It's Getting Hot in Here...2014 Warmest Year on Record

Big news on Twitter on Friday January 16th, which usually seems to get overlooked. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has released the news as well as a graphic showing that 2014 was officially the warmest on record. According to the graphic, we've been above average every year since the late 1970s!! That's about 38 years! I'm only 27, so that means I've NEVER seen a below average year globally in my entire lifetime! 

It's interesting to note that this chart has taken into account not only land temperature anomalies but also ocean temperature anomalies. There are some theories out there that suggest a slowdown in warming over the last decade is the direct result of the oceans sucking up all the heat. If this is true, not only will the oceans be changing drastically (👎😁) but what happens when they can't absorb anymore of the excess heat? Do average temps suddenly skyrocket? Seems to be a lot of questions about the future of our ever changing climate! 

Check out the graphic below. 

What Famous Paintings Say About the Weather (Photos)

Check out these famous paintings and what they're actually thinking about the weather and climate change. 

"American Gothic" - They don't have smiles on their faces because they're battling a multi-year drought that's causing their farm to fall apart!  

Look at the hair! Now it could be just the hair style of the time or it could be the humidity...just saying!  Portrait of Anne Marie Louise Thelusson by artist Jacques Louis David

At the rate that sea levels are rising, they might not have thought through on building so close to the water in Seaport with the Embarkation of the Queen of Sheba

Vincent Van Gogh's famous Painting "The Starry Night" is actually a painting of Undulatus Asperatus clouds. These rolling clouds didn't have a name back in his day. They sometimes look ominous but usually follow after bad weather has passed! 

Climate Model Turned Into Stamp! (video)

This is pretty cool! On Earth Day, April 22, 2014, "the U.S. Postal Service officially unveiled a new Forever international-rate stamp inspired by a simulation of sea surface temperatures from a NOAA model of the Earth's climate."

I'm no stamp collector but this would be something cool to have! Turning computer models, and science into art is always interesting! Maps themselves are really part art and part science! Visual representation is great for sharing information but also allows for readers interpretation, which can result in art!  

Check out the video below of how the computer model was transformed into the stamp!