WEEKLY CLIMATE NEWS

19-23 June 2017

DataStreme Earth Climate System will return for Fall 2017 with new Investigations files starting during Preview Week, Monday, 21 August 2017. All the current online website products will continue to be available throughout the summer break period.

ITEMS OF INTEREST

Worldwide GLOBE at Night 2017 Campaign is underway -- The sixth in the series of GLOBE at Night citizen-science campaigns for 2017 will continue through Sunday, 25 June. 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 (Hercules in the Northern Hemisphere and Scorpius 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 series in the 2017 campaign is scheduled for 15-24 July 2017. [GLOBE at Night]
Lightning Awareness Week -- The National Lightning Safety Council will celebrate the annual National Lightning Safety Awareness Week during this upcoming week, 18 through 24 June 2017. Check for specific topics that will be featured each day. According to NOAA's National Weather Service (NWS), an average of 55 people across the nation are killed annual by lightning and numerous more are injured. NWS has a "Lightning Safety" website that has links to a variety of informational and teacher resource materials. As many as a dozen states are also observing this week with statewide activities, including Colorado, Iowa and the New England States. [National Lightning Safety Council]
Happy Summer Solstice! The summer solstice will occur early Wednesday morning or late Tuesday night (officially, 21 June 2017 at 0424 Z, or 12:24 AM EDT on the 21st, 11:24 PM CDT on the 20th, etc.). At that time, the earth's spin axis is oriented such that the sun appears to be the farthest north in the local sky of most earth-bound observers. While most of us consider this event to be the start of astronomical summer, the British call the day the "Midsummer Day", as the apparent sun will begin its southward descent again. For essentially all locations in the Northern Hemisphere, daylight on Sunday will be the longest and the night will be the shortest of the year. Starting Wednesday, the length of darkness will begin to increase as we head toward the winter solstice on 21 December 2017 at 1628 Z. However, because the sun is not as perfect a time-keeper as a clock, the latest sunsets of the year at many mid-latitude locations will continue through about the first week of July -- a consequence of the earth being near aphelion (on 3 July 2017) and the apparent sun moving across the sky well to the north of the celestial equator.
World Hydrography Day celebration -- The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) will celebrate its annual World Hydrography Day on Wednesday, 21 June 2017, the 96th-anniversary date on which the IHO was created in 1921. The theme for this year's celebration is "Mapping our seas, oceans and waterways - more important than ever," which is intended to focus the public's attention upon the importance of hydrography and the knowledge gained of the shape, nature and depth of the seafloor for the safe and sustainable use of the global oceans and other waterways. [International Hydrographic Organization]
Counting down to this summer's total solar eclipse -- A large section of the nation should have the opportunity of viewing a historic total solar eclipse on Monday 21 August 2017 as the Moon will pass directly in front of the Sun, resulting in a shadow that will cross 14 states running from western Oregon to the South Carolina coast. Those people who are positioned along the track of the eclipse of the nation should be able to experience up to two minutes of darkness during the midday. This total solar eclipse will be the first time since 1918 (or 99 years) that a solar eclipse has tracked from coast to coast; the 8 June 1918 solar eclipse ran from western Washington state to northern Florida. Preparations have been underway for more than one year in anticipation of this historic event:

NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information has posted a site that includes an indication of the likelihood of favorable eclipse viewing conditions along the path of the eclipse. A cloud climatology map is provided that shows the average cloudiness across the nation for 21 August. An interactive map shows the "viewability percentage" for numerous sites across the nation, which represents the likelihood of skies being sufficiently clear for the eclipse to be visible. [NOAA NCEI News]
NASA has a https://eclipse2017.nasa.gov/ website that provides links to a variety of eclipse related events, activities and educational materials. On this Wednesday (21 June) NASA along with other federal agencies and science organizations will be holding a nationally-televised live "Two Months To The Eclipse" Press Conference between 1:00 and 3:30 PM, Eastern Time, live from the Newseum in Washington, DC. This press conference, which can be seen on NASA TV or on www.nasa.gov will cover a variety of topics intended to help the public prepare for and safely experience this historic event through the eyes of NASA.

