WEEKLY CLIMATE NEWS

10-14 July 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

Astronauts see the southern lights from space -- A digital photograph was made by an astronaut on the International Space Station in mid-June of the aurora australis (also known as the "southern lights") that appeared near the southern horizon. Additional photographs and a video made from these photographs are available. [NASA Earth Observatory]
Worldwide GLOBE at Night 2017 Campaign commences -- The seventh in a series of GLOBE at Night citizen-science campaigns for 2017 will commence this Saturday (15 July) and continue through Monday, 24 July. 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 14-23 August 2017. [GLOBE at Night]
A summertime hands-on science program has scientists and kids working together -- Three scientists with NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) along with 50 student scientists from the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Gulf Coast–Hancock County Unit in Mississippi participated in a summer program that investigated the water quality on the Magnolia Bayou located in Bay St. Louis, MS. The students recorded the data and will use the information as a part of the program designed to teach the students about watershed dynamics, the impacts of stormwater runoff on water quality and quantity, and the importance of watershed planning and action. This program is a part of a NOAA-21st Century Community Learning Center Watershed (CCLC) STEM Education Partnership Grant. The CCLC, which is the nation's largest out-of-school program serving over 1.5 million students in all 50 states, is designed to provide academic enrichment opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) during vacation time. [NOAA NCEI News]

CURRENT CLIMATE STATUS

Temperature in Iranian city approaches modern era record high temperature -- On 29 June 2017, the temperature at Ahvaz, a city in southwestern Iran, reached 53.7 degrees Celsius (128.7 degrees Fahrenheit), which appears to be not only an all-time record high temperature for Iran, but also the highest temperature ever recorded in June over mainland Asia. A temperature reading of 129.2 degrees Fahrenheit (54.0 degrees Celsius) at Mitribah, Kuwait on 21 July 2016 is considered to be one of the highest credible temperature measurements that exist in modern records. However, the official highest recorded temperature is recognized to be 56.7 °C (134°F), which was measured on 10 July 1913 at Greenland Ranch, Death Valley, California, USA. Editor's note: The recent high temperature record at Ahvaz will have to be reviewed by the World Meteorological Organization to assess its validity. EJH [Capital Weather Gang, Washington Post]
Ice cover on rivers and lakes in the Arctic is also important -- An image made from data collected by the MODIS instrument onboard NASA's Terra satellite at the end of May 2017 shows ice remaining on the lakes and rivers across the northern sections of Canada's Northwest Territories and Nunavut. In addition, sea ice was found on the Amundsen Gulf, a saltwater embayment located in the Northwest Territories between Banks Island and Victoria Island and the mainland. Ice cover on lakes and rivers of the Canadian Arctic and its duration are important to the region's indigenous population.[NASA Earth Observatory] .

CURRENT CLIMATE MONITORING

List of nation's billion-dollar weather & climate disasters updated for first half of 2017 -- NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information recently updated its "U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather & Climate Disasters 1980-2017" through the first week of July 2017. This updated list includes nine weather and climate disaster events with losses exceeding $1 billion each across the United States during the first six months of 2017. These events consisted of two flooding events, one freeze event, and six severe storm events. Overall, these events resulted in the deaths of 57 people that accompanied the significant economic effects on the areas impacted. [NOAA/NCEI]

CLIMATE FORCING

A warmer climate could cause an abrupt increase in rainfall over Africa's Sahel -- A team of scientists from Germany and the United States recently reported that they have found a self-amplifying mechanism that may be triggered once the planet's average temperature reaches levels that are 1.5 to 2 Celsius degrees above pre-industrial times, resulting in an abrupt increase in rainfall across Africa's Sahel by between 40 and 300 percent, turning one of the continent's driest regions wet. The researchers found evidence in computer simulations that much of Mali, Niger, Sudan, Eritrea and Chad could receive as much rainfall as more southerly regions with a richly vegetated tropical climate, including central Nigeria or northern Cameroon. The precipitation increases could be associated with increased atmospheric water vapor evaporated from warmer surrounding oceans and an increase in the moisture-laden monsoon winds from off the Atlantic Ocean and into the African interior. [Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory News]

CLIMATE AND SOCIETY

Retail and manufacturing businesses get an assist from environmental data to minimize weather and climate impacts -- NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) recently reported that the wide variety of environmental data that this organization provides numerous retail and manufacturing businesses across the nation is used by leaders of these companies to measure how weather is influencing their companies' bottom lines and the country's economy. A 21-page report prepared by NCEI and a Maryland based scientific and high technology company (Global Science & Technology, Inc.) was a compilation of the feedback from retail and manufacturing companies, demonstrating how climate data products obtained from NCEI are used to understand the effect of certain weather conditions on business performance. Pairing this information with climate outlooks can then inform how much product to manufacture or how to stock items in various regions of the country. [NOAA NCEI News]
New estimates of global inland fishery production show fruitful lake harvests -- A recently published study by researchers at Michigan State University, Michigan Technological University and the US Geological Survey (USGS) reveals that harvests from freshwater fisheries from around the world, such as the North American Great Lakes, could total more than 12 million tons annually and contribute more to global food supplies and economies than previously estimated. This study involved 246,000 freshwater lakes from around the world. [USGS News]
Earthweek -- Diary of the Planet [earthweek.com]

Historical Events:

10 July 1913...The mercury hit 134 degrees at Greenland Ranch in Death Valley, CA, the highest temperature reading of record for the North American continent. Sandstorm conditions accompanied the heat. The high the previous day was 129 degrees, following a morning low of 93 degrees. (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel) [Note: In September 2012, this 134-degree reading was determined to be the world record high temperature as a World Meteorological Organization panel disqualified the previously recognized world record temperature of 136 degrees set at El Azizia in Libya on 13 September 1922 due to errors made in recording the temperature at that location.]
10 July 1936...Afternoon high temperatures of 112 degrees at Martinsburg, WV, 109 degrees at Cumberland, MD and Frederick, MD, 110 degrees at Runyon, NJ, and 111 degrees at Phoenixville, PA, established all-time record highs for those four states, and marked the hottest day of record for the Middle Atlantic Coast Region. (The Weather Channel)
10 July 1977...Athens, Greece reported a temperature of 118 degrees, the highest temperature ever recorded in Europe. (National Weather Service files)
11 July 1888...The temperature at Bennett, CO reached 118 degrees, setting a record high temperature for the Centennial State. (NCDC)
11 July 1911...The highest temperature ever recorded in Maine was at North Bridgton, with a reading of 105 degrees. (NCDC)
11 July 1936...The temperature at St. Albans, Manitoba reached the provincial high temperature record of 112 degrees Fahrenheit, while the temperature at Atikokan, Ontario peaked at 108 degrees, tying the highest temperature ever in Ontario. (The Weather Doctor)
11 July 1990...The costliest hailstorm in U.S. history occurred along the Front Range of the Colorado Rockies. In Denver, CO, softball-sized hail destroyed roofs and cars, causing more than $600 million in total damage. (National Weather Service files)
12 July 1900...The record high state temperature reading of 114 degrees in Wyoming was reached at Basin. This record has since been eclipsed in 1983 by a 115-degree reading. (Intellicast)
12 July 1910...Cherrapunji in India's northeastern Meghalaya State -- one of the rainiest places on Earth -- recorded 839 mm (33 inches) of rainfall on this day. (The Weather Doctor)
12-14 July 1936...The hottest three-day period in US history was recorded, with average temperatures of 88.5 degrees Fahrenheit; the second warmest such period had occurred three days earlier. (The Weather Doctor)
12 July 1995...An intense heat wave affected much of the Midwest for a 4-day period beginning on this day. The worst effects of the heat were noted in the Chicago metropolitan area, where 583 people died from the heat. Temperatures across the area reached as high as 104 degrees, overnight lows on falling to the upper 70s to low 80s. Dew point temperatures in the upper 70s to low 80s created heat indexes peaking at 125 degrees. Electricity and water usage reached record levels, causing periodic outages. (National Weather Service files)
13 July 1975...Dover, DE was deluged with 8.50 inches of rain to establish a 24-hour maximum precipitation record for the state. (The Weather Channel)
13 July 1996...Heavy rains from the remnants of Hurricane Bertha caused roads to washout in the Camden, ME area. Two people were hurt when they drove into a 600-pound boulder that had fallen onto the roadway due to the heavy rain. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
13 July 2005...The highest temperature ever recorded in Greenland, 78 degrees, was measured at Tasiilaq. (National Weather Service files)
14 July 1886...Los Angeles, CA had its greatest 24-hour July rainfall with 0.24 inches. (Intellicast)
14-15 July 1911...Baguio, Luzon, Philippines reported 46 inches of rain, which represents Asia's greatest 24-hour rainfall: (The Weather Doctor).
14 July 1886...Los Angeles had its greatest 24-hour July rainfall with 0.24 inches. (Intellicast)
14-15 July 1911...Baguio, Luzon, Philippines reported 46 inches of rain, which represents Asia's greatest 24-hour rainfall: (The Weather Doctor).
15 July 1888...The Bandai volcano erupts on the Japanese island of Honshu on this day in 1888, killing hundreds and burying many nearby villages in ash. (National Weather Service files)
15-16 July 1916...A dying South Atlantic Coast storm produced torrential rains in the southern Appalachian Mountains. Altapass, NC was drenched with 22.22 inches of rain, a 24-hour rainfall record for the Tarheel State, and at the time, a 24-hour record for the U.S. (The current 24-hour rainfall record for the US is 43 inches set 25-25 July 1979 at Alvin, TX). Flooding resulted in considerable damage, particularly to railroads. (David Ludlum) (Intellicast) (NCDC)
15 July 1983...The Big Thompson Creek in Colorado flooded for the second time in seven years, claiming three lives, and filling the town of Estes Park with eight to ten feet of water. (The Weather Channel)
15 July 1989...Thunderstorms drenched Kansas City, MO with 4.16 inches of rain, a record for the date. Two and a half inches of rain deluged the city between noon and 1 PM. Afternoon thunderstorms in South Carolina deluged Williamstown with six inches of rain in ninety minutes, including four inches in little more than half an hour. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
15 July 1993...Four-inch diameter hail fell at Hot Springs, SD. In North Dakota, Jamestown recorded 6.40 inches of rain, Fargo 5.09 inches and Bismarck 4.08 inches. (Intellicast)
15 July 2001...Rain fell at 3.91 inches per hour in Seoul, South Korea, the heaviest amount since 1964. In total, 12.2 inches of rain fell in Seoul and Kyonggi. The rain was responsible for 40 reported fatalities. (The Weather Doctor)
16 July 1914...The 30-minute rainfall record in the US was set at Cambridge, OH with exactly seven inches. (National Weather Service files)

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