Gulf of Mexico Loop current broken

[Al Today]

Here in NW Ohio we've been having August type, into the 90'sF and subtropicallay HUMID. "They" say temps are going to drop 20-25 degrees F in the next day or so... It jumped from the 50'sF to 89F or so practically overnight & that it'll drop back down to "normal" overnight.

Oh yeah, rain practically everyday, downpours by the buckets fast, scary lightening with high winds when a storm whips up outta nowhere, quickly, then dissipates as quickly as it came.

We went from burning wood for heat to sweating within a few days...

fwiw

edit: And... The crops are way, wayyyy behind being planted. Behind percentages in the double digits. Not Good. Farmers are very concerned, to say the least.

 

[Keit]

And here winter is catching up and Israel has unusually low for the season temperatures with thunderstorms.
_http://www.jpost.com/NationalNews/Article.aspx?id=220471

 

[anart]

It's been REALLY cool in Colorado. Today, it's only in the 40's - and that's been the case for the last four days, with night time lows in the 30's. This isn't unprecedented - we can even have a day of snow this late in the year (rarely at my elevation) - but - what IS odd is that this spring has only been warm for a few days, when, usually, it would have gotten and stayed quite warm and sunny by now. It's down right chilly here - mowing the lawn in a fleece sweater is not usual!

 

[Windmill knight]

I noticed (and I see that anart did too in the comments section) that one of the vortex forming over North America is right on top of where the Gulf Stream is broken. Connection?

http://www.sott.net/articles/show/228493-Multiple-vortex-forming-over-Northern-America

By the way, there is a new image.

 

[Skyfarmr]

It's been REALLY cool in Colorado. Today, it's only in the 40's - and that's been the case for the last four days, with night time lows in the 30's. This isn't unprecedented - we can even have a day of snow this late in the year (rarely at my elevation) - but - what IS odd is that this spring has only been warm for a few days, when, usually, it would have gotten and stayed quite warm and sunny by now. It's down right chilly here - mowing the lawn in a fleece sweater is not usual!

ditto for cool Spring here in the upper Midwest (WI), but without snow, just frost (poor strawberry plants :(). 10-15 degrees below average temps. Our warmer days have been hot and humid(upper 80's), short lived and end with strong T-storms, and then a drastic cool down again. Would love some average temps if only for a few days.

 

[Al Today]

Yep, the weather has been a roller coaster. We had 4 inches of rain yesterday in NW Ohio. More than usual for the month. Flash flooding everywhere. I was watching a bag of garbage float by the house yesterday.
Funnel Clouds and Touchdowns every day, all around us since Monday. Dropped 30 degrees over night, minimum. Was in the 90'sF last week for a 50degree F difference. All we can do is keep eyes open and be prepared.

As Alfred E. Neuman says: What, Me Worry???

 

[Windmill knight]

More trouble for the Gulf Stream.

 

[Laura]

Not looking good.

 

[EdgeofDawn]

Not looking good indeed! Here's the latest gif and one from the same date eight years ago. It's interesting to look at them both side by side and see how much it has weakened over the years.

 

[s-kur]

Hi, guys, i can't read whole thread right now, but news says about it:

