WEEKLY CLIMATE NEWS

WEEK TWO: 6-10 February 2017

ITEMS OF INTEREST

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

California receives soaking rains and massive snowfall in January 2017 -- A NOAA meteorologist and climatologist recently wrote an article for the ClimateWatch Magazine describing the abundant precipitation that has fallen across the parched state of California during this past January, alleviating the extreme to exceptional drought conditions experienced by the Golden State over the last five years. In January, heavy rains in some areas caused flash flooding and mudslides, while heavy snowfall in the higher elevations of the Sierras and other northern mountains replenished the snowpack. The occurrence of multiple "atmospheric river" events during the month was responsible for the near record precipitation in many locations. The atmospheric rivers are narrow plumes of humid air and clouds that are transported from the tropical and subtropical Pacific onto the West Coast, with abundant precipitation falling where these rivers collide with the Western Cordillera. [NOAA Climate.gov News]
Researchers at the University of Colorado Boulder report that their analysis of data collected by satellite sensors and on-ground snow sensors indicates that the recent January storms have provided sufficient precipitation in the form of snow in the Sierras to recoup 37 percent of the state's five-year snow-water deficit. [Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research News]
(Editor's note: According to last week's US Drought Monitor, the areal extent of extreme to exceptional drought conditions across California had dropped from nearly 64 percent of the state one year ago to slightly less than 2 percent as of the end of January. EJH )

CLIMATE FORCING

Sources found for spring ozone peaks in US Southwest -- A research team from the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES), NOAA's Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, the Center for Satellite Applications and Research, Princeton University and the University of Nevada-Reno recently reported on their analysis of ozone data collected in the area around Las Vegas, NV in May 2013 during the Las Vegas Ozone Study (LVOS). The team found that the unhealthy high levels of ozone in the lower troposphere (near the Earth's surface) across the region appears to be due to a common springtime weather pattern with storms bringing ozone down from the stratosphere and from the pollution transported from Asia. [NOAA Office of Oceanic & Atmospheric Research News]
Orbiting satellite detects underwater eruption in South Pacific -- A coastal geologist from New Zealand's University of Auckland recently discovered an eruption from an underwater volcano in the islands that are part of the Tonga-Kermadec volcanic arc in the South Pacific Ocean when he viewed images obtained from the Operational Land Imager onboard NASA's Landsat 8 satellite. This volcano, which began erupting nearly two weeks ago, could be seen as a a turquoise colored plume of water. [NASA Earth Observatory]
Dust from Arctic coal mine is shown to reduce the snow surface's reflectivity of sunlight -- Scientists at the University of Colorado Boulder have shown that dark colored dust and black carbon released from an active coal mine in a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Sea reduced the albedo or reflectivity of the snow cover surface to incoming sunlight by as much as 84 percent. Such a reduction in the albedo should hasten the melting of the snow pack. This study may be used as a tool by policy makers to further assess the environmental impact of developing mines in the Arctic latitudes. [University of Colorado Boulder News]
Low atmospheric oxygen levels during the Proterozoic Eon delayed evolution -- Running simulations on a computer program that they developed, scientists at the United Kingdom's University of Exeter found that following the introduction of free oxygen into the Earth's atmosphere during the "Great Oxidation Event" approximately 2.4 billion years ago, oxygen levels remained low and did not reach modern levels for another 2 billion years near the end of the Proterozoic Eon (2.5 billion to 542 million years ago). Although the first oxygen-producing photosynthesis is believed to have evolved in the oceans approximately 2.7 billion years ago, multi-celled marine animals did not emerge until 600 million years ago, while the first land plants grew approximately 428 million years ago. [University of Exeter News]

CLIMATE FORECASTS

Canadian national seasonal outlook issued -- Forecasters with Environment Canada issued their outlooks for temperature and precipitation across Canada for February, March and April of 2017, which represent the remainder of meteorological winter (February) and the first two months of meteorological spring (March and April). Their temperature outlook indicates that a large section of Canada running from the Canadian Archipelago southward across Hudson Bay to the Great Lakes and eastward across the St. Lawrence Valley to the Maritime Provinces could experience above average or normal (1981-2010) temperatures for these three months. Coastal sections of Labrador could have below average temperatures. Elsewhere, temperatures should be close to average.
The Canadian precipitation outlook for February through April 2016 indicates that much of the nation could have average precipitation for the next three months. Several scattered areas across Canada could experience above average precipitation. The largest areas for wetter than average conditions would be along the US-Canadian border, primarily from British Columbia's Vancouver Island eastward to Saskatchewan and along the eastern Great Lakes and St. Lawrence into the Maritime Provinces. A few scattered areas in northern Canada, primarily centered over the Yukon and Northwest Territories were projected to have below normal precipitation.
[Note for comparisons and continuity with the three-month seasonal outlooks of temperature and precipitation generated for the continental United States and Alaska by NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, one would need to use Environment Canada's probabilistic forecasts for temperature and precipitation.]

