WEEKLY CLIMATE NEWS

30 December 2013-3 January 2014

DataStreme Earth's Climate Systems will return for Spring 2014 with new Investigations files starting during Preview Week, Monday, 20 January 2014. All the current online website products, including updated issues of Weekly Climate News, will continue to be available throughout the winter break period.

Happy Holidays to you and yours from the AMS DS Earth's Climate Systems Central Staff!

Ed Hopkins

ITEMS OF INTEREST

It's Sure Dark in the morning! -- Have you noticed that if you are an early riser, that mornings remain dark and somewhat dreary although local sunsets are becoming noticeably later during the last week? During the last week of December and the first week of January, many locations throughout the country will experience their latest sunrise times of the year, even though the winter solstice occurred more than one week ago on Saturday, 21 December 2013. The exact day for the latest sunrise depends upon the latitude, so you may want to check the date in your locale from the sunrise tables appearing in an on-line, interactive service available for the entire year at most cities in the United States. The reason for the late sunrise now rather than on the winter solstice is because the sun is not as precise a timekeeper as our watches. Because of a combination of factors involved with Earth's elliptical orbit about the sun and the tilt of Earth's spin axis with respect to the plane of the ecliptic, the sun appeared to "run fast" by as much as 15 minutes as compared with clock time in November. In early December, most locations experienced their earliest sunsets. However, with the approach of the winter solstice and perihelion (the smallest earth-sun distance during the morning of 4 January 2014), the apparent sun slows during December and finally lags the clock by 12 minutes in February. Consequently, a noticeable and welcome trend toward later sunsets can be detected by the end of December, especially by those residents in the northern part of the country. However, the latest sunrises occur at most locales in early January, meaning a continuation of the dark and dreary mornings for another week or two.
No "leap second" will lengthen 2013 -- The International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS) has determined that no "leap second" would be inserted to lengthen the calendar year of 2013. Since 1972, "leap seconds" have been inserted on the last day of December 15 times, with the most recent occurrence on 31 December 2008 when the service's atomic clocks were stopped for one second just before midnight (2359Z, or 6:59 PM EST, 5:59 PM CST, etc) to readjust the time scale based on the atomic clock to the time scale based upon the rotation of the Earth with respect to the sun. At the time, tidal friction and other natural phenomena had slowed the Earth's rotation rate by approximately two milliseconds per day. In addition, a "leap second" has been inserted ten times at the end of June, with the most recent one added on 30 June 2012. [US Naval Observatory]
In Close -- Earth reaches perihelion, the point in its orbit that is closest to the sun (147.1 million kilometers or 91.2 million miles), next Saturday morning (officially at 12Z on 4 January 2014 or 7 AM EST, 6 AM CST, etc.).
Setting the record straight -- Early last week the Executive Director of the American Meteorological Society, Keith Seitter, wrote a letter to the The Boston Globe in response to an op-ed column that appeared in that newspaper earlier in December entitled "Majority rules on climate science?" In the recent letter, Dr. Seitter felt that comments made by the author of the column could have given the public the wrong impression on a survey of the scientific community consisting of members of the American Meteorological Society. Dr. Seitter was a co-author of the survey. [AMS]
Climatology of Southeast NCAA bowl games updated -- The Southeast Regional Climate Center has provided a listing of the weather history for twelve NCAA college bowl games that are to be played within the next two weeks across the Southeastern States. This climatology includes the warmest, coldest, wettest and snowiest days in the particular bowl's history.
High-quality maps of January 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 January 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.
January 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 January, 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.

CURRENT CLIMATE STATUS

Review of Canada's top ten weather stories in 2013 -- During the last week, meteorologists with Environment Canada released a list of what they considered the top ten weather events across Canada during this calendar year of 2013. Some of these stories focused upon the floods that were the result of locally heavy rainfall in Alberta and in the Toronto (Ontario) metropolitan area. In addition to locally heavy rainfall events, snowmelt also helped cause flooding. A story also described how the summer weather helped produce bumper crops across the Prairie Provinces in western Canada, while crops were average across the nation. An unseasonably cold summer across northern Canada helped slow sea ice melting in the Canadian Arctic Ocean, while wet weather across the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Valley helped restore water levels. [Environment Canada]

