Green Bay ended the month with 45.6 inches of snowfall, the most of any December on record.
It buried the previous record of 36.4 inches, set in December 1887, but fell 2.6 inches short of matching the snowiest month of all time for Green Bay. That record goes to March 1888, with 48.2 inches, which helped the winter of 1887-88 become the snowiest winter in Green Bay history at 147.7 inches total.
The winter 120 years ago will be tough to beat. Its December record fell, but that winter had an impressive head start: It began in October, when 10.3 inches fell -- the most snow any October has ever had in Green Bay. And it ended with that 48.2-inch record snowfall in March.
This winter hasn't produced any single major snowfalls. The 5.4 inches that fell on the Dec. 19 was the heaviest snowfall in a single 24-hour period. But the month accumulated its impressive total over 21 days of snowfall. The greatest depth at any one time was 19 inches, measured on Friday.
The National Weather Service isn't expecting this December to set the tone for the remainder of the season. It is predicting normal precipitation through March.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/02/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
I noticed that Madison and about 20 other cities in WI had Dec snowfall records. Also, Glasgow, MT and Spokane, WA and a few more on the northern tier.
And some cities in TX, LA and MS had records snowfall also from one storm.
Obviously, the main storm track was along the north for much of the month.
The NWS is forecasting a warmer than normal Jan-Mar for much of the east.
#6
We've been comparing snowfalls with the west coast relatives. The aunt in Seattle has been cooking on a Coleman stove more than half the time due to intermittent power; and says Seattle plows the highways but not the side streets. Mo buses. We've had a running "who has more snow?" contest with the relatives in Spokane. Spokane whupped our record; we had 38.9 inches in Madison and they had 64 and change.
#7
Madison, Wisconsin: 39" snow so far this winter
Spokane, Washington: 64" snow so far this winter
Thank AlBore goodness for Gerbil Wormining™, mom - else they'd be buried under 10 feet of snow.
Just sayin'.... ;-p
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
01/02/2009 19:57 Comments ||
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#8
It's not the snow so much as the temp. I'm in Madison 2-3 days a week, and it seems a bit warmer than last winter, but that bit is the difference between -5 and 0.
Former Bangladesh premier Khaleda Zia on Thursday accepted her heavy defeat in the country's general election despite alleging the vote was rigged, a spokesman for her party said.
Sheikh Hasina Wajed's Awami League party secured a landslide victory in Monday's poll, ending two years of rule by an army-backed regime that took power after deadly clashes between rival party supporters.
The BNP, winning just 29 seats out of a possible 300, immediately said election fraud was behind Sheikh Hasina's 230-seat win. But BNP spokesman Khondaker Delwar Hossain told reporters the party would now let the government-elect get on with its job, allaying fears that the fraud allegations could spark violence, as has followed previous elections.
"We want to give the Awami League party the opportunity to run the country. We want to see them keep their promises to the people," Hossain said, adding that the party still believed the vote was rigged. "We are going to try and make our party stronger and continue to work for the good of the people."
Prime minister-elect Sheikh Hasina, meanwhile, greeted a crowd of 3,000 well-wishers gathered outside her home. Apart from a brief victory speech, she has kept a low profile since the win amid fears that Islamic militants were plotting to kill her. She said during her speech on Wednesday that she would work with opposition parties while in power.
Officials have, meanwhile, warned that post-poll violence was still possible after a ban on political activity was lifted on Thursday. "Security to Sheikh Hasina is a top priority," the head of the elite Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) security force, Hasan Mahmud, said, adding that more than 50,000 troops deployed for the election would stay in position. Election Commissioner Shakhawat Hossain said voters should be cautious about public celebrations.
"They should not go around being very jubilant. So far so good, but there were incidents of violence that happened in the last election in 2001."
The election on Monday was largely peaceful with a festive atmosphere at polling booths, but police said they remained on guard for revenge attacks by losing activists and militants opposed to Sheikh Hasina. The BNP has said its party workers were dragged from polling booths during voting and later beaten up.
But after independent observers, including the European Union, declared the election was free and fair, analysts said the BNP had little choice but to admit defeat. "The party appears to have little power," Dhaka University politics professor Ataur Rahman said. Sheikh Hasina is expected to take charge of the country within the next week.
Cabinet choices: Sheikh Hasina consulted party leaders on Thursday over cabinet choices while officials said the outgoing interim government would likely transfer power next week.
One of Sheikh Hasina's party leaders, who declined to be identified, said she would likely avoid picking old faces for the cabinet and select some new and younger ministers. "This will reflect her desire for change," the source said.
Another official said the army-backed interim government aimed to transfer power late next week. Awami League said it wanted the transition to be completed before January 10.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/02/2009 00:00 ||
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(Xinhua) -- Bangladesh's Election Commission (EC)Thursday evening in a gazette notification officially published the results of the country's ninth parliamentary elections held on Monday.
The EC declared 299 contestants, including 4 independent ones, as elected members of the country's ninth National Parliament.
