We have to get rid of the 1930s EPA heatwave records! Warmist Prof. Andrew Dessler tries to erase 1930s heatwaves – Seeks to ‘change’ definition of heatwave

Andy “Don’t Believe The Data” Dessler claims that the EPA heatwave index is cherry-picked, because it is based on 90th percentiles:

The EPA have also looked at 95%, and come to the same conclusions as before; there has been a marked decline in heatwaves for most of the US:

Note that the trend is measured from 1948, so the extreme heat of the 1930s is not even reflected here.

There is one other consideration here. Dessler has also used Berkeley Earth homogenised dataset (BEST). His calculations indicate just how divorced from reality BEST is, with temperatures far above what the actual data suggest.

Finally, let’s look back to the graph for Texas, which I showed in my earlier post:

Note that the average of “hot days” is 20 a year – in other words, 95% percentile to all intents and purposes.

Andrew Dessler is Professor of Atmospheric Sciences & climate “scientist” at Texas A&M.

There was time when science was about facts and truths. Now it seems that climate science is not interested in data but feelings.

The chart he disparages has been used as a long-term indicator of US heatwaves for several years by the EPA. Moreover, it tallies with other official charts published in the National Climate Assessment in 2017:

Heat waves (6-day periods with a maximum temperature above the 90th percentile for 1961–1990) increased in frequency until the mid-1930s, became considerably less common through the mid-1960s, and increased in frequency again thereafter (Figure 6.4). As with warm daily temperatures, heat wave magnitude reached a maximum in the 1930s

The vast majority of State record high temperatures were set in the 1930s, notable 1936:

9:13 AM · Aug 21, 2021

National Climate Assessment

“the warmest daily temperature of the year increased in some parts of the West over the past century (Figure 6.3), but there were decreases in almost all locations east of the Rocky Mountains. In fact, all eastern regions experienced a net decrease (Table 6.2), most notably the Midwest (about 2.2°F [1.2°C]) and the Southeast (roughly 1.5°F [0.8°C]). The decreases in the eastern half of Nation, particularly in the Great Plains, are mainly tied to the unprecedented summer heat of the 1930s Dust Bowl era”

Temperature Changes in the United States – Climate Science Special Report

National Report on Sustainable Forests — 2010

TimesMachine: October 9, 1938 – NYTimes.com

Twenty-four states set their temperature record during the 1930s.

Record Highest Temperatures by State

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1934 and 1936 were unprecedented years for heat and drought in US. But the extreme weather wasn’t just in the US – it was global. Click on the 1934 LA Times below to see it full sized.

30 Dec 1934, Page 13 – The Los Angeles Times at Newspapers.com

During 1934, the world experienced unprecedented drought and heat.

22 Jun 1934, Page 3 – Hartford Courant at Newspapers.com

THE CAIRNS POST, SATURDAY,” FEBRUARY 3, 1934.

“WORLD HEATING UP.” ‘ICE DISSOLVING AT POLES.’’ ‘‘SEA WILL RISE 40 PEET.’’

The world is gradually becoming both warmer and drier. One day the great Polar icecaps may melt—raising the level of the oceans from 40 to 50 feet, and wiping half of England from the map.”