WEEKLY CLIMATE NEWS

16-20 May 2016

DataStreme Earth Climate System will return for Fall 2016 with new Investigations files starting during Preview Week, Monday, 22 August 2016. All the current online website products will continue to be available throughout the summer break period.

ITEMS OF INTEREST

Hurricane season starts in the eastern North Pacific -- The 2016 hurricane season in the eastern North Pacific Ocean basin began this Sunday, 15 May 2016. 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 2016. NOAA has declared this week of 15-21 May 2016 to be Hurricane Awareness Week across the nation.
Zenithal Sun -- This week marks one of the two times during the year when the noontime sun is directly overhead to residents on the Big Island this week on 19 May at Hilo; those on Oahu (Honolulu metropolitan area) will experience the noon sun at the zenith in approximately one more week (25-27 May). The sun will again be over the Big Island during the last week of July. [US Naval Observatory, Data Services]
North American Safe Boating Week -- On this upcoming Saturday (21 May), the 2016 National Safe Boating Week will start and run through Friday, 27 May. This week helps launch the 2016 North American Safe Boating Campaign. Check the Safe Boating Week site maintained by the Safe Boating Council. In addition, Friday 20 May is "Wear Your Life Jacket to Work Day."
A "Weather-Ready Nation' safety app is launched -- NOAA and Raytheon, one of NOAA's first Weather-Ready Nation (WRN) Ambassadors™, recently unveiled a safety application or app that has been designed to teach school age children (10 to 12 years old and 13 years and up) and adults how to prepare for, survive and recover from extreme weather and water emergencies. This app contains eight 10-minute safety modules. The individual modules were developed by Raytheon along with adjustments provided by the Georgia Science Teachers Association, FEMA and the National Weather Service. [NOAA Weather-Ready Nation News]

CURRENT CLIMATE STATUS

National weather and climate reviewed for April 2016 -- Scientists at the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) reported that their analysis of preliminary April 2016 data indicates the monthly average temperature for the 48 coterminous states was 2.2 Fahrenheit degrees above the 20th-century (1901-2000) average, which made this past month the 18th warmest April since 1895 when comprehensive climate records became available nationwide. In addition, the nationwide maximum or daytime temperature was 2.1 Fahrenheit degrees above the long-term average (or 24th highest on record), while the nationwide minimum or nighttime temperature was 2.2 Fahrenheit degrees above average (or 11th highest since 1895). More than half of the 48 contiguous states (25) reported above to much above average April statewide average temperatures, with states along the West Coast and interior Northwest experiencing much above average temperatures. Idaho, Oregon and Washington experienced their second highest statewide average temperatures in the 122-year period of record. On the other hand, New York State and Vermont had below average statewide April temperatures. Alaska experienced its warmest April since sufficiently dense weather records began in 1925.
Monthly precipitation across the lower 48 states for April 2016 was approximately 0.43 inches above the 20th-century monthly average, which made this month the 21st wettest April on record. States across the Plains States, the Rockies and the Great Basin reported above to much above average statewide precipitation for the month. Kansas had its second wettest April in 122 years, while Nebraska had its third wettest April. Other states that had April 2016 averages in the top 10 were the Dakotas, Texas and Oklahoma. Washington and Oregon in the Northwest and the states along the Atlantic Seaboard running from the Carolinas northward to Maine reported below average statewide precipitation totals.
According to the Rutgers Global Snow Lab, the snow cover extent across the contiguous US for the month of April 2016 was the nineteenth smallest April snow cover extent in the 50-year period of record. Below-average snowfall was reported across sections of the Pacific Northwest, the northern Rockies and adjacent northern Plains along with the Northeast. However, above-average April snow cover was reported across sections of the Great Lakes, the central Plains and central Rockies. Alaska had its smallest April snow cover on record. [NOAA/NCEI State of the Climate]
NOTE: A description is provided of the climatological rankings employed by NCEI for their monthly and seasonal maps. [NOAA/NCEI]
April national drought report -- The National Centers for Environmental Information has posted its April 2016 drought report online. Using the Palmer Drought Severity Index, approximately three percent of the contiguous United States experienced severe to extreme drought conditions at the end of April, while twelve percent of the area had severely to extremely wet conditions.

CURRENT CLIMATE MONITORING

Higher water levels on Lakes Michigan and Huron affects boaters and beachgoers -- According to reports made by the US Army Corps of Engineers, the water levels of Lakes Michigan and Huron are approximately one foot above the 90-year average at the beginning of the month, which is in stark contrast to the relatively low levels that were two feet below average in 2013. The current near record high levels are permitting more cargo to be carried by lake freighters and easier access to boats moored at permanent docks, but narrower beaches for beachgoers and lake-front property owners. The nearly four-foot increase in lake levels are due to several factors including changes in precipitation over the lake basins, the inflow of water from Lake Superior, evaporation and lake ice extent. [The Detroit News]
"Meteotsunamis" can cause havoc on Lake Michigan in spring -- After reviewing several historical disasters on Lake Michigan that had been previously attributed to seiches, researchers with the Wisconsin Sea Grant have found that some of these events were due to a phenomenon called a "meteorological tsunami" or "meteotsunami." These meteotsunamis represent single waves that are similar to tsunamis but generated by strong storm systems moving across the lake waters, producing heights reaching nine to 18 feet when the wave front reaches shallow water and the shore. The researchers found that on average, 80 meteotsunamis larger than one foot occur annually on all the Great Lakes, with these events occurring most frequently in spring, especially on Lake Michigan. [University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Engineering News]

