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Welcome to The Weather Corner
with weather data for Fairview and Western North Carolina... plus weather features, photos, and historical data.
North to Alaska!
By Richard Koeneman, Meteorologist
Greetings from Alaska! We're in Girdwood, Alaska, this week where temperatures are averaging mid-50s during the day and low 40s overnight — a bit of a change from the temperatures back in Fairview.
Girdwood is located forty miles south of Anchorage, nestled among the breathtaking Turnagain Arm and spectacular Mt. Alyeska. Girdwood has evolved from a gold mining town into Alaska's only year-round resort community. Girdwood, which began as a gold-mining town in 1900, was originally called "Glacier City" for the icy behemoths that rim the surrounding mountains. The 1964 Earthquake sunk the town into Turnagain Arm, and it was moved two miles further inland where it's nestled today in a beautiful valley next to Alaska's premier ski area, Mt. Alyeska. The Alyeska Resort, located here, gets about 782 inches of snowfall annually.
The photos below were taken near Bryon Glacier. Glaciers store about 75% of the world's freshwater.
Daily Statistics, September 2010
(Below are daily postings of weather statistics recorded at our Chestnut reporting station, elevation 3650, Fairview NC)
| Date |
High |
Low |
Precip |
|
| 1 |
79 |
67 |
0 |
|
| 2 |
79 |
66 |
0 |
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Daily Statistics, August 2010
(Below are daily postings of weather statistics recorded at our Chestnut reporting station, elevation 3650, Fairview NC)
| Date |
High |
Low |
Precip |
|
| 1 |
71 |
64 |
0.15 |
|
| 2 |
77 |
63 |
0 |
|
| 3 |
82 |
67 |
0 |
|
| 4 |
84 |
69 |
0 |
|
| 5 |
80 |
65 |
0.45 |
|
| 6 |
78 |
66 |
0 |
|
| 7 |
76 |
65 |
0 |
|
| 8 |
74 |
66 |
0 |
|
| 9 |
82 |
68 |
0 |
|
| 10 |
84 |
69 |
0 |
|
| 11 |
85 |
70 |
0.03 |
|
| 12 |
85 |
69 |
0 |
|
| 13 |
84 |
70 |
Trace |
|
| 14 |
74 |
67 |
0.30 |
|
| 15 |
78 |
66 |
0.72 |
|
| 16 |
76 |
67 |
0 |
|
| 17 |
76 |
67 |
Trace |
|
| 18 |
75 |
67 |
1.18 |
|
| 19 |
78 |
67 |
0.03 |
|
| 20 |
77 |
65 |
0 |
|
| 21 |
68 |
66 |
0.84 |
|
| 22 |
78 |
66 |
0 |
|
| 23 |
76 |
62 |
0 |
|
| 24 |
72 |
64 |
0 |
|
| 25 |
74 |
62 |
0 |
|
| 26 |
76 |
63 |
0.09 |
|
| 27 |
76 |
64 |
0 |
|
| 28 |
74 |
65 |
0 |
|
| 29 |
73 |
64 |
0 |
|
| 30 |
73 |
63 |
0 |
|
| 31 |
80 |
65 |
0 |
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Global Warming Turns 35
It was 35 years ago that the words, "global warming" first appeared in print and in the ensuing 35 years just about everyone has heard (though not necessarily understood) that term. On August 8, 1975 — 35 years ago — Dr. Wallace S. Broecker, an oceanographer and geochemist at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, published a research paper entitled, "Climate Change: Are We on the Brink of a Pronounced Global Warming?"
In that paper, Broecker warned that higher planetary temperatures were imminent because of rapidly increasing concentrations of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere — and CO2 is a powerful "greenhouse gas."
Broecker's paper appeared at a time when global temperatures had already been falling for nearly 40 years and there was widespread speculation that planet Earth was heading into another ice age. Here in the Southeast (and across much of the nation) we were coping with cool summers and increasingly harsh winters. During the 1970s and through the middle 1980s, many cities in the United States (including Asheville, with -11° in January 21, 1985) recorded their all-time low temperatures. The ice-age speculation was compelling.
Broecker's paper received little public attention at the time, but it was the very first to use the term, "global warming". The ensuing 35 years have proven that Broecker's assessment of global temperature change was correct — and Broecker's term has become familiar to practically everyone on the planet.
In a private communication with Dr. Broecker two years ago, we asked him if he had indeed coined the term, global warming, and his modest reply was, "I suppose so, but it was inadvertent."
Weather Myths: Now Available In The App Store
 Automated Graphic Design (AuGrDe) of Oak Park, Illinois, has just released its latest iPhone/iPod Touch app: Weather Myths.
The first of its kind in the App Store, Weather Myths delivers a fun and easy way to get the facts behind more than 20 popular weather-related myths. Does it really rain more on weekends? Can it ever be too cold to snow? This app reveals the truth behind all those misconceptions, with expert debunking from veteran meteorologist Richard Koeneman, whose experience includes more than 20 years with the National Weather Service. Koeneman is a meteorologist for WGN-TV, a frequent contributor to the Chicago Tribune weather page, and a contributor to TheWeatherCorner.com.
The app is now available for $0.99 at Apple's App Store. Weather Myths can run on any iPhone or iPod Touch running the 3.0 or later OS.
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