WEEKLY CLIMATE NEWS

WEEKLY CLIMATE NEWS

WEEK FOUR: 17-21 February 2014

ITEMS OF INTEREST

Worldwide GLOBE at Night 2014 Campaign continues -- The second of a series of GLOBE at Night citizen-science campaigns for 2014 will begin this next Wednesday and run for 10 nights (19-28 February). GLOBE at Night is a worldwide, hands-on science and education program designed to encourage citizen-scientists worldwide to record the brightness of their night sky by matching the appearance of a constellation (Orion or Leo in the northern hemisphere, and Orion and Crux in the southern hemisphere) with seven star charts of progressively fainter stars. In addition to the 19-28 February campaign, the three additional GLOBE at Night campaigns are planned over the next three months of 2014: 21-30 March; 20-29 April and 19-28 May. [GLOBE at Night]
"ClimateChangeLive" distance learning adventure webinar scheduled for this week -- The seventh and last in a series of seven webinars will be available between 7:30 and 9:00 PM this coming Wednesday, 19 February 2014. The series of webinars is designed to raise awareness and understanding of climate change science and is aligned to national science education standards. The collection of science-based, climate education resources and programs have been gathered from at least 19 federal agency and NGO partners that include the US Forest Service, NOAA, the US Fish and Wildlife Service. The sixth webinar scheduled for this Wednesday is "GreenWorks! Action Grants for ClimateChangeLIVE Participants." Check http://climatechangelive.org/ for registration details.
Winter Olympics weather and climatology -- The 2014 Winter Olympics ( officially the XXII Olympic Winter Games) will continue through next Sunday (23 February) in the Russian city of Sochi were indoor sports and the closing ceremony are scheduled and at the nearby Rosa Khutar ski resort in the Western Caucasus Mountains where alpine Olympic events are held.
Monthly average temperature and precipitation data for Sochi, Russia are available.
Monitoring degree-day units -- If you would like to monitor how this upcoming winter will affect the amount of energy that you will need for heating your home, please read this week's Supplemental Information...In Greater Depth. You will see how heating degree-day units are computed, as well as the corresponding cooling-degree day units. This supplemental also provides links to tabulations of the cumulative heating and cooling degree-day units that are available on a monthly basis for selected cities across the country.

CURRENT CLIMATE STATUS

Review of national weather and climate for January 2014 -- Using preliminary data collected from the national network of surface weather stations, scientists at NOAA's National Climatic Data Center have determined that the nationwide average temperature for the coterminous United States for the month of January 2014 was 0.1 Fahrenheit degrees below the 20th century (1901-2000) average. This temperature makes the recently completed month the 53rd coldest January since comprehensive national climate records began since 1895. Most of the eastern half of the nation had below to much below average January temperatures. Nine states (Alabama, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi Ohio, Tennessee and West Virginia) reported statewide January temperatures that were in the lowest 10 for the 120-year period of record. Conversely, temperatures across the western third of the country were above to much above average. The January statewide average temperatures for Arizona, California and Nevada were in the top 10 highest on record since 1895. Furthermore, Alaska's statewide average temperature for January 2014 was the third highest for a 96-year period of record dating back to 1918.
The scientists also found that last month was drier than average, as nationwide averaged January precipitation was 0.90 inches below the 20th century average, making January 2014 the fifth-driest January in 120 years and the driest since 2003. Most of the West and the South experienced below to much below 20th-century average precipitation. New Mexico reported its driest January on record with only 0.03 inches of precipitation. In addition, seven other states (Alabama, Arizona, California, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Oregon and Texas) had statewide precipitation that ranked in the ten lowest since 1895. January 2014 was the eighth-wettest January on record for Alaska since 1918.
The January snow cover across the coterminous United States was the 16th smallest in the 48-year period of record according to the Rutgers Global Snow Lab. Although the Northeast, the Midwest and the northern Plains experienced above average snow cover in January, most of the West and the southern Rockies had below to much below-average snow cover for the month. [State of the Climate/NCDC]
NOTE: A description is provided of the climatological rankings employed by NCDC for their monthly and seasonal maps. [NOAA/NCDC]
January national drought report -- The National Climate Data Center has posted its January 2014 drought report online. Using the Palmer Drought Severity Index, approximately 12 percent of the coterminous United States experienced severe to extreme drought conditions at the end of January, while 12 percent of the area had severely to extremely wet conditions.

