WEEKLY CLIMATE NEWS

DataStreme ECS WEEK TWO: 8-12 September 2014

ITEMS OF INTEREST

Approaching the peak in the Atlantic hurricane season -- The historic or statistical annual peak in the Atlantic hurricane season will occur this week (8-12 September), as determined as the date during the entire season with most frequent number of named tropical cyclones (tropical storms and hurricanes), based upon over 100 years of record. This date corresponds closely with the time of peak sea-surface temperatures across those sections of the North Atlantic considered hurricane-breeding areas. [NWS National Hurricane Center]
Online tool displays more than 150 years of hurricane tracks -- NOAA's Coastal Services Center in partnership with NOAA's National Hurricane Center and National Climatic Data Center has developed a free online tool called "Historical Hurricane Tracks" that allows users to generate maps showing the track of any tropical cyclone (tropical storms and hurricanes) from a search of the database using a place name, storm name or year, or latitude and longitude points. Links have been made to detailed reports on the life histories and effects of US tropical cyclones since 1958, with additional US storm paths traced as far back as 1851. Global hurricane data extend as far back as 1842. Data and information on coastal county hurricane strikes are available through 2013. [NOAA Coastal Services Center]
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 STATUS

Will anticipated El Niño develop soon? -- Forecasts with the National Weather Service's Climate Prediction Center have recently released their El Niño/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) Diagnostic Discussion for the month of September that includes an El Niño watch because they are calling for an approximately 65% chance that El Niño will develop by the Northern Hemisphere winter with a 55% chance it will start during September-October-November. (An El Niño event is an anomalous atmospheric and oceanic circulation regime that features a warming of the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean along with other identifiable events around the globe.) The question remains that this forecast appears to be continuing for several months with less than the anticipated warming having occurred. [NOAA Climate.gov News]
Satellite monitors deadly flooding from recent summer monsoon rains in south Asia -- A false-color image made near the end of August from data collected by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Terra satellite shows the flooding across sections of Bangladesh and India. This flooding from heavy rains accompanying the summer monsoon circulation over south Asia was responsible for numerous deaths and the displacement of thousands of inhabitants along the Brahmaputra River and wetland regions of the two countries. A comparison image is also provided of the region from early September 2012, which was a more typical year. [NASA Earth Observatory]

CURRENT CLIMATE MONITORING

Data from new Global Precipitation Measurement satellite are now public -- During the last week NASA announced that is making precipitation data available to the public that were obtained from sensors on the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) Core Observatory spacecraft. This GPM Core Observatory, a joint mission of NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), was launched in late February. Two advanced instruments measure rainfall, snowfall, ice and other precipitation. These data are freely available through NASA's Precipitation Processing System at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD. [NASA]
A description is provided on how the data obtained from the GPM Mission are processed to make global precipitation maps. [NASA Goddard Space Flight Center]
Monitoring sea ice over four decades from space -- A description of the early history of this nation's efforts at monitoring the sea ice covering the Arctic Ocean and the Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica is presented, starting earlier than with a microwave sensor launched onboard the NIMBUS 5 satellite in 1972. In addition, an animated timeline provides an historical overview of the early explorations of sea ice in the Arctic by land, sea and air from early Greek exploration to the start of the Space Age. [NASA's Earth Science News Team] A second part of this series describes more recent history of the sea ice monitoring program, including a discussion of the decline in Arctic sea ice observed by the satellites over the last four decades. [NASA's Earth Science News Team]
Videos illustrate how math is used to calculate sea ice changes -- A series of three educational videos were released by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center that illustrate how data collected by NASA satellites is used to calculate the extent of Arctic and Antarctic sea ice cover and how mathematics is used to determine long-term trends in these satellite data that commence in the late 1970s. [NASA Goddard Space Flight Center]
Efforts of citizen scientists to aid in climate change science little recognized -- A recent report indicates that several hundred thousand citizen scientist volunteers receive little recognition for the observational data they collect on birds that are used by professional scientists to study how climate change affects bird populations. A half dozen North American Citizen Science Projects for Bird Watchers have been identified. [Cornell Lab of Ornithology]
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 FORCING