Watching fog move into the Strait of Juan de Fuca from space -- A series of visible images obtained last month from the sensors onboard the nation's new NOAA GOES 16 satellite shows the advancement of fog from the eastern North Pacific through the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the channel separating Washington's Olympic Peninsula and British Columbia's Vancouver Island. [NASA Earth Observatory]
Watching marine layer fog move into the Strait of Juan de Fuca from space -- A series of visible images obtained last month from the sensors onboard the nation's new NOAA GOES 16 satellite shows the advancement of fog from the eastern North Pacific through the Strait of Juan de Fuca, the channel separating Washington's Olympic Peninsula and British Columbia's Vancouver Island. [NASA Earth Observatory] (Editor's note: The detailed features of the fog layer appearing on these images reveal the improved spatial and temporal resolution of GOES-16 imagery, the result of newer onboard sensors.EJH)

CURRENT CLIMATE STATUS

National weather and climate reviewed for May and spring 2017 -- Scientists at the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) recently reported that their analysis of preliminary data indicates that the monthly temperature averaged across the contiguous US for May 2017 was 0.4 Fahrenheit degrees above the 20th-century (1901-2000) average. Therefore, this past month was the 55th warmest (or 69th coldest) May since 1895 when comprehensive climate records became available nationwide. Six Western states along the Pacific Coast and the interior Northwest, along with Florida and the Carolinas in the Southeast reported above average statewide temperatures. On the other hand, Oklahoma and Kansas in the Plains and Louisiana and Mississippi along the central Gulf Coast experienced below average statewide May temperatures. Elsewhere, the other 35 states across the center of the nation and across the Northeast had temperatures in May that were close to their respective 20th-century averages. Alaska had its 17th warmest May since sufficient statewide records began in 1925.
The nationwide average temperature for the just-concluded meteorological spring (March, April and May 2017) was 2.6 Fahrenheit degrees above the 20th-century average, making this spring the eighth warmest since records began in 1895. Most of the 48 contiguous states (41) reported statewide average temperatures that were either above or much above the long-term average. Thirteen states running from the Great Basin eastward to the Southeast and Middle Atlantic had statewide temperatures that were in the top ten in the 123-year period of record. Alaska experienced nearly average temperatures for spring, with a March through May statewide average temperature that ranked 54th lowest since 1925.
The precipitation across the coterminous US for May 2017 was 0.40 inches above the 20th-century average, which tied May 2009 as the 25th wettest May in the 123-year record. Most of the states in the eastern half of the nation, along with several states across the Plains and Rockies had above to much above average statewide May precipitation totals. One half dozen states along the Eastern Seaboard and the Gulf Coast reported statewide precipitation totals that were in the top 10 for their respective states. Conversely, eight states across the western half of the nation had below average May statewide precipitation totals. Alaska was relatively wet in May, with a statewide precipitation average that was eleventh largest since 1925.
Spring 2016 precipitation across the nation was 1.45 inches above the 20th century average, which was the eleventh wettest spring in 123 years. The majority of the states (33) experienced above to much-above average spring precipitation. Ten states across the Northwest, the central Plains, the Midwest, the Northeast and Southeast reported spring precipitation totals that were in the top ten largest on record. On the other hand, four states in the Southeast, the Southwest and the northern Plains had below to much-below average spring precipitation. North Dakota had its ninth driest spring on record. Springtime in Alaska was relatively dry this year, ranking seventh driest in the state's 93-year period of 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]
Nation's May drought report -- NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) has posted its May 2017 drought Nation's drought report online. Using the Palmer Drought Severity Index, approximately two percent of the contiguous United States experienced severe to extreme drought conditions at the end of May, while 13 percent of the area had severely to extremely wet conditions.
Report made on recurrent "nuisance"coastal flooding across nation during 2016 -- Scientists from NOAA's Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services and from NCEI recently prepared an annual report entitled "2016 State of U.S. High Tide Flooding and a 2017 Outlook" that provides a review of the state of recurrent coastal tidal flooding considered "nuisance flooding." Nuisance flooding is defined as when a water level measured at a NOAA water level gauge exceeds the local elevation threshold for minor impacts. The report indicates that in the year running from May 2016 to April 2017 nuisance tidal flooding among most of the cities studied, flooding trends increased by 130 percent on average since the mid-1990s. Three all‐time records for annual‐flood days were either tied (Key West, FL) or broken (Charleston, SC; Savannah, GA) during 2016. The frequency of daily flooding was expected to increase during the next twelve months that end in April 2018. [NOAA/NCEI State of the Climate]
A changing climate causes cancellation of large Canadian Arctic climate change project -- Early last week, the Science Team of the Canadian Research Icebreaker CCGS Amundsen decided to cancel the first leg of a research expedition on the icebreaker CCGS Amundsen because of too much hazardous Arctic sea ice that had migrated southward from northern sections of the Arctic Ocean. The 2017 Arctic Expedition was part of the four-year Hudson Bay System Study (BaySys) involving 40 scientists from five Canadian universities. The researchers from the University of Manitoba claim that climate change is not only reducing the total area of sea ice in the Canadian Arctic, but it is also driving ice to positions farther south where it creates navigation hazards. [University of Manitoba News]
Abundant snowpack remains in Sierras as summer begins -- Comparison of images obtained during the first two weeks of this month and during June 2016 from the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on NASA's Landsat 8 satellite and the Terra sensor on NASA's Terra satellite reveals significantly more snow cover over California's Sierra Nevada Range this year than last. A late season snowstorm produced at least five inches of snow over the Sierras near Donner Pass at the start of last week. [NASA Earth Observatory]

