Study: Snow foolin’: Blizzards still likely despite ‘global warming’

http://www.usatoday.com/story/weather/2014/08/27/snowstorms-blizzards-global-warming-climate-change/14685911/

Big snowstorms won’t be a distant memory, even with global warming, says a new study out Wednesday.

The study finds that extreme snow events will still occur, even in a future with significant man-made climate change.

“In some regions, it is possible for average snowfall to decrease, but the snowfall extremes actually intensify,” said study lead author Paul O’Gorman, an atmospheric scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The study was done with computer model simulations, which found that while yearly average snowfall declines due to climate change in most regions, it actually increases in regions with very low surface temperatures.

For instance, even though places like Boston may see less snowy winters overall, some years will still see blizzards that drop a foot or more of snow.

The findings suggest that changes in extreme snowfall are not a good indicator of climate change.

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