Arts & Entertainment
Water Wisdom: Weather and climate
Published
4 years agoon
Posted By
Outlaw PartnersBy Kristin Gardner and Karen Filipovich EBS CONTRIBUTORS
This fall has turned out snowier than average, but it also came with several days of temperature highs over 70 degrees Fahrenheit in Mountain Village. Overall, October had a mean temperature of 34 degrees, 10 degrees cooler than the 44-degree average.
“Weather,” according to earth sciences professor Cathy Whitlock of Montana State University, “is defined as short-term changes in the atmosphere that occur over hours to months.”
Climate, on the other hand, is the long-term average weather. The National Weather Service compares today’s temperatures to the average from 1981 to 2010. Longer-term records are also used for comparison, though in this part of the world, temperature recordings rarely go back beyond about 100 years. Without knowledge of climate, there is no context for whether a day is unseasonable or average.
Climate can also vary due to specific natural events. The best-known event that affects Big Sky is the El Niño and La Niña cycle. This is a cycle of ocean temperature warming and cooling that affects local temperatures and precipitation, typically over the course of a winter season. This winter, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Climate Center has calculated an 85-percent chance that it will be neutral this year which means no likely impact on local weather.
Whitlock lists other natural changes including short-term solar variability and volcanic eruptions that can also shape our weather.
Climate change refers to changes that have been occurring mostly in the last several decades. In southwest Montana, average annual temperatures have been rising about .35 Fahrenheit each decade since 1950, according to the 2017 Montana Climate Assessment. This adds up to a little more than 2 degree rise in temperature since 1950.
“Montana is warming at a faster rate than we’ve seen in the last 2,000 years and probably the last 11,000 years,” said Whitlock, who is an author on the Montana Climate Assessment. She says that “greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere are higher than any period in the last 800,000 years.”
“Two years of high snowfall don’t yet describe a climate trend, so we have to wait and see if our snowy winters persist,” she said, adding that projections of future climate changes show an increase in winter precipitation, but rising temperatures will mean more of that precipitation will arrive as rain in the future.
Weather continues to move up and down compared to this new, upwardly mobile average temperature.
A cartoon video produced by the University Cooperation for Atmospheric Research visualizes this like hiking up a slope with a dog. The dog will sniff above and below the trail while the hiker proceeds up the slope in a straight line. The dog is like the weather and the hiker is climate, but all the records are telling us the direction for both is up. Visit scied.ucar.edu/dog-walking-weather-and-climate to view this video.
Big Sky residents will still have plenty of days in ski jackets in the next 50 years, but snowpack won’t last as long, rendering the snow bank that stores water for summer less effective, leading to more frequent summer droughts.
Kristin Gardner is the Executive Director of the Gallatin River Task Force. Karen Filipovich is a facilitator and consultant and enjoys water in all its forms.
The Outlaw Partners is a creative marketing, media and events company based in Big Sky, Montana.
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Saturday, March 23rd 6:00-8:00pm We will combine the heart-opening powers of cacao with the transcendental powers of breathwork and sound. Together, these practices will give us the opportunity for a deep
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We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a
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We all are familiar with using a limited palette, but do you use one? Do you know how to use a limited palette to create different color combinations? Are you tired of carrying around 15-20 different tubes when you paint plein air? Have you ever wanted to create a certain “mood” in a painting but failed? Do you create a lot of mud? Do you struggle to achieve color harmony? All these problems are addressed in John’s workbook in clear and concise language!
Based on the bestselling “Limited Palatte, Unlimited Color” workbook written by John Pototschnik, the workshop is run by Maggie Shane and Annie McCoy, accomplished landscape (acrylic) and plein air (oil) artists,exhibitors at the Big Sky Artists’ Studio & Gallery and members of the Big Sky Artists Collective.
Each student will receive a copy of “Limited Palette, Unlimited Color” to keep and take home to continue your limited palette journey. We will show you how to use the color wheel and mix your own clean mixtures to successfully create a mood for your paintings.
Each day, we will create a different limited palette color chart and paint a version of a simple landscape using John’s directives. You will then be able to go home and paint more schemes using the book for guidance.
Workshop is open to painters (oil or acrylic) of any level although students must have some basic knowledge of the medium he or she uses. Students will be provided the book ($92 value), color wheel, value scale and canvas papers to complete the daily exercises.
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Come join us at Cowboy Coffee as we celebrate a fun night of drinks, games, and meeting others within the community. This event is from 6-8 and all are welcome
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Come join us at Cowboy Coffee as we celebrate a fun night of drinks, games, and meeting others within the community. This event is from 6-8 and all are welcome to come, if you don’t know who to bring come alone this is a great mixer event! This is an event hosted by Big Sky OUT as we work to provide queer safe spaces throughout the community.
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25 Town Center Ave. Big Sky, MT 59716