DataStreme ECS WEEK FIVE: 4-8 October 2010

Climate in the News

ITEMS OF INTEREST

• Celebrate Earth Science Week -- The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, including the National Weather Service, along with NASA, the US Geological Survey and several professional scientific organizations such as the American Geological Institute have recognized next week (10-16 October 2010) as Earth Science Week to help the public gain a better understanding and appreciation for the earth sciences and to encourage stewardship of the Earth. This year's theme for the 12th annual Earth Science Week is "Exploring Energy", designed to "engage young people and the public in learning about Earth's energy resources." [American Geological Institute]
• Wichita hailstone declared Jayhawk State record --
Members of the State Climate Extremes Committee for Kansas recently declared that the 7.75-inch diameter hailstone that fell during a severe thunderstorm on the western side of Wichita, KS on 15 September 2010 was the largest diameter hailstone that has fallen in the state of Kansas. [NWSFO Wichita]
• Historical Atlantic hurricanes can be tracked easily on line --
NOAA recently updated their NOAA website that permits the public to easily access and display the tracks and other information on user specified North Atlantic hurricanes during the last 159 years. This website provides storm paths based upon several options that include US zip code, state, year or storm name. Besides a downloadable map of the storm track, additional supplemental information on population trends and frequency of hurricane strikes is also generated. [NOAA News]
• GRIP Hurricane Research Campaign ends --
Late last week, NASA's six-week GRIP (Genesis and Rapid Intensification Processes) Hurricane Mission drew to a close. This field experiment, designed to understand how tropical storms form and develop into major hurricanes, included a DC aircraft based in Ft. Lauderdale, FL and a Global Hawk drone from the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center in California. [NASA GRIP Hurricane Mission]

CURRENT CLIMATE STATUS

• Canadian seasonal climate summary for Summer 2010 -- Climate scientists with Environment Canada recently reported that the nationwide average temperature during meteorological summer 2010 (June through August) was the third warmest summer since nationwide records began in 1948. The Canadian Archipelago and the region around the Great Lakes, while southern sections of the Prairie Provinces had below average summer temperatures. Nationwide, summer precipitation across Canada was wetter than normal, with most of the Prairie Provinces, the northwestern territories and eastern Canada having above average precipitation. On the other hand, this past summer was dry across British Columbia and sections of north central Canada north of Hudson Bay. [Environment Canada]
• State and city weather extremes for August 2010 --
The National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) has posted a listing of some of the notable extremes in temperature, precipitation and other weather elements across the nation for the recently completed month of July in "Selected U.S. City and State Extremes for August 2010". Note that this site may be updated during the following several weeks as more data are received and analyzed.
• Analyzing the 2010 summer heat --
Scientists at NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) who analyzed the Northern Hemisphere's summer 2010 temperatures reported that their analysis showed that globally, the temperatures for boreal summer (June through August) were the fourth highest in their 131-year temperature record. In comparison, the global temperature for the previous 2009 summer was the second highest. The slightly lower numbers this past summer were attributed to a moderate La Niña (lower than normal temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean) replacing a moderate El Niño (higher than normal temperatures in the equatorial Pacific Ocean) in 2009. [NASA GISS]

CURRENT CLIMATE MONITORING

• An interactive Global Ice Viewer unveiled -- Officials at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory recently unveiled the agency's interactive tool called "Global Ice Viewer" that permits the public to take a tour of polar ice caps in Greenland, the Arctic and Antarctica where changing climate is causing large scale change in the planetary ice cover. [NASA JPL]
• An All-Hazards Monitor --
This Web portal provides the user information from NOAA on current environmental events that may pose as hazards such as tropical weather, fire weather, marine weather, severe weather, drought and floods. [NOAAWatch]
• Global and US Hazards/Climate Extremes --
A review and analysis of the global impacts of various weather-related events, including drought, floods and storms during the current month. [NCDC]