CURRENT CLIMATE MONITORING

Ship remains trapped in Antarctic sea ice -- As of this past Sunday, the Russian-flagged expedition vessel Akademik Shokalskiy with 74 researchers, crew and tourists remained trapped in the sea ice surrounding Antarctica for nearly one week. At this time, the Australian icebreaker ship Aurora Australis was 28 nautical miles away from the ship and waiting for the weather to clear before attempting to break through the ice. A Chinese ship Xue Long was also standing by and could be used for helicopter evacuations. The expedition ship was trying to update scientific measurements taken by the 1911-1914 Australasian Antarctic Expedition led by the Australian geologist Douglas Mawson, as well as to gauge the effects of climate change on the region. [CNN]
Massive aquifer found under Greenland ice sheet -- A team of glaciologists from the University of Utah and NASA have discovered a large liquid water reservoir under the compacted snow and ice that forms the Greenland Ice Sheet initially from drilling ice cores through the ice sheet and then from radar data collected during one of NASA's Operation IceBridge airborne campaigns. This “perennial firn aquifer” in southeastern Greenland, which has an areal size larger than the state of West Virginia, contains liquid water year around. The researchers calculated that the water in the aquifer has the potential for raising global sea level by 0.016 inches (0.4 mm). [NASA's Earth Science News Team] [University of Utah News Center]
Assessing the recovery of stratospheric ozone -- NASA scientists have been examining the variations of the stratospheric ozone layer over Antarctica to assess the recovery of this layer from the 1980s when the ozone layer was so thin during austral spring that the term "ozone hole" was coined. Using data collected by the Ozone Monitoring Instrument onboard NASA's Aura satellite and the NASA/NOAA Suomi NPP satellite, the researchers report that merely using the areal size of this annual ozone hole is not the best indicator of the ozone recovery following adoption of the 1987 Montreal Protocol designed to reduce ozone depletion through the reduction in chlorine-based chemicals. Weather also controls the ozone hole size. Graphs are presented showing the observed changes in inorganic chlorine concentration in the atmosphere and the size of the ozone hole from 1980 to present, along with projected changes in these variables through 2050. [NASA Earth Observatory]
New advances in climate science made by NOAA Climate Program Office in 2013 -- NOAA's Climate Program Office (CPO) recently identified some of the advances made by this office in climate observation, research, modeling, and decision support activities for society. In terms of observing the climate system, CPO helped in the preparation of the "2012 State of the Climate" report that identified the calendar year of 2012 as being one of the 10 warmest years on record globally and the annual "Arctic Report Card" was released indicating that the Arctic basin had slightly lower temperatures during the 2013 summer. The CPO also helped fund the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 5th Assessment Report on "The Physical Science Basis" that was released in September 2013. [NOAA Climate Program Office News]
An All-Hazards Monitor -- This Web portal provides the user information from NOAA on current environmental events that may pose as hazards such as tropical weather, fire weather, marine weather, severe weather, drought and floods. [ NOAAWatch]

CLIMATE AND THE BIOSPHERE

Study conducted to determine how plants evolved to survive in cold climates -- Researchers from George Washington University and colleagues have created the largest evolutionary "timetree" of land plants to date with 32,223 species as part of an effort to investigate those traits or strategies in flowering plants that allow them to survive in cold climates, especially where freezing occurs. The researchers have identified three potential evolutionary strategies: dropping leaves seasonally; thinner water-conducting pathways; or loosing above-ground stems and leaves. The research involved the use of the Global Biodiversity Information Facility and a global climate database. [George Washington University Media]

CLIMATE FORECASTS

United Kingdom to forecast space weather -- The United Kingdom's Met Office has received funding that will allow it to build a partnership over the next three years with NOAA's National Weather Service and its Space Weather Prediction Center in sharing knowledge and expertise in space weather forecasting of those space weather events such as severe solar flares, space storms and the solar wind that can disrupt satellite operations and communications, GPS units, power grids and radio communications. [UK Met Office News]

CLIMATE FORCING

Solar activity does not appear as key driver of climate change -- Scientists at the United Kingdom's University of Edinburgh using reconstructed records of temperatures over the past 1000 years based upon tree rings and other historical sources have determined that periodic solar activity has a minimal impact on Earth's temperature variations and does not represent the key driver of climate change. These researchers found that prior to 1800, the key driver of the periodic changes in Earth's climate was volcanic eruptions, while since 1900, changes in the greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere represents the primary cause of changing climate. [University of Edinburgh News]

CLIMATE AND SOCIETY

Efforts for saving the Ogallala aquifer proposed -- Scientists at Michigan State University and colleagues have proposed several ways for halting and reversing the unsustainable use of water from the Ogallala Aquifer under the Great Plains, which is at risk of being depleted if the current drawdown is continued at the current rate. The Ogallala Aquifer, one of the largest bodies of water in the United States, extends from Texas northward to South Dakota. Some of the solutions proposed include a change in the federal crop insurance to allow for substantial water reductions; the more widespread use of precision agriculture strategies; the selection of crops that have a higher crop yield and more careful water management through upgrades in irrigation systems. [NOAA News]

COMPARATIVE PLANETOLOGY

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

Historical Events:

