Baker's spokeswoman.
Stevens Pass ski area, which plans to open for the first time Thursday with at least some of its lifts, also lost 20 inches of snow after getting blanketed with 4 feet.
"We got a significant amount of snow over the weekend, and it's been melting and consolidating and whatnot since then," said spokesman Chris Rudolph, who said the base depth at Stevens Pass was now 34 inches. "But with the duration of this rain, it's incredible that there's as much snow as there is."
With freezing levels expected to drop Tuesday and Wednesday, ski areas are hoping to eke out an additional 4 to 8 inches of snow before the area dries out.
Efforts to reach Crystal Mountain ski area, which opened briefly over the weekend but closed Monday, were unsuccessful. But the resort's Web site, which listed rainy conditions with a base depth of 42 inches, said a tentative reopening is scheduled for Thursday.
The Summit at Snoqualmie, which decided not to open last weekend because of the imminent storm, plans to assess Wednesday how soon it can start operating.
It has a base depth of 30 inches at Alpental and 28 inches at Summit West, but those numbers don't mean much until they can investigate conditions on the hill, Summit spokesman Guy Lawrence said.
"We'll be going out with a groomer and playing around, really seeing how stable it is underneath and how much we can move around," he said. "Obviously, we'd like to get a weekend started here soon."
SKI REPORTS
For the latest on snow conditions and resort openings, check these Web sites:
Crystal Mountain: skicrystal.com
The Summit at Snoqualmie: summitatsnoqualmie.com/winter/conditions.asp
Stevens Pass: stevenspass.com/Stevens/snowreport.aspx
Mt. Baker Ski Area: mtbaker.us/snowreport/index
White Pass Ski Resort: skiwhitepass.com/conditions/index.html
Northwest Weather and Avalanche Center: nwac.us/forecasts.htm
P-I reporter Jennifer Langston can be reached at 206-448-8130 or jenniferlangston@seattlepi.com.
I-5 still closed; Wash. flood damage could top $1 billion (click title to entry, thank you) By CHRIS McGANNP-I REPORTER
CENTRALIA -- For evacuees returning to homes still swamped by several feet of brown water, the personal toll from this week's floods was obvious, devastating and in some cases complete.
But the full extent of the losses remains an open question as state officials scramble to quantify and respond to the misery.
The devastation is so widespread that emergency management officials are unable to provide even rough estimates of how much damage has taken place.
"We are talking an unfathomable amount," said Kyle Herman, a spokesman for the state Emergency Management Division, which is collecting data from local officials throughout the flooded areas. "We won't know until the end of the week at the earliest."
With extensive damage in King, Lewis, Pacific, Mason, Kitsap, Thurston, Grays Harbor and Wahkiakum counties, Herman said the number of homes and businesses that have been destroyed or damaged will likely be measured in thousands rather than hundreds.
In terms of dollar value, Gov. Chris Gregoire would only hint at the magnitude of the problems....
At least 5 dead in storm; mudslides, avalanches follow deluge
Copters rescue more than 150 people from flooded areas
By CHRIS McGANNP-I REPORTER
CENTRALIA -- South of here, just past the Skookumchuck River, Interstate 5 ends. In place of Western Washington's main freeway lies a vast expanse of muddy water.
"I've lived here 26 years, and I've never run a jet boat down I-5 before," said Adam Boehm, a volunteer who is helping get supplies to people who need them. "It's pretty unbelievable."
Trees, trash bins and shipping containers bobbed on the brown water as volunteers in boats helped ferry food and other items from a local Wal-Mart to people cut off by flooding.
Department of Transportation officials said the highway -- which is under as much as 10 feet of water along a three-mile stretch -- would not reopen until Thursday or Friday and only then if the road is not seriously damaged.
The lake that I-5 became is the most visible example of the mess that remains throughout Western Washington because of flooding from this week's storm.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/342208_storm05.html
Climate change could mean more massive downpours
By LISA STIFFLER AND TOM PAULSONP-I REPORTERS
That sump pump you rented to suck out the standing water in your basement? You might want to ask Santa to leave you one under the tree this year.
Record-setting storms like the one Sunday and Monday that flooded the Northwest could become more of the norm as climate change skews our region's rainfall patterns and leads to more of these massive deluges as compared to the typical drizzle.
It's not guaranteed, but scientists said that multiple computer climate models predict an increased likelihood of more rain -- and more episodes of heavier rainfall -- in fall and winter, less in the summer.
Monday Seattle logged nearly 5 inches of rain and scored the second rainiest day on record. First place still goes to a rainy day in October 2003.
"There is a risk under climate change of having more storms of this nature," said Eric Salathe, a research scientist with the University of Washington's Climate Impacts Group.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/342268_stormwater05.html
Truckers wait out flooding on I-5 -- at a cost of $4 million a day
By ANDREA JAMESP-I REPORTER
The storm that hit the Puget Sound area Monday is having a devastating effect on commerce after swamping Interstate 5, the main artery that connects Seattle to Portland, and burying in mud several rail connections north and south of Seattle.
The effect and closures could last for days and into the weekend, according to Washington's Department of Transportation.
Hundreds of trucks waited Tuesday on either side of a 20-mile stretch of I-5, between mileposts 68 and 89, while parts of the highway sat under 10 feet of water. The highway could be closed until at least Thursday -- longer if the roads and bridges are found damaged after the flooding recedes.
About 54,000 vehicles traverse that portion of the highway daily, and 10,000 of those are trucks. The I-5 delays alone are expected to cost businesses $4 million a day, the Transportation Department estimates.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/342236_stormbiz05.html