Polls for 299 out of all 300 parliament seats were held on Monday while polls for the other one seat were postponed to Jan. 12 after a candidate died earlier.
According to the gazette, the major party Awami League (AL) ledby former prime minister Sheikh Hasina won 230 seats out of 299, more than enough to form a new government after ruling the country in 1996-2001.
The other major party Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) won 29seats. BNP was ruling party in 1991-1996 and 2001-2006.
Awami League's key ally in the elections Jatiya Party won 27 seats while BNP's key ally Jamaat-e-Islami won 2 seats.
Other four small parties share 7 seats while 4 seats were grabbed by independent contestants.
Newly elected members of the Bangladesh National Parliament (MP)are likely to be sworn-in on Jan. 4, when the Leader of the House will be elected by MPs, an MP-elect Abdus Shaheed said.
President of Awami League Sheikh Hasina obviously will be elected as the Leader of the House, he said.
As per rules, Hasina, after being elected as the Leader of the House, will request the President of Bangladesh to swear-in her new cabinet.
H T Imam, co-chair of Awami League election steering committee, told reporters Thursday evening that the new cabinet headed by Sheikh Hasina as Prime Minister is likely to be administered oath by President Iajuddin Ahmed on any day between Jan. 5 and 7.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/02/2009 00:00 ||
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Russia cut off gas supplies to Ukraine yesterday after last-minute talks about a deal for this year broke down in Moscow.
Although both sides said they would guarantee supplies to western Europe, the cut has again raised fears of gas shortages in the European Union, which relies on Russian gas moved through Ukrainian transit pipelines to meet about 20 per cent of its demand. Russia's action is the latest in an increasingly acrimonious dispute that has dogged Ukraine since 2006.
Gazprom, Russia's state gas group, began cutting deliveries to Ukraine at 10am yesterday, saying it was "under no legal obligation to continue" supplies in the absence of a gas deal for 2009. At issue is debt that Ukraine owes Russia, plus a new contract for supplies. Ukraine has offered to pay $201 per 1,000 cubic metres for the gas, but Gazprom has been asking for $250. However, yesterday Alexei Miller, Gazprom chief executive, said it could charge as much as $418.
Ukraine appeared to be seeking a compromise late yesterday when President Viktor Yushchenko said: "Our negotiations with the Russian side should resume in the coming one to two days and be finished by January 7. I think we are close to a compromise."
Bohdan Sokolovsky, Ukraine's presidential energy adviser, told the FT: "We re-ceived an official response several hours ago that the Russian side has agreed to resume negotiations."
Russia accused Ukraine of "unsanctioned" drawing off of gas volumes bound for Europe yesterday, although Ukraine said the small amount was for "technical" reasons and was covered by existing agreements. Gazprom said shipments of gas bound for Europe would continue in full.
Ukraine settled $1.5bn (£1bn) of its Russian gas debts this week, but an additional $450m in fines for late payment is outstanding.
Posted by: Steve White ||
01/02/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
My heart bleeds for my moral superiors in EUrope.
John Allen Aregood was convicted of conspiring to transport and harbor illegal aliens.
President Bush pardoned him just days ago.
And what about former Border Agents Ignacio Compean and Jose Compean who, according to Congress Tom Tancredo and so many others, were sent to prison for "doing their jobs?"
#5
ION DUBYA, WAFF POSTER OP-ED > DOES IRAQ [read, Muslims, Islamists]HAVE THE RIGHT TO ATTACK THE USA: OPERATION "KILL BUSH", as agz Dubya + Bush/CheneyCo for the deaths of Muslims in Iraq and elsewhere due to Dubya-US WOT Policies, + GIVEN THE UNLIKELIHOOD OF SUCCESSFUL LEGAL PROSECUTION OF SAME FOR VARIOUS "WAR CRIMES", "CRIMES AGZ HUMANITY", ETC.
Barack Obama and Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi will meet to discuss a stimulus bill aimed at kick-starting the ailing economy. Obama and Pelosi will meet Monday to discuss the timing and scope of the legislation, intended to spur job growth and likely to include big infrastructure investments and tax cuts, the Washington Post reported Thursday.
Obama transition officials declined to comment.
Pelosi, a California Democrat, has said she wants a bill ready for Obama to sign when he takes office on January 20. That timing is now seen as overly optimistic, the Post said.
Lawmakers expect the spending bill to cost between USD 675b and USD 775b, the story said.
The Post cited Obama aides as saying the president-elect will aim to persuade Americans that a nearly USD 1tr government investment is crucial to create jobs, and help repair shattered state coffers.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/02/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
Obama: So, what do you think?
Pelosi: Up yours, I'm in charge here.
Those states with shattered coffers, seem to have something in common.
All the queens palaminos and all the king's mends couldn't put the piggy bank back together again. So they went to the neighbors and gave them a surprise - they took their kids' piggy banks and spit in their eyes.