CURRENT CLIMATE MONITORING

World Ocean Database is a treasure trove of information on the oceans -- NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) through its Ocean Climate Laboratory is a major player in the development and maintenance of the World Ocean Database (WOD) that contains records about the ocean as far back as the ship logs and records of British Naval explorer Capt. James Cook 1772. The archived digital data that can be accessed from WOD provide a good source of quality-controlled historical ocean profile data to the public as well as researchers in oceanography, meteorology, and climatology. The most recent version of this database, identified as the World Ocean Database 2013 (WOD13), contains a full set of quality controlled data that was used to create World Ocean Atlas 2013 (WOA13) and all updates to the database (April 2013 to present) with only initial quality control. The data, archived by NCEI, provide records of temperature, salinity, nutrients, plankton, pH, and oxygen data, as well as several other ocean variables. [NOAA NCEI News]
A review describes the scientific contributions made on cruise by NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown -- The assistant administrator for NOAA's Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research recently posted a blog that provides a review of the impressive list of accomplishments that the crew of the NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown following its return to the home port of Charleston, SC after being at sea for 797 days (3 years and 9 months). The ship's crew, which consisted of NOAA Corps officers, professional civilian mariners and scientists, surveyed the ocean floor in the remote Pacific and took scientific measurements of the ocean as part of two research projects designed to help improve predictions of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation. [NOAA News]

CLIMATE FORCING

As Arctic warms, greenhouse gas levels increase due to early winter respiration -- An international team of scientists recently reported on a study of the decline in Alaska permafrost and its impact on the amount of carbon dioxide gas in the atmosphere. They claimed that based upon their analysis of a 41-year record of carbon dioxide measurements from NOAA's Barrow Observatory, the amount of carbon dioxide released from the reservoirs of soil organic carbon trapped in permafrost in the tundra across northern Alaska during early winter has increased by approximately 73 percent since 1975. The release of carbon dioxide and methane as part of the early winter respiration flux appears to more than offset carbon uptake in summer in the Arctic [NOAA Climate.gov News]
Efficiency of oceans as a heat sink and atmospheric gases sponge evaluated -- Researchers from NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology conducted studies to estimate the amount and the speed at which the ocean absorbs atmospheric gases and heat. The researchers used several ocean circulation models to study the role played by the ocean's Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) in the uptake and sequestration of transient tracers. They found that gases are more easily absorbed over time than heat energy. In addition, they determined that in cases where the ocean current slows due to the addition of heat, the ocean absorbs less of both atmospheric gases and heat, though its ability to absorb heat is more greatly reduced. [NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies News]