CLIMATE AND THE BIOSPHERE

• Changes in Australia coastal fish species related to climate change -- Scientists associated with CSIRO's Climate Adaptation and Wealth from Oceans Flagships claim that significant changes in the distribution of approximately 30 percent of coastal fish species in southeastern Australia appear to have been due to increased water temperatures in the Tasman Sea associated with climate change. (CSIRO is Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation.) [CSIRO]
• Widespread threats to world's rivers found --
A recent report made by nine international research institutions, including the City College of the City University of New York and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, demonstrates that multiple environmental "stressors" are threatening the rivers that serve approximately 80 percent of the world's population. These stressors, which are factors or stimuli that cause stress in the system, include anthropogenic pollution, agricultural runoff and the presence of invasive species and will threaten biodiversity and human water security. [EurekAlert!]
• Dew has a dual role in semi-arid cultures --
Scientists at Israel's Tel Aviv University recently showed that dew has been viewed in two different ways in the semi-arid regions of the eastern Mediterranean basin. One recent negative view of dew has centered around dew leading to rot and fungus, while a more positive view that is older and more traditional has involved dew as being an important source of water for vegetation. [American Friends of Tel Aviv University]

HUMAN BIOCLIMATOLOGY

• Link found between air pollution and diabetes -- Researchers from Children's Hospital Boston who helped conduct a national epidemiological study report that a strong and consistent correlation appears to exist between adult diabetes and particulate air pollution, which persists after adjustments have been made for other risk factors such as obesity and ethnicity. [EurekAlert!]

CLIMATE FORECASTS

• Colorado River flows could be reduced this winter by ocean conditions -- In a study conducted at the University of California, Los Angeles, researchers have found that the combination of La Niña with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation and the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation, two other long-term cyclic oscillations in oceanic temperatures, tends to result in drought in the upper reaches of the Colorado River. Based upon current conditions, these researchers predict a reduction in the stream flow on the Colorado River during this upcoming winter as drought conditions would appear to continue across the Southwest. [UCLA Newsroom]

PALEOCLIMATE RECONSTRUCTION

• Comet cause for Clovis catastrophe unlikely -- Archaeologists from University of Arizona and Southern Methodist University studying laminated lake beds dated between 13,000 and 12,000 years ago in excavations on the high Plains of Texas claim that they could not find any evidence that a comet impact had been responsible for the collapse of the Clovis people, one of the earliest known cultures to inhabited North America. [EurekAlert!]

CLIMATE AND SOCIETY

• Nation needs to take steps to adapt to climate change -- Last week, a group of scientists, policymakers and regional leaders presented a report to President Obama’s science and technology advisor concerning national and regional preparations for adapting to changing climate. This report, based on findings from last spring's National Climate Adaptation Summit concludes that the United States must adapt to changing climate immediately and prepare for increasing impacts upon the nation's infrastructure, food, water and human health in the future. [UCAR/NCAR]
• Website for human dimensions of climate change --
An interagency effort within the US federal government that included NOAA, the Bureau of Land Management and the US Forest Service, has resulted in a website called HD.gov (for HumanDimensions.gov) that provides users, such as natural resource managers, with information on the human dimensions on a variety of topics of interest such as climate change. [HD.gov]
• Earthweek --
Diary of the Planet [earthweek.com] Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Concept of the Week: Keeping your cool!

In order to survive, humans need to maintain a nearly constant internal core temperature that is within several degrees of 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. Your internal temperature depends upon an energy balance involving the gain and loss of energy from radiation (incoming solar versus incoming and outgoing infrared radiation), sensible heat transfer (conduction and convection), latent heat of evaporation (respiration and perspiration) and the body's metabolic rate. This heat transfer depends upon the differences between skin temperature and the ambient air temperature of the surroundings. In addition, wind and atmospheric humidity can affect the rate of sensible and latent heat transfer. Problems arise when either too much or too little heat flows to or from the body, yielding hypothermia and hyperthermia (heat stress) conditions, respectively.

