Athens County Emergency Management Agency 13 W. Washington St - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Athens County Emergency Management Agency 13 W. Washington St (Basement of Sheriff’s Office) Director Don Gossel (740)-594-2261

Athens County Emergency Management Agency

Climatic Change

Athens County Emergency Management Agency

What it Means for the Emergency Management Field

Global Warming?

• Why?
• Global Impact?
• Ohio?

Athens County Emergency Management Agency

Circulatory Cells

• Polar Cell
• Ferrel Cell
• Hadley Cell

 Exist due to solar heating and Earth’s rotation.  Work together as atmospheric cogs.  The alteration of one impacts all. Athens County Emergency Management Agency

“Big Picture - Global Circulation”

Athens County Emergency Management Agency

Global Circulation Cells to Pressure Relationship

Athens County Emergency Management Agency

Low Pressure

• Surface Convergence
• Upper-level Divergence
• Rising Air (convection)
• Cooling through column
• Promotes Saturation
• Cyclonic Circulation

(counter clockwise)

High Pressure

• Surface Divergence
• Upper-level Convergence
• Sinking Air (subsidence)
• Warming through column
• Promotes drying
• Anticyclonic Circulation

(clockwise)

Athens County Emergency Management Agency

Semi-permanent Pressure Systems

Differential heating between large landmasses and oceans disrupts zonal patterns. These disruptions break up pressure zones into semi- permanent areas of High and Low pressure.

Athens County Emergency Management Agency

Semi-permanent Pressure Systems

Winter: Lows more dominant Summer: Highs more dominant

Athens County Emergency Management Agency

Midlatitude Jet Stream or Polar Front Jet

• Junction between Ferrell and Polar Cells.
• Forms between two air masses of large

temperature difference.

• Migrates seasonally with sun angle

(northward/summer & southward/winter.

• Supports surface frontal

boundaries.

• Greater the wave amplitude, the

more intense associated frontal boundaries are.

Athens County Emergency Management Agency

Global Warming’s Impact on Circulatory Cells

Hadley Cell Expansion =

• Increase in water vapor Poleward
• Changes in circulation
• More moisture to mid latitudes
• Increased frequency of

precipitation-producing weather systems

Athens County Emergency Management Agency

How does climate change alter weather pattern normality?

• Weakening Jet Stream
• Jet Stream wave alteration
• Enhanced thermal distribution

Athens County Emergency Management Agency

Acquired April 29, 2013 to April 29, 2018. Diminishing Bering Sea Ice Pack has altered North Pole more drastically than mid-latitudes. Albedo difference between

• pen water and ice:
• Water absorbs more heat

than ice – compounds effect

• Warmer water offers source

region for low pressure tracks – altering climatic norms.

• Alters entire northern

hemisphere storm track.

Bering Sea Ice Relationship?

Athens County Emergency Management Agency

U.S. Temperature Impact (High to Low Ratio)

• Red bars indicate a year with

more daily record highs than daily record lows.

• Blue bars indicate a year with

more record lows than highs.

• The height of the bar indicates

the ratio of record highs to lows (red) or of record lows to highs (blue).

Global Impact – what are we seeing?

Athens County Emergency Management Agency

Global temperature impact over past 30 years?

January July Midwest - east coast has seen cooler winter averages, while western states has seen warming trend in all seasons.

Athens County Emergency Management Agency

• Increased annual jet support
• Increased moisture influx
• Increased convective ability
• Equals increased activity

Tornadic Activity?

May June July

Athens County Emergency Management Agency

Flooding Effects?

• Rising Sea Level
• High Tide Flooding
• Hurricane Storm Surge
• Increased Coastal erosion
• Increased Flash Floods
• Increased Riverine Flooding

Nebraska 2019 flood Dorian 4 Sep, 2019

Global/Ohio Impacts

• Increased Forest Fires
• Precipitation extremes
• Temperature Extremes
• Invasive Species (plants/insects)
• Biological (new viruses unsurfaced)
• Diseases (vector carried)
• Farming Impact (vicious cycle/CO2)
• Phenological State Acceleration
• Food Security
• Air Pollution
• Allergens
• Mental Health

Large Hogweed Plant

• Sap causes severe skin irritation
• Effected skin blisters when

exposed to sun

• Can cause permanent blindness

Impacts directly to Ohio

Impacts directly to Ohio

Impacts directly to Ohio

Surprised?

• North to South dispersion
• f Arctic Air by weakened

jet stream is counterintuitive to mid- west through most of east coast.

Future Impact?

• Increased Future Tornadic Activity?
• Elevated 100year flood mark?
• Increased Riverine/Flash Flooding?
• Coastal erosion?
• Increased Soil erosion & terrain slippage?
• Invasive Insect/plant species/algae bloom?
• Increased Ice vs Snow Storm potential?
• Droughts & Wild Fire?

Climate change has brought:

• Altered and/or increased impacts & effects of

known local hazards.

• New hazards to discern
• Evolutionary Disasters

Potential Emergency Management Mitigation Solutions Improve Infrastructure

• Tornado Shelters
• Alert Sirens
• Mass Notification Improvement
• Flood Mitigation projects
• More/Improved Water Rescue equipment
• High Water Routes Defined
• Retaining walls on steep roads
• Storm Water Retention/Detention Projects
• Build Stakeholder Awareness/Resiliency

Your Thoughts? Questions?

Thank you!