CLIMATE FORECASTS

New Seasonal Climate Outlooks for this summer and early fall issued -- Near the end of last week, forecasters at the NOAA Climate Prediction Center (CPC) released their new national Three-Month (Seasonal) Climate Outlooks for July through September 2017, corresponding to the last two months of the meteorological summer season (in the Northern Hemisphere) and the first month of meteorological autumn. Specific details of their outlooks include:
- Temperature and precipitation outlooks -- According to their temperature outlook, nearly all of the contiguous United States along with Alaska should experience a high chance of above average temperatures for these three upcoming months. The Southwest, centered over Arizona; the Southeast, centered on Florida; and the Northeast, centered on New York State and New England, appear to have a the greatest chance for having above average temperatures. Only sections of Montana could have nearly equal chances of warmer or cooler than normal conditions.
  The greatest probability for above average temperatures in Alaska would be found in the southwestern sections of the state that include the Aleutian Islands. Their precipitation outlook calls for better than even chances of wet conditions for the summer and early autumn of 2017 across the northern Plains and the western Gulf Coast. The rest of the 48 contiguous states should have equal chances of below and above average summer-early fall precipitation. Western Alaska should have a good chance of above average precipitation.
  A summary of the prognostic discussion of the 3-month outlook for non-technical users is available from CPC. These forecasts were based upon the possibility that ENSO-neutral conditions should continue as chances of the development of an El Niño during this upcoming fall (in the Northern Hemisphere) appear to have decreased. A description is also provided as how to read these 3-class, 3-month Outlook maps.
- Seasonal Drought Outlook released -- The forecasters at NOAA's Climate Prediction Center also released their US Seasonal Drought Outlook last week that would run from late-June through September 2017. Their outlook would call for persistence of drought conditions across southern California and adjacent areas of southern Arizona. Areas across southeastern Arizona, along with scattered areas across the nation's midsection and the Southeast currently experiencing drought conditions could see improvement in these drought conditions. Many of these areas could even result in possible removal from drought status. Note: a Seasonal Drought Outlook Discussion is included describing the forecasters' confidence.
Hurricane outlook issued for the eastern North Pacific -- Recently, NOAA released its outlook for the upcoming 2017 hurricane season in the Eastern North Pacific basin (east of 140 degrees West longitude). The outlook from NOAA's Climate Prediction Center suggests the likelihood of a near-normal or above-normal season, with a 40-percent chance of a near-normal season, as compared with a 40-percent chance of an above-normal season and 20-percent chance of a below normal season. This outlook would call for a 70-percent chance of the formation of between 14 and 20 named tropical cyclones (hurricanes or tropical storms), with six to eleven hurricanes. Between three and seven major hurricanes (category 3 or higher) were also envisioned. These anticipated numbers compare with the 30-year (1981-2010) averages of 15 named tropical cyclones per year that include eight hurricanes and as many as four major hurricanes. The forecasters base their outlook upon three main factors that would be operative during the peak of the hurricane season: 1.) either ENSO-neutral or weak El Niño conditions over the tropical Pacific Ocean; 2.) near- or above-average sea-surface temperatures in the main hurricane formation region; and 3.) near-average or weaker-than-average vertical wind shear in that same region. [NOAA Climate Prediction Center]

CLIMATE AND THE BIOSPHERE

Polar bears are put on a faster moving "treadmill" by increased sea ice drift -- Researchers from the US Geological Survey (USGS) and the University of Wyoming have discovered that ice in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas is drifting to the west at increasing rates. This increased westward ice drift requires polar bears to expend more energy walking eastward on a faster moving "treadmill" of sea ice. Consequently, the physiological stress upon the polar bears may be increased due to reduced foraging opportunity. [USGS News]

CLIMATE AND SOCIETY

Vulnerability of Bangladesh to tropical cyclones is examined -- In the wake of the landfall of Tropical Cyclone Mora along the Bangladesh coast two weeks ago, a meteorologist with NOAA's Climate Prediction Center has written an Event Tracker Blog for Climate.gov that describes how low-lying and populous coast sections of India, Bangladesh and Myanmar can be impacted by tropical cyclones that travel across the northern Bay of Bengal to this coastal region. He reviewed the cyclone history of Bangladesh, noting that as many as eight of the top ten deadliest cyclones on record have occurred in the Bay of Bengal that borders that nation. [NOAA Clmate.gov News]
Offshore wind turbines found to be vulnerable to wind gusts from category 5 hurricanes -- A study conducted by the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), the University of Colorado at Boulder and the US Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Research found that offshore wind turbines built according to current design standards may not be able to withstand the wind gusts of a category 5 hurricane (on the Saffir-Simpson Scale). Using uniquely high-resolution computer simulations, mean wind speeds near the eyewall of Category 5 hurricane reached 90 meters-per-second (201 mph), well in excess of the 50 meters-per-second (112 mph) threshold set by current standards that are governed by the International Electrotechnical Commission. [NCAR/UCAR AtmosNews]
Earthweek -- Diary of the Planet [earthweek.com]