30 December 1880...The temperature at Charlotte, NC plunged to an all-time record low reading of 5 degrees below zero, a record that was equaled on 21 January 1985. (The Weather Channel)
30 December 1917...A great cold wave set many records in the northeastern U.S. Temperatures of 37 degrees below zero at Lewisburg, WV and 32 degrees below zero at Mountain City, TN set all-time low temperature records for both the Mountain and Volunteer States. (NCDC)
30 December 1933...The temperature fell to 50 degrees below zero at Bloomfield, VT, marking the lowest reading in modern records for New England. (David Ludlum)
30 December 1955...Anchorage, AK reported an all-time record snow depth of 47 inches. (30^th-1^st) (The Weather Channel)
30 December 1968...A new record low temperature for the state of Washington was set in two towns on the same date. Mazama and Winthrop both dropped to 48 degrees below zero. (Intellicast)
30 December 1972...The 86-foot high wave measured by the ship Weather Reporter was the world's highest measured wave. The wave was measured in the North Atlantic Ocean at 59 degrees North latitude and 19 degrees West longitude. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
31 December 1917...The temperature at Lewisburg, WV plunged to 37 degrees below zero to set a state record. (Sandra and TI Richard Sanders - 1987)
31 December 1929...Greenland Ranch, in Death Valley, CA, went the entire year without measurable precipitation. (The Weather Channel)
31 December 1941...Snow that began on New Year's Eve became a major blizzard on New Year's Day, burying Des Moines, IA under 19.8 inches of snow in 24 hours, an all-time record for that location. (The Weather Channel)
31 December 1968...The sea-level corrected atmospheric pressure rose to a world's record for highest sea level pressure reaching 1083.8 millibars (32.01 inches) at Agata, Siberia. At the time, Agata Lake reported a temperature of -46^o C (-50.8^oF). (The Weather Doctor) This world record has since been superceded by a reading of 1085.7 millibars (32.06 inches of mercury) at Tonsontsengel, Mongolia on 19 December 2001.
31 December 1982...The year's total rainfall recorded at the rain gauge at Puu Kukui, at an elevation of approximately 5800 feet on the slope of the West Maui Mountains on Hawaii's Island of Kauai was 704.83 inches. This rainfall total represents the all-time greatest calendar year precipitation total in the United States. The rainfall total for that December was 42.00 inches. (Accord Weather Guide Calendar)
31 December 1989...The year and decade ended on a soggy note in the eastern U.S. Thunderstorm rains pushed precipitation totals for the year to 88.32 inches at Baton Rouge, LA and to 75.37 inches at Huntsville, AL, establishing all-time records for those two locations. Dry weather continued in California. Sacramento and San Francisco finished the month without any rain or snow, and Santa Maria reported their driest year of record with just 3.30 inches of precipitation. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
The highest air pressure ever recorded in United States was 1078.6 millibars (31.85 inches of mercury) at Northway, AK. (The Weather Doctor)
1 January 1886...Norway's coldest night on record occurred as the temperature at Karasjok dropped to 60.5 degrees below zero Fahrenheit (The Weather Doctor).
1 January 1979...The temperature at Maybell, CO plunged to 60 degrees below zero to tie the state record set back in 1951 at Taylor Park. (The Weather Channel)
2 January 1885...The lowest temperature ever recorded at Duluth, MN occurred on this date. The temperature plunged to 41 degrees below zero. (Intellicast)
2 January 1893...Little Rock, AR had its greatest 24-hour snowfall, with 13 inches that covered the ground. . (Intellicast)
2 January 1955...Hurricane Alice battered the Leeward Islands with sustained winds of 85 mph on this day. Alice was upgraded as a full tropical system on 31 December 1954, making Alice the latest and earliest hurricane on record in the Atlantic Ocean. (Intellicast)
2 January 1961...The lowest temperature of record for the state of Hawaii was established with a reading of 14 degrees atop Haleakala Summit. (David Ludlum) (This state record has been eclipsed in May 1979.)
3 January 1913...The barometer at Canton, NY read 28.20 inches of mercury (955.0 millibars), which is the lowest ever recorded at an inland station. (Intellicast)
3 January 1961...A three-day long ice storm was in progress over northern Idaho that produced an accumulation of ice eight inches thick, an U.S. record. Heavy fog, which blanketed much of northern Idaho from Grangeville to the Canadian border, deposited the ice on power and telephone lines causing widespread power outages. (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)
3 January 2006...The record 2005 North Atlantic hurricane season extended into the new year, as Tropical Storm Zeta reached its peak intensity with maximum sustained winds of 65 mph for the second time; the previous occurrence was on 1 January 2006. Never a threat to land as it traveled across the central North Atlantic, Tropical Storm Zeta was the 27th named tropical cyclone (including both tropical storms and hurricanes) of the season. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
4 January 1888...Sacramento, CA received 3.5 inches of snow, an all-time record for that location. The heaviest snow in recent history was two inches on 5 February 1976. (4th-5th) (The Weather Channel)
5 January 1904...Bitterly cold air gripped the northeastern U.S. Morning lows of 42 degrees below zero at Smethport, PA and 34 degrees below zero at River Vale, NJ established state records for both the Keystone and Garden States. (The Weather Channel)
5 January 1913...The temperature at the east portal to Strawberry Tunnel reached 50 degrees below zero to tie the Utah state record low established at Woodruff on 6 February 1899. (David Ludlum) This record was later smashed in February 1985 when the temperature at Peter's Sink fell to 69 degrees below zero. (NCDC)
5 January 1974...The temperature at Vanda Station on the Scott Coast, Antarctica reached 59 degrees, the highest temperature ever recorded in Antarctica. (The Weather Doctor)
5 January 1999...The temperature fell to 36 degrees below zero at Congerville in central Illinois to set a new record low temperature for the state. (NCDC)

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