Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The Mediterranean isn't so large as to totally cut off the cold air supply originating from the north and east.
Not only that, but the Mediterranean Sea by virtue of its relatively shallow nature can get pretty chilly in the winter, even along its southern edge. Water temperatures in the low double digits Celsius are typical at this time of year, so just a couple of degrees warmer than the Pacific waters off the Washington/Oregon coast. So, it has a somewhat limited capacity to moderate incoming cold air.
Looks like perhaps the edge of the Sahara desert was caught up in a piece of the polar vortex; snow in one of the hottest areas on earth ought to silence all of the AGW doom mongers, two snowfall events in just 2 years is beyond astonishing, I feel that it points to the fact that weather all over the world has become exceedingly erratic and unpredictable in recent years.
At the same time, it hit 117 in Sydney. Think again.
Not only that, but the Mediterranean Sea by virtue of its relatively shallow nature can get pretty chilly in the winter, even along its southern edge. Water temperatures in the low double digits Celsius are typical at this time of year, so just a couple of degrees warmer than the Pacific waters off the Washington/Oregon coast. So, it has a somewhat limited capacity to moderate incoming cold air.
On the other hand, the oceans between Antarctica, South America, Africa and Australia almost totally shut out cold air. Occasionally, as I mentioned, Buenos Aires gets snow (July's of 1997 and 2007), as does Pretoria and Jo'burg. Australia gets mountain snows but it almost never snows to the coast, even in Tasmania.
Not only that, but the Mediterranean Sea by virtue of its relatively shallow nature can get pretty chilly in the winter, even along its southern edge. Water temperatures in the low double digits Celsius are typical at this time of year, so just a couple of degrees warmer than the Pacific waters off the Washington/Oregon coast. So, it has a somewhat limited capacity to moderate incoming cold air.
Not quite, here the coldest it generally gets is around 15C.
On the other hand, the oceans between Antarctica, South America, Africa and Australia almost totally shut out cold air. Occasionally, as I mentioned, Buenos Aires gets snow (July's of 1997 and 2007), as does Pretoria and Jo'burg. Australia gets mountain snows but it almost never snows to the coast, even in Tasmania.
The funny thing is that Aussie mountains get more summer snow than the coast gets winter snow.
This is not news at all. And BTW it is not good to compare the desert in Cali with areas in the Sahara.
It is well known that parts of the Sahara (esp. high up) get very cold in winter at night, and snow is not THAT unusual at all.
Pick up a book. The hottest recorded temperature on earth was in Death Valley.
Pick up a book. The hottest recorded temperature on earth was in Death Valley.
"Recorded" is the key word. Death Valley is a rare situation, i.e. being in an advanced country, that lends itself to recordation. Most of the Sahara is empty and may well have experienced hotter temperatures.
"Recorded" is the key word. Death Valley is a rare situation, i.e. being in an advanced country, that lends itself to recordation. Most of the Sahara is empty and may well have experienced hotter temperatures.
Well that's questionable, and even if true, it's strongly doubtful that there exists any place in the Sahara with hotter summer mean temps than Death Valley. See the posts by Troms and Mhc in this thread: //www.city-data.com/forum/weath...ces-earth.html
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
.