Dietary recommendations could lead to increased greenhouse gas emissions -- Researchers at the University of Michigan warn that if Americans would alter their diets to conform to a diet recommended by the US Department of Agriculture, emissions of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere associated tied to agricultural production could increase by 12 percent, if caloric intake remained constant. However, if a healthier diet that had a recommended 2000 calories of daily intake were followed, greenhouse gas emissions would only decrease by approximately one percent. The researchers also looked at the amount of emissions associated with food wasted by Americans. [University of Michigan News]
Warming trend across Pacific Northwest seen over past century -- Climate scientists at the Oregon State University and the University of Idaho claim that the 1.3-Fahrenheit degree increase in annual mean temperature across the Pacific Northwest (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, western Montana, and northwestern Wyoming) has been accelerating over the last three to four decades and this increase in the warming trend can be attributed to human activity. The increase in temperature between 1901 and 2012 has also been accompanied by a lengthening of the "freeze-free" season across the region by two to three weeks. The scientists examined four different factors to determine the influence of human activities, including greenhouse gases and aerosols; solar cycles; volcanic eruptions; and naturally occurring phenomena including El Niño events and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation [Oregon State University News]
Acidity levels decrease in Sierra Nevada lakes -- An international team of researchers led by scientists from the University of California Riverside have studied lake chemistry measurements and sediment cores collected from lakes in California's Sierra Nevada Mountains and concluded that the acidity levels in these lakes have been declining. Apparently, air quality regulation due to the US Clean Air Act has reduced the atmospheric pollution that has caused a corresponding decrease in acidic levels in the lakes, which ultimately benefits aquatic ecosystems in the Sierras. [University of California Riverside News]

CLIMATE AND IMPACTS ON HUMAN HEALTH

Approximately 1700 lives saved in one year by lowered coal-fired power plant emissions in North Carolina -- Scientists recently determined that recent legislation that placed restrictions on emissions from coal-fired power plants in the Southeastern States appears to have saved as many as 1700 lives during 2012 in North Carolina. [American Chemical Society News]
Ozone pollution in India destroys crops that feed 94 million poverty-stricken people -- In a study conducted by scientists from the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, the National Center for Atmospheric Research and Scripps Institution of Oceanography, surface ozone pollution in India was responsible for damaging approximately six million metric tons of that nation's wheat, rice, soybean and cotton crops in 2005, an amount that could feed 94 million people that currently live in poverty.[American Geophysical Union Press Release]

CLIMATE AND SOCIETY

Monetary value of governmental weather and climate data assessed -- A recent US Department of Commerce report indicates that the return to US society on its investment in government meteorological data is large. A median valuation of weather forecasts per household of $286 per year was found, which suggests that the aggregate annual valuation of weather forecasts was approximately $31.5 billion. The sum of all federal spending on meteorological operations and research was $3.4 billion in the same year, and the private sector spent an additional $1.7 billion on weather forecasting, for a total of private and public spending of about $5.1 billion. In other words, the valuation people placed on the weather forecasts they consumed was 6.2 times as high as the total expenditure on producing forecasts. [Economics & Statistics Administration, US Department of Commerce]
Earthweek -- Diary of the Planet [earthweek.com] Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Concept of the Week: End of the Growing Season

As we move through autumn, we often contemplate the end of the growing season as daylight shortens and temperatures begin to fall across many areas of the nation. The length of the 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.

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 killing frost would occur when the temperature around the plant would fall to a point that would kill all but the hardiest vegetation. Sometimes, other terminology is used. When air temperatures fall between 29 and 32 degrees Fahrenheit, a so-called "light freeze" occurs. While tender plants such as tomatoes, peppers, corn and cucumbers would be killed when temperatures fall to around 29 degrees, these conditions would have little destructive effect on other hardier vegetation. A "moderate freeze" typically occurs between 25 and 28 degrees, which would have a widely destructive effect upon most vegetation. For temperatures of 24 degrees or lower, a condition called a "severe freeze", heavy damage would occur with most plants that are not dormant. Apples are damaged when the temperature drops below 20 degrees. Under these conditions, the soil would have frozen solid to a depth dependent upon the duration of the freeze, as well as the soil type and soil moisture.

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 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. Check the map showing the median date of occurrence of the first 32-degree Fahrenheit temperature across the 48 coterminous United States. (The median date means that half of the occurrences of a 32-degree reading over the 30-year normal occur prior to this date, while the other half occur after this date.)

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.

Concept of the Week: Questions

(Place your responses on the Chapter Progress Response Form provided in the Study Guide.)

Many vegetable crops would succumb when autumn air temperatures fall to [(36),(33),(28)] degrees.
The frost-free season in states bordering Canada would probably be less than [(60),(90),(120)] days.