Historical Events:

19 June 240 BC...On the summer solstice, Eratosthenes estimated the circumference of the Earth using two sticks.
19 June 2004...Annette Island, AK set an all-time record high temperature of 93 degrees. Since record keeping began in 1941, Annette Island has seen 90 degree temperatures four times.
(National Weather Service files)
20 June 1921...Circle, MT received 11.50 inches of rain in 24 hours, a record for the state. The town of Circle received a total of 16.79 inches of rain that month to establish a rainfall record for any town in Montana for any month of the year. (The Weather Channel)
20 June 1970...Norway's hottest day on record occurred, as the temperature at Nesbyen, Norway peaked at 96.1 degrees. (The Weather Doctor)
20 June 2000...The town of Barrow on Alaska's North Slope experienced its first recorded thunderstorm, which dropped 0.16 inches (4.1 mm) of rain in just a couple minutes. (The Weather Doctor)
21 June 1942...The temperature at Tirat Tsvi, Israel reached 129 degrees, the highest temperature ever recorded in Asia. (The Weather Doctor)
22 June 1947...Heavy rains deluged Holt, MO as a 12 inches of rain fell in 42 minutes, still a world's record rainfall rate for the fastest foot of rain accumulation. (The Weather Doctor)
22 June 1987...Thunderstorms in New York State produced 5.01 inches of rain in 24 hours at Buffalo, an all-time record for that location.
The temperature at Fairbanks, AK soared to 92 degrees, establishing a record for the date. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
22 June 1988...Tucson, AZ reported an all-time record high of 114 degrees, surpassing the previous record of 112 degrees established a day earlier. Highs of 98 degrees at Pittsburgh, PA and 100 degrees at Baltimore, MD tied records for the month of June. (The National Weather Summary)
22 June 2003...The largest recorded hailstone in the United States fell on Aurora, NE. The diameter of this hailstone was 7 inches, and its circumference was 18.75 inches. (Northern Indiana NWSFO) The National Weather Service reported this hailstone to be the second largest ever documented in the U.S. by weight, and the largest by size at that time. Currently, the world's largest hailstone is recognized to be 8 inches in diameter and 1.9375 lbs. that was produced from storms in South Dakota on 23 July 2010. (National Weather Service files)
The mercury peaked at 95 degrees in the northern community of Moosonee, Ontario, the hottest June day ever recorded here. (The Weather Doctor)
23 June 1902...The temperature at Volcano Springs, CA soared to 129 degrees to set a June record high temperature for the U.S. (Sandra and TI Richard Sanders)
23 June 1982...The temperature fell to all-time record low of 117 degrees below zero for Antarctica's South Pole Weather Station. (The Weather Doctor)
24 June 1946...Mellen, WI received 11.72 inches of rain, setting a 24-hour maximum precipitation record for the Badger State. (NCDC)
24 June 1972...Paradise Ranger Station in Washington's Rainier National Park had 4.4 inches of snow on this day. This snowfall turned out to be the last for the 1971-72 season and brought the seasonal total to 1122 inches -- a new single season snowfall record for the U.S. at that time. (Intellicast)
24 June 1988...Forty-three cities reported record high temperatures for the date. Valentine, NE reported an all-time record high of 110 degrees, and highs of 102 degrees at Casper, WY, 103 degrees at Reno, NV, and 106 degrees at Winnemucca, NV were records for the month of June. Highs of 98 degrees at Logan, UT and 109 degrees at Rapid City, SD equaled June records. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
25 June 1925...The mercury hit 101 degrees at Portland, OR, their earliest 100-degree reading of record. (Sandra and TI Richard Sanders)
25 June 1953...The temperature at Anchorage, AK soared to 86 degrees, their highest reading of record. (The Weather Channel)
25 June 1988...Fifty-two cities in the central and eastern U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date. Highs of 100 degrees at Erie, PA and 104 degrees at Cleveland, OH established all- time records for those two locations. Highs of 101 degrees at Flint, MI, 105 degrees at Chicago, IL, and 106 degrees at Fort Wayne, IN equaled all-time records. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
Southwestern Ontario experienced a heat wave as the mercury soared to 104.4 degrees in Windsor and 100.8 degrees in London, the hottest day ever recorded in these cities. (The Weather Doctor)

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