Expert: Climate Extremes Such As Amarillo’s October Snow Record On Track With Changing
Climate
October 27, 2011
By: John Davis
Early snow in Amarillo breaks record, but does climate change have anything to do
with it?
Pitch
Early snow in Amarillo breaks record, but does climate change have anything to do
with it?
Expert
Katharine Hayhoe, associate professor and one of the new directors of the Climate
Science Center at Texas Tech
Talking Points
- This morning, Amarillo awoke to about 2.5 inches of snow on the ground, which is considerably
more than the average .3 inches in October. The record, 2.4 inches, was recorded in
1911.
- Unusual weather events happen all the time and are part of the natural climate condition.
- However, unusual weather frequency is changing. Longer, hotter dry spells and more
extreme rain events have become more common, in part because of climate change.
Quotes
- “In the last 4 years we have had the coldest winter and warmest summer on record in
the same year. We’ve also had the longest period of consecutive dry days ever recorded,
the most severe drought ever recorded and two, not one but two, record rain events.”
- “We can't say how much climate change contributed to any of these, as they could have
all occurred naturally. But we do know two things: Climate change has altered the
background conditions over which these events occur, and more frequent extremes are
consistent with the way climate is changing around the world.”
{Editor’s Note: Hayhoe and other Texas Tech University experts will discuss climate
challenges West Texas faces at a community forum held at 7 p.m. Nov. 3 in the International
Cultural Center on the Texas Tech campus.}