WEEKLY CLIMATE NEWS

10-14 August 2015

DataStreme Earth's Climate System will return for Fall 2015 with new Investigations files starting during Preview Week, Monday, 24 August 2015. All the current online website products will continue to be available throughout the summer break period.

ITEMS OF INTEREST

The "Dog Days" officially end on 11 August, having begun the third day in July. Superstition has it that dogs tend to become mad during that time of the year. (The Weather Channel)
A Nighttime Show -- The annual Perseid meteor shower should peak in the predawn hours of Wednesday (12 August 2015) and Thursday mornings. The Perseids, which are associated with the some bits of Comet Swift-Tuttle, are noted for being fast and bright, and often leave persistent trains. Typically, the Perseids are usually very active for several days before and after the peaks, often producing 30 to 60 meteors per hour. This year, up to 100 meteors per hour are anticipated.
The illumination from the waning crescent moon could interfere with viewing the Perseids. If the skies are clear in your area, go to a region that has few lights and look up and to the northeast during the early morning hours.
Starting at 11:00 PM EDT on 12 August and running into the early morning hours of the 13th, astronomer Bill Cooke and his team from Meteoroid Environment Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center will answer your questions via a live web chat. A live Ustream view of the skies over Marshall Space Flight Center will also be offered, weather permitting, beginning at 9:00 PM EDT. [NASA]
Worldwide GLOBE at Night 2015 Campaign continues -- The eighth in the series of GLOBE at Night citizen-science campaigns for 2015 continues as a 10-night campaign that runs through Friday 14 August. 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 (Cygnus in the Northern Hemisphere and Sagittarius in the Southern Hemisphere) with the seven magnitude/star charts of progressively fainter stars. Activity guides are also available. The GLOBE at night program is intended to raise public awareness of the impact of light pollution. The next GLOBE at Night campaign will be on 3-12 September. [GLOBE at Night]

CURRENT CLIMATE MONITORING

Sizeable carbon sink -- A recent study reported in Geophysical Research Letters suggests that a major portion of the carbon on land that was not accounted for may in fact be held in subsurface desert water. Atmospheric carbon dioxide is taken up by plant roots and delivered to groundwater that is well below the surface. Desert irrigation is often very water intensive to prevent the accumulation of salts in the soil thus draining deep into aquifers. [AGU News]

CLIMATE FORECASTS

Hurricane season outlooks are updated -- With the typical peak in the annual Atlantic hurricane season expected in approximately four weeks, updated hurricane season outlooks were issued within the last week by two groups of long-range forecasters. These outlooks follow the occurrence of three tropical storms (Ana, Bill and Claudette) in the North Atlantic basin (that includes the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico) by the second week of August :

Updated Colorado State hurricane forecast for 2015 -- The hurricane forecasters at Colorado State University, including Philip Klotzbach and William Gray, issued their updated August forecast for the 2015 Atlantic hurricane season. Their "Forecast of Atlantic Seasonal Hurricane Activity and Landfall Strike Probability for 2015" calls for the remainder of the season to have below-average tropical cyclone activity, as a moderate to strong El Niño event was underway and sea surface temperatures across the "Atlantic Main Development Region" were lower than normal as of late July. The forecasters foresee the total number of named tropical cyclones (maximum sustained surface winds of 39 mph or higher) for the entire season would be eight, with two hurricanes (maximum sustained surface winds greater than 73 mph) forming in the Atlantic basin. The forecasters also anticipated one major hurricane (category 3 or higher on the Saffir-Simpson Scale, with winds of at least 111 mph). Furthermore, they also anticipate much below-average probability of major hurricane landfalls along the coasts of the continental United States and the islands in the Caribbean. [The Tropical Storm Project]
Updated 2015 NOAA hurricane outlook -- Forecasters at NOAA's Climate Prediction Center(CPC) issued their updated North Atlantic Hurricane Season Outlook, which calls for a 90 percent chance of below-normal season for named tropical cyclones across the North Atlantic basin and a 10-percent chance of a near-normal season. Specifically, the outlook calls for a 70-percent chance that the basin could experience six to ten named tropical cyclones (hurricanes and tropical storms with sustained surface winds of at least 39 mph). The forecasters also foresee that one to four tropical cyclones could become hurricanes (maximum sustained winds of 74 mph or higher). Perhaps none or only one of these hurricanes could become a major hurricane (Category 3 hurricanes or greater on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Intensity Scale). (For reference, the 30-year seasonal averages for the North Atlantic basin include 12 named storms, six hurricanes and three major hurricanes.)
The forecasters claim that the reduced tropical cyclone activity across the Atlantic basin is due to the presence of an enhanced El Niño event that should continue through the hurricane season. In addition, near average sea surface temperatures found across the tropical Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea should limit hurricane activity and strong vertical wind shear has developed that would weaken storm development. This was the highest confidence given by NOAA to any hurricane outlook since they began in 1998. [NOAA News]

CLIMATE FORCING

Fire or Rain? -- A new study shows that agricultural fires in North Africa reduce the region's rainfall during the dry season, in a longstanding example of humans unintentionally modifying weather and regional climate. The study is the first to use satellite observations to answer the question of how smoke from these fires affects rainfall. [NASA JPL News]
Ancient volcanic eruptions could have altered climate -- A simulation of flood-basalt volcanic eruptions suggest these relatively long-lived eruptions would provide extensive aerosol and gas inputs to the atmosphere creating climate changes. [NASA JPL News]

