Volume 21/Number 4/Winter 1998
[Photo courtesy of the Richmond Times Dispatch.]
Volume 21/Number 4/Winter 1998
A Tidewater Virginia farmer makes headway through a field saturated by record-setting winter rainfall. Many of those who attempted to accomplish some early field work didn't fare so well -- reports of tractors mired to their axles have been commonplace.
So, is all this rain because of El Niño, or what? Well, if we had a nickel for every time that question's been asked of us in the last couple of months, the Virginia State Climatology Office would probably be located in Tahiti by now.
But, fair is fair, so we'll have to admit that we were perhaps a bit hasty in our judgement of El Niño in the last Advisory. Across most of the Commonwealth, precipitation for early 1998 has been setting new records -- which will probably be seen as a mixed blessing in the long run. As this El Niño event winds down, hopefully our lead item will explain the situation a bit, and bring some closure to the issue.
Our largest item in this Advisory concerns a controversial new report issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency concerning climate change impacts on Virginia. It's important enough to offer a point-by-point analysis, to help clarify things.
Dr. Patrick J. Michaels, State Climatologist
Philip J. Stenger, Research Coordinator and Advisory Editor
Paul C. Knappenberger, Senior Analyst
Peter D. Schwartzman, Dustin Hux, and Stephen Gawtry, Research Assistants
Tracey Lewis, Assistant Research Coordinator
The Virginia Climate Advisory is a service publication of the Virginia State Climatology Office, Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Virginia. The Advisory's purpose is to present information about our climate, its impact and related research findings. We reserve the right to do this in a humorous fashion. The Advisory is mailed to approximately 4,000 subscribers worldwide. We welcome your comments. Subscriptions are available by writing or calling this office (804-924-0548).