PALEOCLIMATE RECONSTRUCTION

Changing climate may have driven Mississippian population decline in pre-Columbian times -- Researchers at the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis claim that their reconstruction and analysis of temperature and precipitation trends over the last 21,000 years in the Mississippi and Ohio Valleys indicate that rapidly changing climatic conditions across the region appears to have been responsible for the rapid disappearance of the Mississippian peoples, a vibrant Native American agrarian culture, approximately two centuries before European settlement of "the New World." The researchers used lake sediments as proxy indicators to reconstruct the past temperature and precipitation patterns that also gave an indication of drought. The conclusion was that a failure in the principal food source for the Mississippians beginning about 1300 was due to colder and drier conditions across the Mississippi and Ohio Valleys. [Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis News]
New theory advanced for explanation of Antarctic glaciation origin -- A team of researchers including those from Quebec's McGill University recently proposed an explanation for the rapid formation of ice sheets on the Antarctic continent at the boundary between the Eocene and Oligocene epochs, around 34 million years ago. Linking two previously held theories, their explanation involves the deepening of the Drake Passage between South America's Cape Horn and the South Shetland Islands of Antarctica, which helped shift ocean circulation patterns. This strengthening of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation led to increased precipitation and a reduction in atmospheric carbon dioxide. The reduction in atmospheric carbon dioxide would have resulted in the change the climate state in Antarctica from non-glacial to glacial. [McGill University News]

CLIMATE AND HUMAN HEALTH

Melting Greenland Ice Sheet could pose problems for Camp Century -- A recent study of the surface mass balance of the northwestern section of the Greenland Ice Sheet near the abandoned military base Camp Century indicates a sufficiently large loss of ice before the end of this century that would expose solid radioactive and toxic waste that had been buried under the base decades ago. [NASA Earth Observatory]

CLIMATE AND SOCIETY

Air pollution reduction program for Mexico City "chokes" -- A professor from the Haas School of Business at University of California Berkley recently reported that the steps undertaken by officials in Mexico City during the last decade to improve air quality by restricting the driving of motor vehicles do not appear to be working. Analyzing hourly air pollution data from 29 monitoring stations in the Mexico City metropolitan area from 2005 to 2012 and found that emission levels for several pollutant gases (carbon monoxide, nitric oxide, nitrogen dioxide, nitrogen oxide, ozone and sulfur dioxide) and particulates did not decrease as a result of Saturday driving restrictions imposed in 2008. [Haas School of Business - University of California Berkley News]
Earthweek -- Diary of the Planet [earthweek.com]

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 Centers for Environmental Information (formerly, 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:

6 February 1933...The temperature at Oimekon, Russia fell to 90 degrees (Fahrenheit), tying the previous lowest recorded temperature in Asia and the Northern Hemisphere 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 temperature at Verkhoyansk, Russia fell to a 90-degree below zero reading, tying the lowest temperature ever in the Northern Hemisphere reported at Verkhoyansk, Russia set two days earlier. This record was subsequently tied at Oimaykon, Russia on 6 February 1933. (The Weather Doctor) (National Weather Service files)
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)
9 February 1899...Norway House, Manitoba reported a temperature of 63 degrees below zero to set the province's record for lowest temperature. (The Weather Doctor)
9 February 1933...The temperature at Moran, WY, located next to Teton National Park, plunged to 63 degrees below zero to establish a state record. The temperature at the Riverside Ranger Station in Montana near West Yellowstone, MT dipped to 66 below zero to establish a record for the state, and a record for the nation, which stood until 1954. (David Ludlum)
9 February 1934...The mercury dipped to 51 degrees below zero at Vanderbilt to establish a record for the state of Michigan. The temperature at Stillwater Reservoir plunged to 52 degrees below zero to establish a record for the state of New York; this record was subsequently tied in February 1979. (David Ludlum) (NCDC)
10 February 1899...The record low temperature for the state of Ohio was set at Milligan when the mercury dipped to 39 degrees below zero. The record low temperature for Virginia was also set at Monterey with 29 degrees below zero; this record has been broken in January 1985. (Intellicast) (Sandra and TI Richard Sanders - 1987)
10 February 1933...The temperature at Seneca, OR fell to 54 degrees below zero, tying Oregon's statewide low temperature record set the previous day at Ukiah. (NCDC)
10 February 2011...The Oklahoma Mesonet weather station at Nowata recorded a temperature of 31 degrees below zero, which is the lowest reading in the Sooner State, breaking the previous statewide record low of 27 degrees below zero set at several stations in earlier years. By midafternoon, the temperature at Nowata increased by 53 Fahrenheit degrees to 22 degrees above zero. (Accord Weather Guide Calendar) (NCDC)
11 February 1895...Braemar (Grampian), Scotland reported a temperature of 17 degrees below zero, the lowest temperature ever measured in the United Kingdom. (The Weather Doctor)
11 February 1899...Perhaps the greatest of all arctic outbreaks commenced on this date. The record low temperature for Washington, DC was set when the temperature fell to 15 degrees below zero. (David Ludlum) (Intellicast)
11 February 1935...The temperature of 11 degrees below zero at Ifrane, Morocco was the lowest temperature ever in Africa. Ifrane is a ski resort town at an elevation of about 5400 feet in the Atlas Mountains. (The Weather Doctor)
11 February 1970...Mount Washington, NH, the highest point in New England, recorded 10.38 inches during a 24-hour span (10^th-11^th) to set a statewide 24-hour maximum precipitation record. (NCDC)
11 February 1999...Tahtsa Lake, located in the Whitesail Range of the Coast Mountains of British Columbia reported 57 inches of snow, which set a new 24-hour snowfall record for Canada, eclipsing the old record of 46.5 inches of snow that fell at Lakelse, BC on 17 January 1974. This former record replaced a 44.0 inch summertime snowfall on 29 June 1963 at Livingston Ranger Station, AB. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar) (The Weather Doctor)
12 February 1784...Ice flows were spotted in the Gulf of Mexico after passing from the Mississippi River in February 1784. Ice actually blocked the river at New Orleans, LA. This was only one of two times that this occurred, the other during the Great Arctic Outbreak of 1899. The eruption of Laki in Iceland from 8 June 1783 through 7 February 1784 is the likely cause for the severe winter of 1783 to 1784. (National Weather Service files)
12 February 1899...Texas and the eastern Great Plains experienced their coldest morning of modern record. The temperature at Camp Clarke, NE plunged to 47 degrees below zero to establish a record for the Cornhusker State; this record has been tied in December 1989. (David Ludlum)

Return to RealTime Climate Portal