CURRENT CLIMATE MONITORING

First mission of the 2014 Airborne Tropical Tropopause Experiment (ATTREX) completed -- One of NASA's two Global Hawk unmanned aircraft completed a 17.5 hour science from the Andersen Air Force Base on the island of Guam as part of the 2014 Airborne Tropical Tropopause Experiment (ATTREX). This instrumented aircraft was collecting atmospheric data in-situ as part of the ATTREX objectives that include sampling the vertical distribution of the Western Pacific tropical tropopause layer trace gases, water vapor and clouds. ATTREX is designed to track changes in the upper atmosphere and help researchers understand how these changes affect Earth's climate. [NASA Dryden Flight Research Center]
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

Indonesian volcanic eruption seen by polar orbiting satellite -- A false-color image generated from data collected by the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) infrared sensors on the NOAA/NASA Suomi NPP satellite last Thursday shows an ash cloud rising from the Mount Kelud volcano on the Indonesian island of Java. This eruption, which occurred several hours before the image was produced, had produced an ash cloud that rose to an altitude of 10 miles in the atmosphere and was beginning to move toward the southwest across the Indian Ocean. Over 75,000 people were evacuated from the region around the volcano and air travel in the region was also impacted. [NOAA Environmental Visualization Laboratory]
Within an hour, the CALIOP lidar instrument on NASA's CALIPSO (Cloud-Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observation) satellite created a vertical profile of clouds and particles in the atmosphere above the volcano. In addition to impacting the local weather, material ejected from some of these volcanoes can affect the planetary climate. [NASA Earth Observatory]
Satellite detects winter haze across Bangladesh -- An image made from data collected by the MODIS image on NASA's Terra satellite in early February shows a relatively thick haze layer across the South Asian nation of Bangladesh. The air over this region typically has a large aerosol loading during the low sun season (winter) due to biomass burning for cooking and heating along with contributions from industry, vehicles and wind borne dust. These aerosols, which contain numerous airborne solid and liquid particles, scatter solar radiation and diminish sunlight at the surface. [NASA Earth Observatory]

CLIMATE AND THE BIOSPHERE

Vegetation across California stressed by current drought -- A composite image of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) generated by data collected by the MODIS sensors onboard NASA's Aqua and Terra satellites during the second half of January 2014 shows the plant health across California as compared with long-term average conditions, expressed in terms of a vegetation anomaly. This image shows that most of the plantscape across California has been stressed because of the current drought and the lack of a snowpack across the Sierras. [NASA Earth Observatory]
Arctic marine mammals claimed to be ecosystem sentinels -- A NOAA oceanographer who is a member of a panel of US and Canadian scientists on the health of marine mammals and indigenous people in the Arctic recently warned that the responses of marine mammals to increased temperatures and storms across the Arctic along with dramatic decreases in seasonal sea ice can provide clues as to how the ecosystem is responding to these physical drivers. [NOAA Fisheries Newsroom]

CLIMATE AND HUMAN HEALTH

Hypertension risk in pregnant women is increased by air pollution -- Comparing birth data with estimates of air pollution provided by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), researchers at the University of Florida have concluded that heavy exposure to four air pollutants can lead to a significantly increased risk for pregnant women of developing hypertension, or high blood pressure disorders that include gestational hypertension, preeclampsia and the deadly eclampsia. These pollutants include two specific types of fine and coarse particulate matter, carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide. [University of Florida Health]
Rate of hypothermia deaths higher in South Australia than in Sweden -- Researchers at Australia's University of Adelaide compared the numbers of hypothermia deaths from extreme cold in both South Australia and Sweden for the years 2006 through 2011 and found that South Australia had a rate of 3.9 deaths for every 100,000 people, compared with Sweden's 3.3 deaths per 100,000. Apparently, the elderly and the socially isolated in South Australia are more vulnerable to the cold than those in Sweden. Differences in space heating and insulation between these two widely separated regions may be an important factor in the differences. [University of Adelaide News]

PALEOCLIMATE RECONSTRUCTION

Recent decades in Tibet have been wettest in nearly four millennia -- Climate researchers at the United Kingdom's University of East Anglia and the Chinese Academy of Sciences recently reported that the last 50 years may have been the wettest in 3500 years across northeast Tibet, based upon a long-term time series of annual precipitation estimated from a 3500-year-long tree ring record. The researchers think that the increased precipitation in this arid climate may be associated with increased global air temperatures during the last century. [University of East Anglia]

CLIMATE AND SOCIETY

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

Concept of the Week: Climate and Architecture

Humans have been constructing houses and other buildings for thousands of years not only to protect themselves from the weather and other environmental factors, but also to create a comfortable indoor environment that would exhibit energy efficiency, especially in harsh climates. For centuries, natural or primitive housing reflected an adaptation to the climate of the locale and the availability of local building materials.

In order to maintain a tolerable level of comfort within a building, attention must be paid to thermal effects, ventilation, illumination and atmospheric humidity.

The indoor thermal state ultimately depends upon the building's energy budget involving incoming and outgoing radiation, latent and sensible heat loss and by interior heat sources or sinks. The indoor thermal level is mainly associated with the external energy load on the building. The external energy load on the building depends upon the latitude of the building, season of the year and time of day.

In tropical latitudes and during midday hours in summer, the sun's path across the local sky increases the solar radiation incident upon the roof and walls of the building. In polar latitudes, or during the winter or the amount of available sunlight is significantly lower, with the loss of infrared radiation causing a net cooling from the building. Changes in the color of the roof and the outer walls can affect the amount of incoming sunlight absorbed. Building orientation and the effective use of overhangs can also affect the amount of sunlight absorbed. Furthermore, the amount of insulation, often related to the thickness of the walls, reduces the conduction of heat into or out of the building. Thick adobe walls have been used effectively in the Southwest to moderate indoor temperature. These walls reduce the heat flow into the building during the daytime and in summer and out from the building at night or during winter.