CLIMATE FORCING

Entrainment of Alberta wildfire smoke plume into weather system seen from space -- A true color image obtained at the start of last week from data collected by the MODIS sensor on NASA's Aqua satellite shows a brown plume spiraling in a counterclockwise direction into a comma-shaped cloud mass. The brown plume on the otherwise white cloud shield was the smoke plume from Alberta's massive Fort McMurray wildfire and other fires in Saskatchewan and Manitoba being entrained into a low pressure system located in Canada's Northwest Territory. Researchers from NASA Goddard Space Flight Center are investigating the role of airborne smoke plumes and other aerosols have upon the absorption of solar radiation and their role in affecting climate. [NASA Earth Observatory]
A true color image made by the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) sensor onboard the NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP satellite within hours of the MODIS image shows a similar view of the smoke encircling the low-pressure feature in the Northwest Territories. [NOAA Environmental Visualization Laboratory]
Field study monitors annual methane emissions leaking from North Dakota's Bakken oil and gas field -- Scientists from NOAA and four research universities recently estimated 275,000 tons of methane leak from the Bakken oil and gas field in North Dakota and Montana each year from oil production activity. This estimate was less than what some satellites report and less than the latest Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) inventory made for petroleum systems. The research team based its estimates of the release of this potent greenhouse gas from airborne measurements made by an instrumented NOAA Twin Otter aircraft. [NOAA Office of Oceanic & Atmospheric Research News]
Massive El Niño event of 2015 fueled by leftover warm water in Pacific Ocean -- Researchers from NOAA's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory recently reported that easterly winds across the tropical Pacific Ocean helped stall a potent El Niño event in 2014, but left a pool of warm water in the central Pacific, which then helped create one of the strongest El Niño event on record in 2015 when a series of strong westerly wind bursts started in the Northern Hemisphere spring and continued through summer of 2015. [NOAA News]
Volcanic eruption on remote South Atlantic Ocean detected by satellite -- False color satellite images made from data collected by the Operational Land Imager (OLI) onboard the NASA/USGS Landsat 8 satellite in late April and early May show the eruption of Mount Sourabaya, a stratovolcano on the uninhabited Bristol Island that is located in the far South Atlantic Ocean between South America and Antarctica. The multiple wavelength bands permit viewing the hot lava in the volcano's caldera and the white plumes containing condensate and volcanic aerosols being carried away from the eruption. [NASA Earth Observatory]

CLIMATE FORECASTS

El Niño Advisory and La Niña Watch are continued -- Forecasters with NOAA's Climate Prediction Center (CPC) recently announced that they are continuing their El Niño Advisory for the current El Niño event due to positive sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies across most of the equatorial Pacific during April 2016, signifying warmer than average ocean waters. However, these SST anomalies have been decreasing in magnitude, although cool water with negative SST anomalies were being detected across sections of the eastern equatorial Pacific. The weakening of the El Niño event with the decline in SST anomalies have led forecasters to issue a La Niña watch as they envision a La Niña event developing during the Northern Hemisphere summer of 2016, with a a 75 percent chance of La Niña during fall and the 2016-17 winter. [NOAA Climate Prediction Center]
An ENSO blog was written by a CPC researcher describing the weakening of the El Niño event during the last several months after peaking last November. A cross-section of the equatorial Pacific is shown that shows a large layer of colder than average water extending from beneath the surface in the eastern sections of the Pacific to depths ranging between 100 to 200 meters below the surface. This large pool of cool water stretching across most of the equatorial Pacific suggests the possibility of a transition into a La Niña event in the next several months. Comparisons are made between El Niño and La Niña events are made. The worldwide climate impacts of a possible La Niña are also shown. [NOAA Climate.gov News]

CLIMATE AND SOCIETY

Earthweek -- Diary of the Planet [earthweek.com]

Historical Events:

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 1960...Salt Lake City, UT received an inch of snow, marking their latest measurable snowfall of record. (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)
19 May 1780...The infamous "dark day" in New England tradition occurred as noon was nearly as dark as night. Chickens went to roost, and many persons were fearful of divine wrath. Forest fires to the west of New England caused the phenomena. (David Ludlum)
19 May 1955...Lake Maloya, NM received 11.28 inches of rain in 24 hours to establish a state record. (The Weather Channel)
19 May 1962...An all-time May record was set when the temperature climbed to 99 degrees at Central Park in New York City. (Intellicast)
20 May 1996...Bridgeport, CT soared to 97 degrees for its highest temperature on record in May. (Intellicast)
21 May 1895...The temperature at Norwalk, OH dipped to 19 degrees to set a state record for the month of May. (The Weather Channel)
21 May 1896...The mercury soared to 124 degrees at Salton, CA to establish an U.S. record for May. (Sandra and TI Richard Sanders - 1987)
21 May 1980...The temperature at Williston, ND reached 102 degrees to set a record for May, and the next day the mercury hit 106 degrees. (The Weather Channel)
22 May 1876...Denver, CO was drenched with 6.53 inches of rain in 24 hours, an all-time record for that location. (The Weather Channel)
22 May 1911...The temperature at Lewiston, ME soared to 101 degrees, the highest temperature ever recorded in New England during the month of May. (David Ludlum)
22 May 1922...The United Kingdom recorded its hottest May day on record when the thermometer hit 91 degrees at Camden Square, London, England. (The Weather Doctor)
22 May 1980...The temperature at Winnipeg, Manitoba rose to 98.6 degrees, setting a record high for May. (The Weather Doctor)

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