WEEKLY CLIMATE NEWS

WEEK TWO: 2-6 February 2015

ITEMS OF INTEREST

Groundhog Day and climatology -- This Monday (2 February 2015) is Groundhog Day, celebrated by many communities around the nation with much fanfare. According to legend, if the groundhog emerged from its burrow after hibernation on this day and saw its shadow, it would return to hibernation, thereby indicating six more weeks of wintry weather. Most people assume that a converse holds true - if no shadow were seen, an early spring should be expected. According to a Groundhog Day report prepared by the National Climatic Data Center, no convincing statistical evidence appears to support this belief of the prognostic capabilities of the groundhog. The only point that can be considered to have any meteorological significance is that cloud free weather conditions would be responsible for allowing a woodchuck or human to cast a shadow. Such cloud-free weather conditions in early February typically are associated with a cold mass of air that would usually send all but the hardiest resident back into a nice warm shelter. This legend also coincides with an ancient late winter festival, since next Sunday is the customary halfway point of the astronomical winter season (the point is closer to early Wednesday, 4 February 2015. To the ancients, this date was significant because it was one of the four Cross Quarter Days, marking an important astronomical milestone. The day is located essentially at the point half way between the winter solstice, marking the occurrence of the shortest length of daylight in the Northern Hemisphere (21 December 2014) and the spring equinox (20 March 2015), when equal lengths of daylight and darkness occur once again. So regardless of what your local groundhog "predicts" the beginning of astronomical spring is still six weeks away.
High-quality maps of February temperature and precipitation normals across US available -- The PRISM Climate Group at Oregon State University's website has prepared high-resolution maps depicting the normal maximum, minimum and precipitation totals for February and other months across the 48 coterminous United States for the current 1981-2010 climate normals interval. These maps, with a 800-meter resolution, were produced using the PRISM (Parameter-elevation Regressions on Independent Slopes Model) climate mapping system.
February weather calendar for a city near you -- The Midwestern Regional Climate Center maintains an interactive website that permits the public to produce a ready to print weather calendar for any given month of the year, such as February, at any of approximately 270 weather stations around the nation. (These stations are NOAA's ThreadEx stations.) The entries for each day of the month includes: Normal maximum temperature, normal minimum temperature, normal daily heating and cooling degree days, normal daily precipitation, record maximum temperature, record minimum temperature, and record daily precipitation; the current normals for 1981-2010.
One for the record books -- If you would like more background information concerning how various temperature and precipitation extremes are identified as record events from a station's climate record, please read this week's Supplemental Information...In Greater Depth.

CURRENT CLIMATE MONITORING

Soil moisture mapping satellite successfully launched -- During the predawn hours of Saturday, 31 January 2015, NASA successfully launched into a 411- by 425-mile orbit the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) observatory from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base. SMAP represents the first Earth satellite designed to collect global observations of the vital soil moisture just below the Earth's surface. The satellite contains combined radar and radiometer instruments that will be able to measure the water within the top two inches of soil, through clouds and moderate vegetation cover, day and night. These data will be used to produce high-resolution and accurate soil moisture maps from around the globe. The scheduled 3-year mission is intended to improve climate and weather forecasts and allow scientists to monitor droughts and better predict flooding caused by severe rainfall or snowmelt. [NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory News] Additional background information is available on how SMAP may help improve weather forecasts and increase understanding of the planet's water, energy and carbon cycles.
Early snowfall measurements placed under scrutiny -- A National Weather Service weather observer and a hydrometeorological instructor in COMET program at UCAR (University Corporation for Atmospheric Research) describes the subtle changes in the way snowfall has been measured across the nation since the late 19th century by the National Weather Service (and its predecessors) and the Cooperative Observer Network. He ponders how these changes may have affected the long-term snowfall records. Specifically, current snowfall measurement techniques may have resulted in higher snowfall totals in the pre 1990 era. [NCAR?UCAR AtmosNews]
Comparing last week's Northeast snowstorm with the historical record -- Scientists at NOAA's National Climate Data Center (NCDC) have applied the Regional Snowfall Index (RSI) to assess the ranking of last week's massive coastal snowstorm that hit the Northeast in terms of its historical perspective. This NCDC Regional Snowfall Index is a five-category numeric score used to rank significant snowstorms that impact the eastern two thirds of the United States. At least 500 major snowstorms that tracked across this area since 1900 were analyzed and used to develop the index. This RSI, with category 1 defined as "notable" and 5 as "extreme" is based upon a formula that considers the total area affected by snowfall of different depths, the number of people who live in those areas, and how common a given amount of snow is for a particular location. For comparison, NCDC has ranked the February 1969 Nor'easter and the 1993 "Storm of the Century" as Category 5 snowstorms. As of this writing, last week's storm has not been given a RSI rating. [NOAA Climate.gov News]
Previewing the next-generation of geosynchronous environmental satellites -- Scientists and engineers from NASA and NOAA are currently preparing for the scheduled March 2016 launch of the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites - R Series (GOES-R), which represents the nation's next generation of geosynchronous (or geostationary) satellite systems dedicated to Earth-observing. Several new or improved features that will be placed on this new series to help improve weather and climate monitoring and forecasting include a lightning mapper that will be able to detect total lightning (in-cloud and cloud-to-ground) across North and South America; higher resolution visible and infrared imagery; better solar imaging and space weather monitoring. [NOAA National Weather Service Forecast Office Milwaukee/Sullivan]
Heat waves have amplified in globe's urban areas -- Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar, Northeastern University and the University of Washington have found that prolonged intervals of extreme heat have increased significantly in nearly half of the 217 urban areas that were studied worldwide over the 40-year span between 1973 and 2012. They also noted that this trend has grown faster in urban areas that in less-populated areas, while only two percent of the urban areas experienced a reduction in frequency of heat waves. In addition, four of the five years with the the largest number of heat waves were the within the most recent decade: 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012. [University of California Los Angeles Newsroom]