#1
Let's just hope the Pentagon dominates, if this happens.
In the early days of the Shuttle, USAF used NASA to launch key recon satellites. That only lasted for a couple launches before the Pentagon made a very compelling case for getting mission criticial payloads out of NASA's hands.
#2
Dangit, who leaked this? Now the Arab Street is going to know that the International Space Station is really a orbiting burger joint designed to space drop the whopper straight to the troops in Afghanistan by order of Operation Orenthal James.
#4
Back in the 70s when the DoD budget was gutted in a fitful payback to the uniform military for obeying their orders during Vietnam, big healthy chunks of the budget were handed over to NASA to cover their overruns on the Shuttle. Since the Shuttle was to be THE launch vehicle for mil sats, it was done. Eventually, the AF who had the mission got a separate unmanned rocket to do the job because the Shuttle had further delays and delivery issues. Another case of work moving to relative competency?
#5
DoD has already acquired DoS major responsibilities. Seen an ambassador negotiate lately? How about CJCS or a command chief? Likewise, DoD now runs FEMA. DoD should think twice about how much it wants to garner. DoS and mil launches make sense. NASA scientific, manned space flight? Not so much.
#6
NS, consider the likelihood that China will establish bases on the moon that they don't openly admit are military. It's a goal of the regime and I don't put it past them.
#7
The mission FEMA picked up [and fumbled to a noticeable degree] was originally DoD's. The pols wanted a new patronage office and underfunded and stretched DoD was happy to hand off in the late 70's [note well - Donk President and Donk Congress]. As Katrina showed that when the do-do gets chin deep for the pols, guess who they turn to. Work eventually flows towards competency.
#8
I'm a boatload more worried about the Chinese PLAN than their moonbase. I suspect they'll have had a revolution before they set up their first base. And even if they haven't what's the military value? And what military assets could have been bought instead of the moon base?
The DoD should keep focused on military issues, not expanding its reach into FEMA and manned spaceflight or scientific space exploration. The military's approval rating is high because they do their job well. They should not get defocused. Stick to your knitting.
#10
The DoD should keep focused on military issues, not expanding its reach into FEMA...
Considering that we're likely to have a mass casualty event due to a WMD attack in the not too distant future. Who do you want handling the response, old FEMA, or a DoD managed FEMA?
Posted by: Big Glavirong2891 ||
01/02/2009 20:38 Comments ||
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#11
Except maybe....that AARPA/DARPA thingy that turns up other thingies, like this thingy.
#12
I think it may be a good idea to merge them. Weapons of the future could very well be space-based, taking out our satellites and leaving us deaf and blind to threats or zapping anyone out of line with lasers. I still don't like the sharing of rocket science with China, Russia, the EU, Japan, and Brazil, as has been done with the Space Station. I'm told the moon contains an element that could be a new source of energy and they all want control of it.The military understands the threats and damages espionage does where as rocket scientists are usually clueless outside their own field of expertise. Most engineers are true Dilbert's and and even naive about depraved human nature and the damages one well-armed nut could do. BTW, the CIA payroll has been concealed within NASA's budget for some time, too, as they are not accountable to Congress or get public scrutiny like FEMA programs and others do. It may be a very wise move for several reasons.
Filling the atmosphere with Greenhouse gases associated with global warming could push the planet into a new ice age, scientists have warned. Ummm... Right. Global warming leads to nuclear winter.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/02/2009 00:00 ||
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#1
TV AD > THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS "CLEAN COAL".
Its interesting to review late 1960's + 1970's Guam news articles [back-and-white press] on these very same GW topics.
#6
I've often defined experts as being anyone in a "journalist's" Rolodex. Is "scientist" (particularly when anonymized into a plural "scientists") pretty much the same definition?
#8
Con men have generally not a good standing in society. Now how one may not only be successful at that vocation (loads of cash going one's way), but also be respected?
#9
Casting a wider net I think. Global warming isn't scary enough for everyone. Try global cooling and see if it can terrorize people into behaving the way you want.
#13
I wish I was a homerun hitter with the prowess of the Babe. And, every time one of these shit-for-brains gurus expels more babble I would be allowed one free swing at their cranium with my new Louieville Slugger.
#15
I think it's a seasonal thing: they threaten us with further warming in summer and further cooling in winter. That way they can get more government pork grants on a year-round basis.
#16
just like you've gotta rotate crops seasonally - you've gotta rotate your enviro-based societal control "science" seasonally, and adjust data and rhetoric to match
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/02/2009 14:54 Comments ||
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#17
but make sure you deride skeptics with a "consensusy" shoutdown
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/02/2009 14:55 Comments ||
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#18
It's the New and Improved Scientific Method (TM), invented by Al Gore.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
Green Bay ended the month with 45.6 inches of snowfall, the most of any December on record.
Former Bangladesh premier Khaleda Zia on Thursday accepted her heavy defeat in the country's general election despite alleging the vote was rigged, a spokesman for her party said.