Historical Events

8 September 1900...The greatest weather disaster in U.S. records occurred when a hurricane struck Galveston, TX. Waves fifteen feet high washed over the island demolishing or carrying away buildings, and drowning more than 6000 persons. The hurricane destroyed more than 3600 houses, and total damage was more than $30 million. Winds to 120 mph, and a twenty-foot storm surge accompanied the hurricane. Following the storm, the surf was three hundred feet inland from the former water line. The hurricane claimed another 1200 lives outside of the Galveston area. (8^th-9^th) (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)
8 September 1987...The afternoon high of 97 degrees at Miami, FL was a record for the month of September. (The National Weather Summary)
9 September 1921...A dying tropical depression unloaded 38.20 inches of rain upon the town of Thrall in southeastern Texas killing 224 persons. The 36.40 inches that fell in 18 hours represents a record for the United States. (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)
9 September 1971...Hurricane Ginger formed, and remained a hurricane until the 5th of October. The 27-day life span was the longest of record for any hurricane in the North Atlantic Ocean. (The Weather Channel)
9 September 1994...Hurricane John become an extratropical storm in the central north Pacific Ocean, ending a 29-day life as a hurricane, the longest lived hurricane on record. (The Weather Doctor)
9 September 2000...The Antarctic ozone hole extended to more than 11.4 million square miles over Antarctica, the single-day largest area of depletion ever measured. (The Weather Doctor)
10 September 1900...Elk Point, SD received 8.00 inches of rain that set a 24-hour maximum precipitation record for the state. (NCDC)
10-11 September 1963...A 24-hour rainfall record for the Northern Hemisphere was set at Paishih, Taiwan as 49.13 inches of rain fell as the result of Typhoon Gloria. (Accord Weather Guide Calendar)
11-12 September 1949...Early snowstorm dumped 7.5 inches on Helena, MT on the 11th, the earliest measurable snow for the city to date, then an additional 22 inches followed the next day. (The Weather Doctor)
11-12 September 1976...Japan's 24-hour rainfall record was set as 44.80 inches of rain fell at Hiso in Tokuhima Prefecture as a result of Typhoon Fran, which also was responsible for 167 deaths in Japan. (Accord Weather Guide Calendar)
11 September 1990...The high temperature at Phoenix, AZ reached 112, the highest ever for the date and for so late in the season. (Intellicast)
12 September 1987...Peak sustained winds in Hurricane Max reached 155 mph, the highest observed for an Eastern Pacific hurricane. (The Weather Doctor)
13 September 1922...The temperature at El Azizia in Libya soared to 136 degrees to establish a world record at a surface weather station. To make matters worse, a severe ghibi (dust storm) was in progress. (The Weather Channel) (NCDC) [Note: In September 2012, a World Meteorological Organization panel disqualified this world record temperature due to errors made in recording the temperature at that location. The currently recognized world record high temperature is 134 degrees made at Greenland Ranch in Death Valley, CA on 10 July 1913.]
13 September 1988...Hurricane Gilbert smashed into the Cayman Islands, and as it headed for the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico strengthened into a monster hurricane, packing winds of 175 mph. The barometric pressure at the center of Gilbert reached 26.13 inches (888 mb), an all-time record for any hurricane in the Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, or the Atlantic Ocean. Gilbert covered much of the Gulf of Mexico, producing rain as far away as the Florida Keys. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
14 September 1937...The mercury soared to 92 degrees at Seattle, WA, a record for September. (The Weather Channel)
14 September 1970...The temperature at Fremont, OR dipped to 2 degrees above zero to equal the state record for September set on the 24th in 1926. (The Weather Channel)
14 September 1987...Barrow, AK received 5.1 inches of snow, a record for September. (Sandra and TI Richard Sanders - 1987)
14 September 1988...Pressure in the eye of Hurricane Gilbert moving across the Caribbean Sea fell to 885 millibars (26.17 inches of mercury), the lowest recorded barometric pressure in the Western Hemisphere. Ultimately, 318 died in seven countries across the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico.
15 September 1939...The temperature at Detroit, MI soared to 100 degrees to establish a record for September. (The Weather Channel)
15 September 1982...A snowstorm over Wyoming produced 16.9 inches at Lander to establish a 24-hour record for September for that location. (13th-15th) (The Weather Channel)

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