___http://edition.cnn.com/2014/08/05/tech/gulf-of-mexico-dead-zone/

(CNN) -- The Gulf of Mexico's annual spring-summer "dead zone" is the size of Connecticut -- slightly smaller now than in recent years but nowhere near the trim for which scientists had aimed, researchers said this week.
Scientists' annual survey found an area of 5,052 square miles of "low oxygen water," or hypoxia, off much of Louisiana's coast and part of Texas, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Monday.
The zone is formed by nutrients that wash into the Gulf's waters -- largely agriculture fertilizer and wastewater coming down the Mississippi River. These boost algae blooms that suck up the oxygen in deep water, according to NOAA and the U.S. Geological Survey.
Marine life struggles to find enough oxygen to survive within the zone.
Fish and shrimp can migrate to areas with oxygen-rich water, but some life forms in the deep water and ocean floor -- including those that serve as food for the fish and shrimp -- can't get out of the zone and eventually die.
That hurts biodiversity and makes food hard to come by for the fish and shrimp when they return, said the survey's leader, Nancy Rabalais, executive director of the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium.
Scientists first discovered a dead zone in these waters in 1972, and it has appeared ever spring and summer since, with varying sizes.
This year's dead zone, measured from July 27 to August 2, is smaller than the five-year average of 5,550 square miles, and well under 2002's record 8,481 square miles.
But scientists had set a goal of reducing the zone to 1,900 square miles by 2015 -- and this year's measurement likely means that target won't be met, Rabalais said.
"The average we're targeting against is three times the goal. ... There hasn't been any progress in reaching that goal," she said.
Ways to shrink the zone, she said, would include changing agricultural practices, including the timing of fertilization -- ideas that have worked well on the small scale but not, so far, on the large.
There's been no evidence to show that the Gulf of Mexico oil spill of 2010 had any contribution to that year's dead zone or any subsequent one, Rabalais said.
The survey is supported by NOAA and the Environmental Protection Agency.
The Gulf of Mexico dead zone is the world's second-largest caused by humans, Rabalais said. The largest is in the Baltic Sea.
"The number of dead zones throughout the world has been increasing in the last several decades and currently totals over 550," Rabalais said.
Dead zones amount to an expensive hit for America's fishing industry. NOAA estimates the annual cost of algae blooms to U.S. seafood and tourism industries at $82 million or more.

___http://news.yahoo.com/dead-zone-gulf-mexico-size-connecticut-181202438.html

By Barbara Liston

ORLANDO Fla. (Reuters) - Scientists say a man-made "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico is as big as the state of Connecticut.

The zone, which at about 5,000 square miles (13,000 sq km) is the second largest in the world but still smaller than in previous years, is so named because it contains no oxygen, or too little, at the Gulf floor to support bottom-dwelling fish and shrimp.

The primary cause of the annual phenomenon is excess nutrient runoff from farms along the Mississippi River, which empties into the Gulf, said Gene Turner, a researcher at Louisiana State University's Coastal Ecology Institute.

The nutrients feed algae growth, which consumes oxygen when it works its way to the Gulf bottom, he said.

"It's a poster child for how we are using and abusing our natural resources," Turner said.

Turner said the zone has at least twice in recent years reached the size of Massachusetts, about 8,200 square miles (21,000 sq km).

The Gulf dead zone, which fluctuates in size but measured 5,052 square miles this summer, is exceeded only by a similar zone in the Baltic Sea around Finland, Turner said.

The number of dead zones worldwide currently totals more than 550 and has been increasing for decades, according to a report by Turner and Nancy Rabalais from the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium.

The elongated Gulf zone typically hugs the Louisiana coastline from the Mississippi River Delta to the state's border with Texas, and some years extending offshore of Texas and Mississippi, Rabalais said.

The scientists said a growth in farmed land along the Mississippi River in the 1960s began increasing pollution. In the 1970s, levels of oxygen in parts of the Gulf fell below the needs of bottom-dwelling fish. The zone has been generally growing ever since.

Floods, droughts, storms and other factors affect the volume of nutrients flowing into the Gulf and account for year-over-year fluctuations, Turner said.

"It seems to have leveled out in size, but it could get worse" depending on changes in pollution levels, Rabalais said.

The report said federal farm policy impacts the amount of pollution in the river. Turner said corn fields, which lay bare most of the year and leach nutrients, are one of the biggest contributors to the problem.

A federal task force organized with river states in 2001 to reduce nutrient runoff has had no substantial success, he said.

Could it be connected with what C's told?:

Q: (L) Okay. Well, obviously this thing going on in the Gulf of Mexico is nevertheless a dangerous thing. Is the oil going to have an effect on the thermohaline current that keeps ice ages at bay?

A: Oh certainly! It may take a year or two for the damage to be felt catastrophically but for now the greatest danger is in the rain and general toxicity of the adjacent areas.