White House: The Polar Vortex Explained in 2 Minutes
President Obama's Science and Technology Advisor, Dr. John Holdren, explains the polar vortex in 2 minutes—and why climate change makes extreme weather more likely going forward.
President Obama’s Science and Technology Advisor, Dr. John Holdren, explains the polar vortex in 2 minutes—and why climate change makes extreme weather more likely going forward.
The White House: Here at the White House, while we’re beginning to thaw from this week’s bone-chilling deep freeze, our discussions about the science of weather extremes are heating up.
We know that no single weather episode proves or disproves climate change. Climate refers to the patterns observed in the weather over time and space – in terms of averages, variations, and probabilities. But we also know that this week’s cold spell is of a type there’s reason to believe may become more frequent in a world that’s getting warmer, on average, because of greenhouse-gas pollution.
Join us this Friday, January 10th at 2:00 p.m. ET for We the Geeks: “Polar Vortex” and Extreme Weather, for a conversation with leading meteorologists, climate scientists, and weather experts about why temperatures dipped to such frigid lows this week, how weather experts turn raw data into useful forecasts, and what we know about extreme weather events in the context of a changing climate.
Cristin Dorgelo and resident polar-science expert Brendan Kelly from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy will moderate the live discussion, to include:
- Stephanie Abrams, The Weather Channel
- Dr. J. Marshall Shepherd, President of the American Meteorological Society and Professor, University of Georgia
- Jim Overland, Arctic researcher at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
- Jason Samenow, Capital Weather Gang’s chief meteorologist and theWashington Post’s Weather Editor
- Bernadette Woods Placky, Emmy-award winning Meteorologist at Climate Central
“We the Geeks” is a series of Google+ Hangouts to discuss science, technology, and innovation here in the United States. Join the conversation on Twitter and be sure to sign up for email updates about future “We the Geeks” hangouts.
Becky Fried is Senior Communications Advisor and Web Editor at the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy
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