WEEKLY CLIMATE NEWS

12-16 May 2014

DataStreme Earth Climate System will return for Fall 2014 with new Investigations files starting during Preview Week, Monday, 25 August 2014. All the current online website products will continue to be available throughout the summer break period.

ITEMS OF INTEREST

Hurricane season begins in the eastern North Pacific -- The 2014 hurricane season in the eastern North Pacific Ocean basin begins on Thursday, 15 May 2014. The hurricane season in the North Atlantic basin, including the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico will begin in two weeks on 1 June. The official hurricane seasons in both basins end on 30 November 2014. NOAA has declared the week of 25-31 May 2014 to be Hurricane Awareness Week across the nation.
Zenithal Sun -- The end of this upcoming week marks one of the two times during the year when the noontime sun is directly overhead to residents on the Big Island on about 14 May at South Cape (Ka Lae at 18.9 deg North latitude and 155.68 degrees West longitude) and on the 18th and 19 May at Hilo; those on Oahu (Honolulu metropolitan area) will experience the noon sun at the zenith in approximately two more weeks (25-27 May). The sun will again be over the Big Island during the last week of July. [US Naval Observatory, Data Services]

CURRENT CLIMATE MONITORING

Third U.S. National Climate Assessment has been released -- During the last week the Obama Administration released the Third U.S. National Climate Assessment, a report confirming that climate change is affecting every major region of the nation, together with key sectors of the US economy and society. The 840-page report, prepared by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, is the product of a three-year effort by a team of over 300 climate scientists and experts. [NOAA News] Note a synopsis of the key findings from the Assessment, is available either on a Highlights page or as a 20-page Overview booklet. The entire 820-page report is available, but due to its size could be a slow download.
Nearly 200,000 glaciers mapped to better estimate future sea level rises -- Glaciologists from the University of Colorado Boulder and Trent University in Ontario have led the first detailed mapping of essentially all of the world's glaciers in an attempt to determine how the melt water from these glaciers would contribute to global sea rise as the global temperature increases. A team of scientists from 19 countries mapped and cataloged the locations and sizes of 198,000 glaciers from around the world as part of the massive Randolph Glacier Inventory (RGI). [University of Colorado Boulder News]
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]

CLIMATE FORCING

Greenhouse gases leaking from Front Range oil and gas operations -- An atmospheric scientist and her colleagues at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder have found that oil and gas operations in Colorado's Front Range have leaked more greenhouse gases than previously estimated. Based upon two days of airborne measurements, these researchers found that the amount of methane emitted was nearly three times the amount originally thought, along with seven times the amount of benzene. Emissions of other chemicals that contribute to summertime ozone pollution were about twice as high as estimates. [University of Colorado Boulder News]
Increasing global temperatures and natural climate variations are nearly equal contributors to Greenland glacier melting -- Atmospheric scientists at the University of Washington and their colleagues from China and Korea estimate that nearly half of the melting of the Greenland glaciers due to recent warming of Greenland and surrounding areas may be due to the climate variations originating in the tropical Pacific. These climate variations are not necessarily connected with the overall increase in global temperatures associated with increased levels of atmospheric greenhouse gases, which the researchers claim to account for the other half for the observed warming of Greenland. According to their analysis, temperatures over Greenland and nearby sections of Canada have increased at a rate of approximately one Celsius degree per decade since 1979, which is several times the global average.[University of Washington News]
Summertime ozone pollution could worsen with increased global temperatures -- Scientists from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and other research institutions in the US and South Africa warn that summertime ozone pollution across the continental United States could increase by as much as 70 percent by 2050 if global temperatures increase as currently projected. In addition to increased temperatures, changes in the climate could result in other changes in the atmosphere that could result in higher atmospheric methane levels, which could stimulate chemical reactions resulting increased ozone levels. [National Science Foundation News]

CLIMATE AND THE BIOSPHERE

Some crop nutrients may fall as atmospheric carbon dioxide levels rise -- Researchers at the University of Illinois and other academic research institutions have found decreased levels of various nutrients in some key crop plants including zinc, iron and protein when grown at elevated carbon dioxide levels in Free Air Concentration Enrichment (FACE) systems. These researchers warn that as atmospheric carbon dioxide levels are projected to rise through this century, some grains and legumes will become significantly less nutritious than they are currently. [University of Illinois News Bureau]

CLIMATE AND HUMAN HEALTH

Air quality improvement in New York City could boost children's future earnings -- Researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health claim that a reduction in air pollution in the New York City metropolitan area would result in substantial economic gains for children currently living in this area since their IQs would increase. [Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health]

CLIMATE AND SOCIETY

Earthweek -- Diary of the Planet [earthweek.com] Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Historical Events:

12 May 1916...Plumb Point, Jamaica reported 17.80 inches of rain in 15 minutes, which set a world record. (The Weather Doctor)
13 May 1930...A man was killed when caught in an open field during a hailstorm 36 miles northwest of Lubbock, TX. This event was the first, and perhaps the only, authentic death by hail in U.S. weather records. (David Ludlum)
13 May 1992...Record late season snow ended over the Tanana Valley and Yukon Uplands in Alaska. This storm set two records at Fairbanks. The 9.4 inches of snow from the storm was by far the greatest May snow on record, shattering the previous record of 4.5 inches set on 13 May 1964. The total water content of the melted snow and rain was also a new one-day record for May (0.78 Inches). Snowfall in excess of two feet occurred at elevations above 2000 feet. (Intellicast)
14 May 1834...The greatest snowstorm ever to occur in May hit the Northern Atlantic coastal states. The hills around Newbury, VT were covered with up to 24 inches of snow and the higher elevations around Haverhill, NH received up to three feet. (Intellicast)
14 May 1896...The mercury plunged to 10 degrees below zero at Climax, CO, the lowest reading of record for the U.S. during the month of May. (David Ludlum) This record has since been broken in May 1964 by a reading of 15 degrees below zero at White Mountain in California. (NCDC)
14 May 2001...A storm stalled south of Nova Scotia drenching Halifax with 3.89 inches of rain, the greatest daily May rainfall since records began in 1871. (The Weather Doctor)
15 May 1968...Only tornado of record to have ever touched down in Alaska was spotted near Anchorage. (The Weather Doctor)
16 May 1917...Marquette, MI had its latest opening of navigation on Lake Superior in history. (Intellicast)
16 May 1924...The temperature at Blitzen, OR soared to 108 degrees to set a state record for the month of May. The record was later tied at Pelton Dam on the 31 May 1986. (The Weather Channel)
17 May 1997...Two inches of snow fell at Herman, MI, marking the last measurable snow for the 1996-1997 snow season. The 384.0 inches for this just concluded snow season broke a state snowfall record that was set the previous 1995-1996 season of 347.0 inches. The average snowfall at Herman is 239.7 inches. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
17 May 1979...A reading of 12 degrees at Mauna Kea Observatory (elevation 13,770 feet) established an all-time record low temperature for the state of Hawaii. (The Weather Channel)
18 May 1980...Mount St. Helens in Washington State erupted, ejecting smoke and ash to a height of 63,000 feet. The smoke plume rose to a height of 80,000 feet. The ground was covered with heavy ash to the immediate northeast and visibility was reduced to less than one mile for a downwind distance of 400 miles. Five deaths were caused and over 2000 people were evacuated due to mudslides and flooding when the snowpack melted. Small particles in the cloud reached the East Coast in 3 days and circled the world in 19 days. (David Ludlum) (Intellicast)
18 May 1960...Salt Lake City, UT received an inch of snow, marking their latest measurable snowfall of record. (The Weather Channel)

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