CLIMATE AND SOCIETY

Billion-Dollar weather/climate disasters across US in 2014 -- Researchers at NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (formerly the National Climatic Data Center) released an updated version of its "US 2014 Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters." According to their analysis, eight weather and climate disasters occurred across the nation during the calendar year of 2014 that resulted in losses that each exceeded $1 billion. The eight disasters included one drought event, a flooding event, five severe storm events and one winter storm event. Furthermore, these events resulted in the deaths of 53 people. [NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information]
Earthweek -- Diary of the Planet [earthweek.com] Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Historical Events:

10 August 1898...The temperature at Pendleton, OR climbed all the way to 119 degrees to tie the state record set two weeks previously at Prineville. (The Weather Channel)
10 August 1936...The temperature soared to 114 degrees at Plain Dealing, LA, and reached 120 degrees at Ozark, AR, to establish record highs for those two states. (The Weather Channel)
10 August 1988... The temperature reached 102 degrees at Ely, NV breaking the all-time record there. (Intellicast)
10 August 2003...A heat wave continued across the British Isles. At Gravesend in southern England, a new national heat record was set as the mercury soared to 100.58 degrees. The heat forced rail service officials across Britain to limit train speeds to 60 mph because of fears the tracks could buckle. Londoners experience their hottest recorded day in the London's history when the temperature hit 100.22 degrees, which was the first ever time that the temperature went over 100 degrees at Heathrow Airport. (The Weather Doctor)
11 August 1914...The temperature at Northwest River, Labrador soared to an all-time Labrador record high of 107 degrees. (The Weather Doctor)
11 August 1933...The unofficial shade temperature at San Luis, Mexico reached 58 degrees Celsius (136.4 degrees Fahrenheit), for share of the world record with Aziziyah, Libya. (The Weather Doctor)
11 August 1944...The temperature at Burlington, VT soared to an all-time record high of 101 degrees. (The Weather Channel)
11 August 2003...The temperature at Turin, Italy hit 107 degrees, marking the hottest day in over the 250 years that temperature readings have been recorded. (The Weather Doctor)
11 August 2004...The temperature at Reykjavík, Iceland reached 76.6 degrees, the hottest day ever recorded in the city where record have been kept since the 19th century. (The Weather Doctor)
11 August 2007...Dutch Harbor/Unalaska Airport, AK set its all-time high temperature with a reading of 81 degrees. (The Weather Doctor)
12 August 1891...An 80-minute deluge, possibly related to a tropical storm system, pelted Vampo, CA with between 11.5 and 11.8 inches of rain. The observer measured, then emptied the rain gauge several times as it filled. No other U.S. storm has come close to producing this much precipitation in an 80-minute span. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
12 August 1933...The temperature at Greenland Ranch in Death Valley, CA hit 127 degrees to establish the officially recognized U.S. record for the month of August. (The Weather Channel)
12 August 1936...The temperature at Seymour, TX hit 120 degrees to establish a state record. This Lone Star State record was later tied in June 1994. (The Weather Channel)
12 August 1985...With the span of two hours, 17.32 inches of rain fell at Gajo, Gansu, China, marking a worldwide record rainfall event for such a length of time. (NWS)
12 August 2001...The temperature at Osoyoos, British Columbia: rocketed to an all-time August record high for the province of 107 degrees. (The Weather Doctor)
13 August 1991...The first rainfall recorded on this date in Stockton, CA since weather records began in 1906, when 0.05 inches of rain fell. (The Weather Doctor)
13-14 August 1987...Slow-moving thunderstorms deluged northern and western suburbs of Chicago, IL with torrential rains. O'Hare Airport reported 9.35 inches in 18 hours, easily exceeding the previous 24-hour record of 6.24 inches. The airport was closed due to extensive flooding, the first time ever for a non-winter event. Flooding over a five-day period resulted in 221 million dollars damage. It was Chicago's worst flash flood event, particularly for northern and western sections of the city. Kennedy Expressway became a footpath for thousands of travelers to O'Hare Airport as roads were closed. The heavy rains swelled the Des Plaines River above flood stage, and many persons had to be rescued from stalled vehicles on flooded roads. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) (The Weather Channel) (Intellicast)
14 August 1936...Temperatures across much of eastern Kansas and western Missouri soared above 110 degrees. Kansas City, MO hit an all-time record high of 113 degrees. It was one of sixteen consecutive days of 100-degree heat for Kansas City. During that summer there were a record 53 days of 100-degree heat, and during the three summer months Kansas City received just 1.12 inches of rain. (The Kansas City Weather Almanac)
14-17 August 2003...Residents of Bismarck, ND wilted under a record string of four consecutive days with temperatures greater than 100 degrees. (The Weather Doctor)
15 August 1946...Saint Louis, MO was deluged with a record 8.78 inches of rain in 24 hours. (The Weather Channel)
15 August 1995...Apalachicola, FL soared to 103 degrees to set all-time high temperature. (Intellicast)
15 August 2004...The weather station at Yakutat, AK reported its all-time maximum temperature: 88 degrees. (The Weather Doctor)
16 August 1909...A dry spell began in San Bernardino County of southern California that lasted until the 6th of May in 1912, a stretch of 994 days! Another dry spell, lasting 767 days, then began in October of 1912. (The Weather Channel)

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