When the air temperature increases, heat flow from the body is often reduced. Heat flow can be increased to maintain stable temperatures involuntarily by thermoregulatory processes such as increased perspiration (sweating) and dilation of the blood vessels. Humans can also act to prevent hyperthermia by selecting lightweight and light colored clothes, as well as seeking of shade and well ventilated locations. Unfortunately, high atmospheric humidity that often accompanies high summer temperatures also reduces body heat loss since evaporative cooling by perspiration is suppressed. During the summer, the National Weather Service alerts the public of potentially dangerous combinations of high air temperature and atmospheric humidity levels by calculating the Heat Index.

Statistics kept by the National Weather Service reveals that heat (along with high humidity) is responsible for the greatest number of weather-related deaths across the nation during the 10-year period (1980-2009), with 117 fatalities occurring per year. By comparison, 116 fatalities per annum are caused by tropical cyclones (hurricanes and tropical storms), 56 deaths per year are associated from tornadoes and 24 deaths annually caused by the cold (low temperatures). (Note: The large number of fatalities associated with the hurricanes of 2005, which totaled 1016 deaths in the US due primarily to Hurricane Katrina, has inflated the annual averages associated with tropical cyclones.) Furthermore, concern has been raised that during this century, more frequent and more severe heat waves due to global climate change could become more common, leading to a greater risk of hyperthermia and, ultimately, to higher morbidity rates.

Concept of the Week: Questions

(Each week you will be asked to respond to two questions relating to that week's Concept of the Week topic. Place your responses on the Chapter Progress Response Form provided in the Study Guide.)

1. The heat index is a function of air temperature and [(atmospheric humidity),(wind speed),(sunshine levels)].
2. The annual number of fatalities across the nation in the last ten years due to heat stress is approximately [(15), (60), (170)].

Historical Events:

• 4 October 1969...Denver, CO received 9.6 inches of snow. October of that year proved to be the coldest and snowiest of record for Denver, with a total snowfall for the month of 31.2 inches. (Weather Channel)
• 4-7 October 1972...Remnants of Hurricane Joanne brought heavy rain and flooding to much of Arizona. It was the first documented tropical storm to reach the state with its cyclonic circulation intact. Severe flooding occurred in the Clifton, Duncan and Safford areas. (The Weather Doctor)
• 4 October 1976...The mean wind speed reached 88.5 mph at Melfort, Saskatchewan, the province's highest ever sustained wind. (The Weather Doctor)
• 4 October 1987...A rapidly deepening coastal storm dumped record snows across eastern New York State and western New England. Grafton, NY was buried under 22 inches of snow, North Springfield, VT had 21 inches and Pownal, VT recorded 18 inches. Most of the snow occurred at higher elevations but even Albany, NY received 6 inches, their earliest measurable snow in 117 years of records. Damage to trees was extensive as many trees were still in full leaf. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) (The Weather Channel) (Intellicast)
  In California, high temperatures of 100 degrees at San Francisco, and 108 degrees at Los Angeles and Santa Maria, were October records. San Luis Obispo was the hot spot in the nation with an afternoon high of 111 degrees. (The National Weather Summary).
• 4 October 1998...As many as 27 tornadoes touched down across Oklahoma, establishing the national record for tornadoes in any state on a single October day. (The Weather Doctor)
• 4 October 2005...The Minneapolis-St. Paul (MN) International Airport received 4.61 inches, breaking the local daily rainfall record for October. North of the Twin Cities, weather spotters reported nine inches of rain in the town of Spencer Brook. (The Weather Doctor) 5 October 1917...The temperature at Sentinel, AZ soared to 116 degrees to establish an October record for the nation. (The Weather Channel)
• 5 October 1972...Heavy rains, mostly the remnants of Tropical Storm Joanne, fell across much of Arizona. It was believed to be the first time in Arizona weather history that a tropical storm entered the state with its circulation still intact. The center was over Flagstaff early on the 7th. (3rd-7th) (The Weather Channel)
• 5 October 1984...The temperature at Honolulu, HI hit 94 degrees to establish the all-time record high for that city. (Intellicast)
• 5 October 1987...In California, afternoon high temperatures of 102 degrees in Downtown San Francisco, and 104 degrees at Monterey, established all-time records. The high of 101 degrees at San Jose was a record for October. Sacramento tied their record for October for the third time in the month, with a reading of 102 degrees. (The National Weather Summary)
• 6 October 1952...A trace of snow fell at Nashville, TN, the earliest ever on record. (Intellicast)
• 6 October 1967...Canada's 24-hour rainfall record was established at Ucluelet Brynnor Mines on Vancouver Island in British Columbia with 19.24 in. (Accord Weather Calendar)
• 6 October 1984...The temperature at Honolulu, HI reached 94 degrees to establish an all-time record at that location. (The Weather Channel)
• 7 October 1981...Seattle, WA received four inches of rain in 24 hours, a record for the city. (The Weather Channel)
• 7 October 1987...Tucson, AZ hit 101 degrees for the second day in a row to again equal their record for the month of October. (The National Weather Summary)
• 7 October 1992...The 2.1 inches of snow that fell at Concordia, KS was the earliest measurable snow on record at that station. (Intellicast )
• 8 October 1871...Prolonged drought and desiccating winds from the southwest led to the great Chicago fire, the Peshtigo horror, and the Michigan fire holocaust. Fire destroyed more than seventeen thousand buildings killing more than 200 persons in the city of Chicago, while on the same night a fire consumed the town of Peshtigo, WI killing more than 1100 persons. In Wisconsin, a million acres of land were burned, and in Michigan, 2.5 million acres were burned killing 200 persons. "Tornadoes of fire" generated by intense heat caused houses to explode in fire, and burned to death scores of persons seeking refuge in open fields. (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)
• 8 October 1987...Phoenix, AZ reported a record high of 104 degrees and a record tying 116 days of 100-degree weather for the year. Tucson, AZ established an all-time record with 72 days of 100-degree weather for the year. (The National Weather Summary)
• 8 October 1988...The afternoon high of 80 degrees at Stampede Pass, WA exceeded their previous record for October by seven degrees. (The National Weather Summary)
• 8 October 1993...With 1.05 inches of rain that fell at Columbia, MO, the yearly total precipitation was pushed to 55.77 inches, breaking the annual record. (Intellicast)
• 9 October 1903...New York City was deluged with 11.17 in. of rain in 24 hours at Central Park to establish a state record, while 9.40 in. fell at Battery Park. (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel) (Intellicast)
• 9 October 1980...Nashville, TN reached 91 degrees, highest ever for so late in the season. Just three days earlier, a low of 31 degrees was reported, lowest ever so early in the season. (Intellicast)
• 9 October 1981...The temperature at San Juan, Puerto Rico, soared to 98 degrees to establish an all-time record for that location. (The Weather Channel)
• 10-16 October 1780...The most deadly Western Hemisphere hurricane on record raged across the Caribbean Basin, killing 22,000 people on the islands of Martinique, St. Eustatius, and Barbados. Thousands more die at sea. (The Weather Doctor)
• 10 October 1928...The temperature at Minneapolis, MN reached 90 degrees, their latest such reading of record. (The Weather Channel)
• 10 October 1967...Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island experienced its wettest day ever when 4.19 inches of rain fell. (The Weather Doctor)
• 10 October 1973...Fifteen to 20 inches of rain deluged north central Oklahoma in thirteen hours producing record flooding. Enid was drenched with 15.68 inches of rain from the nearly stationary thunderstorms, which established a state 24-hour rainfall record. (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)
• 10 October 1979...A storm blanketed Worcester, MA with 7.5 inches of snow, a record snowfall total for so early in the season for that location. The earliest measurable snowfall was recorded at Boston, MA with 0.2 inches falling. Blue Hill Observatory at an elevation of 635 feet had 7 inches. (The Weather Channel) (Intellicast)
• 10 October 1991...Sacramento, CA hit 100 degrees setting a daily record. It was also the latest 100-degree reading and the warmest so late in the season. (Intellicast)

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Prepared by Edward J. Hopkins, Ph.D., email hopkins@meteor.wisc.edu
© Copyright, 2010, The American Meteorological Society.