November 2025 OBS Discussion

[nycwinter]

2 hours ago, TheClimateChanger said:

 

The entire premise is incorrect.  There was plenty of climate change back then. CO2 concentrations were already up to 310 ppm by the early 1930s, compared to a pre-industrial mean of 270-280 ppm. And methane was already up to ~1100 ppb, from 700 ppb pre-industrial average. CO2 follows a logarithmic curve, so the amount of warming from the early/mid 19th century to the 1930s would be about the same amount of warming that has occurred since 2000 - actually more significant when you factor in methane concentrations. There is nothing in the history of New York City to suggest that the snow drought during that period would have occurred in the absence of human caused warming.

15 below in 1934 for the city 6 below in 1933.. minus 1 minus 3 in the 1930's early 1940's  8 below 4 below..

[TheClimateChanger]

4 hours ago, nycwinter said:

15 below in 1934 for the city 6 below in 1933.. minus 1 minus 3 in the 1930's early 1940's  8 below 4 below..

Yes, it's warmer today. But the 1930s were quite warm too, especially in North America. So warm, in fact, that certain people like to constantly bring them up to "rebut" climate change. A few notable cold snaps don't change that fact.

New York City's moving 30-year mean annual snowfall was pretty steady between 32 and 34 inches until the mid 1920s - and that's generally with measuring the new fallen depth, not snowboards and 6 hourly or more frequent measurements. So, the "snow drought" from the late 1920s and early/mid 1930s was certainly a big departure from the long-term climatology.