The sun and other 'heavenly bodies' control our weather

My friends Cecil Hathaway, Bob Felix, Michael Hoffman, John Koger and others have been sending me a lot of weather-related articles in the past several weeks, which I certainly appreciate. It's a difficult task indeed trying to keep things interesting in my 'Gems' column when our weather is rather 'blah' in Camelot.

One of the more thought-provoking articles that I received this month was one entitled "The Other Climate Theory," by Anne Jolis of the Wall Street Journal, written on Sept. 7, 2011.

Despite the efforts of Al Gore and others, many scientists have a radically different theory on climate change. They believe that subatomic particles from outer space, or 'cosmic rays,' are significantly impacting the type and quantity of clouds covering the earth which, in turn, affect temperatures.

Some prominent scientists have noted that "atmospheric levels of cosmic rays appear to rise and fall with the weakness or strength of the solar winds." In other words, the sun and other 'heavenly bodies' may actually be the driving forces of long-term trends on earth. This is what I've been saying for more than 45 years, since the mid-1960s, in my various columns in newspapers, magazines and journals. It's the 'SUN,' Mr. Gore, the SUN!

The European Organization for Nuclear Research, also known as 'CERN,' is the Swiss home of the world's most powerful particle accelerator. Scientists have recently been shooting simulated cosmic rays into a man-made cloud chamber in order to isolate and measure their contribution to various levels of cloud formations.

CERN's researchers reported in August that, in the conditions that they've observed thus far, these cosmic rays have enhanced the formation rates of cloud 'seeds' by up to a factor of 10.

Climate scientists are excited, because they have been speculating on the relationships between solar activity (sunspots and solar winds), cosmic rays and various levels of cloud formations since at least the late 1960s. These scientists have charts dating back to 1860 showing the close relationships between solar variations from year to year and decade to decade, and the resulting changes in the earth's surface temperatures and amounts of cloud cover.

While some man-made global warming proponents have ridiculed this cosmic ray theory, CERN believes that with several more years of "careful, quantitative measurement studies," their scientists will "definitely answer the question as to whether or not cosmic rays have a significant effect climatically on clouds."

It remains the firm climatological opinion of this climatologist (Cliff Harris), that the SUN and other heavenly bodies control the basic weather patterns on this planet and the other planets in our solar system.

For example, when we warm up, so do Venus, Mars and Jupiter. I don't believe that Martians are causing climate changes on Mars. We humans make things 'worse' by our added pollution, but we don't cause the major, long-term climate changes. They come and go like 'clockwork.' It's a matter of 'rays,' ... not man's 'days' or 'ways.'

NORTH IDAHO'S WEATHER REVIEW AND LONG-RANGE OUTLOOKS

Following the thunderstorm of early last Monday morning that produced some much-needed light rains for North Idaho, it's turned warm and dry again across the region. A record high of 90 degrees was observed on Sept. 24, the second day of the fall of 2011.

A 'trough' of low pressure will bring some additional rains and cooler temperatures to the Inland Empire during the 'new moon' cycle of Sept. 27 to Oct. 4, probably starting by Friday, Sept. 30 in North Idaho.

As of this writing, we've only received .30 inches of precipitation in Coeur d'Alene this September, a full inch below normal. The total July 14 through Sept. 22 rainfall at my station on Player Drive has been just .74 inches, nearly three inches below normal.

During the same 70-day time span, Spokane has only gauged a scant .27 inches of rainfall, less than 15 percent of the normal 1.95 inches for the period. I'm surprised that we didn't see a bigger rash of forest and brush fires this dusty, bone-dry summer of 2011.

Longer term, as expected, the fall season has begun on a warm and dry note. But, this autumn may end in late December with more rain and snow than usual and a bit cooler than normal temperatures, especially if 'La Nina' returns as predicted.

I'll have more details on our winter snowfall prospects next week. Randy Mann will have a new sea-surface temperature chart on Monday, Oct. 10 in 'Gems' along with his related fall and winter weather outlooks.

Cliff Harris is a climatologist who writes a weekly column for The Press. His opinions are his own. Email sfharris@roadrunner.com