The size and placement of windows also affects the energy balance. Large windows on the side of the building facing the sun's path tend to permit large amounts of sunlight to penetrate into the building. However, large windows on the side facing away from the sun can cause for heat loss due to conduction, as many types of windowpanes are not energy efficient.

Effective landscaping can reduce energy demands upon a dwelling: Deciduous trees planted on the south and west sides of the home provide cooling shade during the summer, keeping sunlight from entering the windows. These trees will lose their foliage in fall and allow the sun to shine through in winter, and warm south facing rooms. Evergreen trees or dense shrubbery on the north side can serve as a windbreak, which reduce the cold northerly winds from striking the house in winter.

Energy losses from buildings during the upcoming winter in northern latitudes can be seen readily by how quickly snow melts from roofs and by how big the icicles form. Heat losses from buildings occur with larger negative energy budgets, which are reflected also in higher heating bills during the winter season. However, the heating bills also depend upon the severity of the winter season that can be ascertained from the number of accumulated heating degree-day units. Check this week's Supplemental Information...In Greater Depth for how you can monitor the number of heating degree-day units to date in your state for this coming heating season.

Concept of the Week: Questions

Place your responses on the Chapter Progress Response Form provided in the Study Guide.

The thicker the outdoor walls, the [(greater),(less)] the heat flow into or out of a building.
Planting [(evergreen),(deciduous)] vegetation on the south side of a home in New England will help reduce winter heating and summer cooling bills.

Historical Events:

17 February 1748...The temperature at Charleston, SC fell to 10 degrees, the lowest temperature ever recorded in the Colonial South. (The Weather Doctor)
17 February 1926...A deadly avalanche, Utah's worst, demolished 14 miner's cottages and a three-story boarding house in Binham Canyon. Thirty-six are killed and 13 injured. (The Weather Doctor)
17 February 1936...The temperature at McIntosh, SD plunged to 58 degrees below zero to establish a state record low temperature. (David Ludlum)
17 February 1974...Lakelse Lake, British Columbia received 46.5 inches of snow over 24 hours, Canada's greatest 24-hour snowfall on record that stood for nearly one quarter of a century until 57 inches fell in 24 hours at Tahtsa Lake, British Columbia on 11 February 1999. (The Weather Doctor)
17-18 February 2003...The President's Day snowstorm set a new Boston, MA record for the greatest snowstorm total snowfall: a total of 27.5 inches. (The Weather Doctor)
18 February 1899...While much of the central and eastern U.S. was recovering from the most severe cold wave of modern history, the temperature at San Francisco, CA soared to 80 degrees to establish a record for month of February. (David Ludlum)
18 February 1959...Some of the higher elevations of California were in the midst of a five-day storm that produced 189 inches of snow, a single storm record for North America. (13^th-19^th) (David Ludlum)
18 February 1966...The temperature at Winnipeg, Manitoba dropped to 49 degrees below zero, the city's lowest recorded temperature. (The Weather Doctor)
18 February 1979...The record low temperature for the state of New York was set at Old Forge when the temperature plummeted to 52 degrees below zero. (Intellicast)
18 February 1996...Cuba's coldest morning on record occurred when the temperature at Bainoa, Cuba dropped to 33 degrees. (The Weather Doctor)
19 February 1998...The temperature at Mardie, Western Australia reached 122.9 degrees, the second highest temperature ever recorded in Australia. (The Weather Doctor)
20 February 1974...The mean wind speed at Bonilla Island, British Columbia was 89 mph, the highest sustained speed on record in British Columbia. (The Weather Doctor)
20 February 1995...The temperature at the Civic Center in Los Angeles, CA hit 95 degrees for the highest temperature ever recorded for the month of February. (Intellicast)
21 February 1918...A spectacular chinook wind at Granville, ND caused the temperature to spurt from a morning low of 33 degrees below zero to an afternoon high of 50 degrees above zero, representing a rise of 83 Fahrenheit degrees. (David Ludlum)
21 February 1971...Elk City, OK was buried under 36 inches of snow to establish a 24-hour snowfall record for the Sooner State. (David Ludlum)
21 February 1996...Very hot weather for the time of year prevailed across South Texas. All-time February high temperatures were set at Del Rio (103 degrees), San Antonio (100 degrees), Austin and College Station (99 degrees), and Waco (96 degrees). (Intellicast)
22 February 1936...Although heat and dust prevailed in the spring and summer, early 1936 brought record cold to parts of the U.S. Sioux Center, IA reported 42 inches of snow on the ground, a state record. (20^th-22^nd) (The Weather Channel)
22 February 1996...Record heat continued over the south-central states. All-time February high temperatures were set at San Angelo, TX (97 degrees), Wichita Falls, TX (93 degrees), Oklahoma City, OK (92 degrees), and Wichita, KS (87 degrees). (Intellicast)
23 February 1998...Otis, OR recorded its 79 straight day of rain, the longest in the contiguous US. The streak began on 7 December 1997 (The Weather Doctor)

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