CLIMATE AND THE BIOSPHERE

Satellites can spot California fields idled by record drought -- A team if researchers from the California State University, Monterey Bay, the US Geological Survey (USGS). Melton and other institutions have produced high-resolution images showing those agricultural areas across the Central Valley of California that were left fallow during the record drought that has gripped the Golden State over the last year. They created their maps from data collected from the NASA/USGS Landsat series (Landsat 5, 7 and 8) and from the MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) sensors onboard NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites. Monthly ground surveys of crops and water utilization were made to provide "ground-truth." The maps revealed changes in crop cultivation and idle agricultural lands in California between August 2011 and August 2014. The researchers were also testing an approach for measuring crop water requirements from the data collected from the satellite-borne sensors. Ultimately, this new method could improve irrigation efficiency that would maximize the benefits of available agricultural water supplies. [NASA Earth Observatory]

CLIMATE MODELING

Increased global topographic data made available for climate change research -- The IS Geological Survey (USGS) recently made available to the public an enhanced topographic (or elevation) dataset for most of (India, China, southern Siberia, Japan, Indonesia), Oceania (Australia, New Zealand) and western Pacific Islands. This dataset is the third of four releases that USGS is releasing to provide the public users high resolution data that can be used in climate change research. Previous releases have been datasets for most of Africa and for the western Hemisphere. The more detailed elevation data across the globe has been obtained in part from the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM) [USGS Newsroom]

CLIMATE AND SOCIETY

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

REPORTS FROM THE FIELD --

A request: If you have some climate-related experience that you would like to share with other DataStreme Earth's Climate System participants, please send them to the email address appearing at the bottom of this document for possible inclusion in a News file. Thank you. EJH

Concept of the Week: Start of the Growing Season

As we approach meteorological spring, the increases in daylength and air temperature across many areas of the nation make backyard gardeners as well as farmers contemplate the start of the growing season. For many crops, the soil has to be tilled and prepared for planting before the growing season really commences. Soil temperatures and moisture levels often influence when fieldwork can start.

The term growing season depends upon the plant species, as well as the climate of the locale, meaning that several ways can be used to define the growing season. In most mid latitude climates, the growing season is often used synonymously with the frost-free season, loosely defined as the length of time between the last killing frost in spring and the first killing frost in the autumn. The National Climatic Data Center has produced climatological tables that identify those median dates (a 50 percent occurrence) during spring and fall when the temperature at a station falls to 36, 32, 28, 24 or 20 degrees Fahrenheit for the last time in spring or the first time in autumn. While the exact time span that a plant survives would vary by plant type, the growing season for climatological purposes is often related to the interval when the daily minimum temperature remains above 32 degrees.

Across the continental U.S. the typical lengths of the frost free regions range from about 120 days along the Canadian border to about 220 days in Oklahoma and north Texas and over 320 days in southern sections of Florida and California. Mountainous areas provide a complex pattern, with some higher elevations having lengths that are less than 100 days. By accessing the NOWData (NOAA Online Weather Data) feature on the Climate page of your local National Weather Service, you can find the "first/last dates" for various climate reporting stations around your area.

Many crops, especially vegetables and fruits, are sensitive to relatively low air temperatures. In spring, when many crops are emerging and in various stages of development they are more vulnerable to air temperatures near 32 degrees Fahrenheit. But by fall, many of these plants have become hardy. Generally speaking, a spring killing frost would occur when the plant has become well emerged and the temperature around the plant would fall to a point that would kill most tender vegetation. Sometimes, other terminology is used.

Concept of the Week: Questions

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

Many emerging crops would succumb if the spring air temperatures fell to [(36),(33),(28)] degrees.
The frost-free season in states bordering Canada would probably be about [(60),(90),(120)] days.

Historical Events:

2 February 1951...The record low temperature for the state of Indiana was set at Greensburg when the mercury fell to 35 degrees below zero; this record was broken in January, 1994. (Intellicast)
2 February 1952...The only tropical storm of record to hit the U.S. in February moved out of the Gulf of Mexico and a cross southern Florida. It produced 60-mph winds, and two to four inches of rain. (2nd-3rd) (The Weather Channel)
2 February 1996...Extremely cold air covered the north-central U.S. Tower, MN dropped to 60 degrees below zero to set a new state low temperature record. International Falls, MN and Glasgow, MT both set records for the month of February with 45 and 38 below zero, respectively. Rochester, MN dipped to 34 below zero for its lowest temperature in 45 years. Green Bay, WI only reached 16 degrees below zero for the high temperature for the day, which is its lowest high temperature on record in February. Meanwhile, farther to the east, heavy snow fell across the mid-Atlantic region. Eighteen inches of snow was recorded at Rehoboth Beach, DE and 17 inches fell at Solomons, MD. Charleston, WV recorded 6.8 inches of snow for the day to bring its seasonal snowfall to 80.7 inches, the city's snowiest winter ever -- and still two months of winter to go! (Intellicast)
3 February 1917...Downtown Miami, FL reported an all-time record low of 27 degrees. Miami weather records date to 1911. (David Ludlum)
3 February 1947...The temperature at Tanacross, AK plunged to a record 75 degrees below zero. (David Ludlum) At Snag, Yukon Territory, the temperature fell to 81 degrees below zero, North America's lowest recorded official temperature (The Weather Doctor)
3 February 1996...Extremely cold weather persisted. Des Moines, IA dipped to 26 degrees below zero to tie its February low and broke its record for most consecutive hours below zero, which ended up being 132 hours. Milwaukee, WI also tied its record for lowest February temperature with 26 degrees below zero. The temperature at Tower, MN fell to 60 degrees below zero to set a new all-time state minimum temperature record for the Gopher State. The state record low was also tied in Iowa with Elkader reporting a frigid 47 below zero. Elizabeth, IL recorded 35 degrees below to tie the state lowest temperature record; this record has since been broken in January 1999. (Intellicast) (NCDC)
3 February 1997...Centralia, WA set the state record for consecutive days of measurable precipitation at 55 between 10 November 1996 and 3 February 1997. (The Weather Doctor)
4 February 1996...Frigid temperatures continued over the northern US and spread southward to the Gulf Coast. A cooperative observer near Couderay, WI reported a temperature of 55 degrees below zero, which set a new record low for the Badger State. This reading is also the lowest temperature ever recorded east of the Mississippi River. Amasa, MI checked in with 51 degrees below zero, which tied the record low for Michigan. Tulsa, OK had a morning low of 11 degrees below zero for its lowest temperature in 66 years. Muskegon, MI recorded an all-time low of 19 degrees below zero. La Crosse, WI completed it longest stretch of subzero temperatures ever (144 hours). The center of the frigid arctic high-pressure system moved over Louisiana, setting an all-time record high barometric pressure of 30.82 inches (1043.6 millibars) at Baton Rouge. (Intellicast)
5 February 1887...San Francisco, CA experienced its greatest snowstorm of record. Nearly four (3.7) inches were reported in downtown San Francisco, and the western hills of the city received seven inches. Excited crowds went on a snowball-throwing rampage. (David Ludlum)
5 February 1996...The "great arctic outbreak of '96" began to wind down, but not before one more frigid morning. Greene, RI reported a state record low temperature of 25 degrees below zero. (Intellicast)
6 February 1933...The temperature at Oimekon, Russia fell to 90 degrees (Fahrenheit), tying the previous lowest recorded temperature in Asia set in 1892. (The Weather Doctor)
6 February 1933...The highest reliably observed ocean wave was seen by crew of the US Navy oiler, USS Ramapo, in the North Pacific during the night on its way from Manila to San Diego. The wave was estimated (by triangulation) to have a height of 112 feet. Average winds at the time were 78 mph. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
6 February 1978...A massive nor'easter buried the cities of the northeastern U.S. The Boston, MA area received 25 to 30 inches in "The Great New England Blizzard of '78" By the time the storm ended late on the 7th, Boston had 27.1 inches of new snow to set an all-time single storm snowfall record. (David Ludlum) (Intellicast)
7 February 1892...The lowest temperature ever recorded to that time in Asia was reported from Verkhoyansk, Russia with a 90-degree below zero reading. This record was subsequently tied in 1933. (The Weather Doctor)
7 February 1989...The low of 43 degrees below zero at Boca, CA was a state record for the month of February. In Utah, lows of -32 degrees at Bryce Canyon, -27 degrees at Delta, -29 degrees at Dugway, and -38 degrees at Vernal were all-time records for those locations. (The National Weather Summary)
8 February 1933...The record low temperature for the state of Texas was set at Seminole when the mercury dropped to 23 degrees below zero. (Intellicast)
8 February 1936...The temperature at Denver, CO plunged to its all-time record low temperature of 30 degrees below zero. (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)

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