WEEKLY CLIMATE NEWS

11-15 December 2017

ITEMS OF INTEREST

Worldwide GLOBE at Night 2017 Campaign is underway -- The twelfth in the series of GLOBE at Night citizen-science campaigns for 2017 will continue through Monday, 18 December. 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 (Pegasus in the Northern Hemisphere and Grus 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 GLOBE at night program is intended to raise public awareness of the impact of light pollution. The first series in the 2018 campaign is next and is scheduled for 6-15 January 2018. [GLOBE at Night]
In pursuit of Northern Lights -- An article was posted recently on NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information that provides useful information to all who are interested in viewing the Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights. This article contains maps and links to a variety of websites that help the potential viewer with assessing the current geomagnetic activity and the geographic location, especially in terms of the geomagnetic latitude and longitude. Consideration of light pollution from artificial illumination and the phase of the moon should also be considered. [NOAA NCEI News]
Student scholarships announced -- The NOAA Office of Education recently announced that scholarships are available to undergraduate and graduate students who are majoring in the atmospheric and oceanic sciences, along with several of the other scientific and technical disciplines that support NOAA's mission and programs. [NOAA Office of Education] These scholarships include:
- The Educational Partnership Program with Minority Serving Institutions (EPP/MSI) Undergraduate Scholarships: http://www.noaa.gov/opportunities/eppmsi-undergraduate-scholarship-program. This program provides an opportunity for rising junior students to study disciplines relating to the NOAA's mission. Students attending Minority Serving Institutions are encouraged to apply. The application deadline for the 2017 EPP Undergraduate Scholarship Program is 31 January 2018.
- Ernest F. Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship Program: http://www.noaa.gov/office-education/hollings-scholarship. This program is designed to: (1). increase undergraduate training in oceanic and atmospheric science, research, technology, and education and foster multidisciplinary training opportunities; (2) increase public understanding and support for stewardship of the ocean and atmosphere and improve environmental literacy; (3.) recruit and prepare students for public service careers with NOAA and other natural resource and science agencies at the federal, state and local levels of government; and (4.) recruit and prepare students for careers as teachers and educators in oceanic and atmospheric science and to improve scientific and environmental education in the United States. The application deadline for the 2017 Ernest F. Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship Program is 31 January 2018.

CURRENT CLIMATE STATUS

Temperatures on Alaska's North Slope are "off the chart" -- The chief of the Climate Monitoring group at NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information, Deke Arndt, recently posted a "Beyond the Data' blog that the observed average monthly temperatures for late 2016 and all of 2017 recorded at the weather station at Utqiaġvik (formerly known as Barrow) on Alaska's North Slope have increased so rapidly that they were rejected from the NCEI Alaskan temperature analysis. The station's reported temperatures exceeded the limits of an algorithm used by NCEI that was designed to detect artificial changes in a station's instrumentation or environment. As a consequence of the missing data for Utqiaġvik in the NCEI analysis, northern Alaska appeared slight little cooler than what actually occurred. [NOAA Climate.gov News]
New online tool helps predict droughts in U.S. and famine globally -- A researcher at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences (CIRES) at Boulder, CO and NOAA's Physical Sciences Division has developed the "Evaporative Demand Drought Index (EDDI)," a new tool designed to estimate the "thirst of the atmosphere," or evaporative demand as it changes of time across the 48 contiguous United States and adjacent sections of Canada and Mexico. The EDDI is calculated daily based upon measured air temperature, atmospheric humidity, wind speed and solar radiation. According to drought specialists, the EDDI can detect drought emergence at weekly time scales. In addition, the EDDI has been used by the U.S. Famine Early Warning System network to help governments and relief agencies to provide early warning of food insecurity as they plan for and respond to humanitarian cries around the world. [NOAA News]

CURRENT CLIMATE MONITORING

Seven of nation's universities have received grants to tackle coastal flooding, changing marine resources and drought -- NOAA Research recently announced that seven of the nation's leading research universities have received monetary grants for projects designed to conduct research on coastal flooding, changing marine resources and drought. The funding for the NOAA Research Modeling, Analysis, Predictions, and Projections (MAPP) Program. [NOAA Climate Program Office News]

CLIMATE AND SOCIETY

The weather where a person is raised may shape that human's personality -- An international team of researchers recently reported that the temperatures and weather typical of the region where a person is raised can leave a mark on that individual's personality. [Inc.com]
Lives saved by new storm surge watches and warnings -- During the recent 2017 hurricane season, NOAA's National Hurricane Center (NHC) and the National Weather Service (NWS) issued storm surge watches and warnings along the coasts of the contiguous United States for the first time. Since storm surge is a leading cause of tropical cyclone-related fatalities, NHC and NWS have developed new storm surge watch/warning products, in close cooperation with emergency managers, social scientists, the media and the public to make these products understandable and unambiguous. Although three category 4 hurricanes (on the Saffir-Simpson Scale) made landfall in the United States during this past season, no storm surge fatalities in the nation were reported. [NOAA News]
Earthweek -- Diary of the Planet [earthweek.com]

Historical Events:

11 December 1932...Very cold weather prevailed along the West Coast. San Francisco received 0.8 inch of snow, and at the airport the temperature dipped to 20 degrees. At Sacramento, CA, the mercury dipped to 17 degrees to establish an all-time record low for that location. Morning lows were below freezing from the 9^th to the 15^th at Sacramento, and the high on the 11^th was just 34 degrees. The cold wave dealt severe damage to truck crops and orange groves in the Sacramento Valley. (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)
11 December 2010...A blizzard hit much of southern Minnesota. Minneapolis received a December record 16.3 inches of snow in one calendar day and much of the metro area saw between 15 and 20 inches of snow. (National Weather Service - Twin Cities)
12 December 1882...Portland, OR was drenched with 7.66 inches of rain, a record 24-hour total for that location. (12^th-13^th) (The Weather Channel)
12 December 1995...A five-day lake-effect snowstorm came to an end at Sault Ste Marie, MI over which time 61.7 inches fell, by far the biggest snowstorm ever. In one 24-hour span, 27.8 inches fell to set the 24-hour record. The snow depth reached 50 inches at one time, tying the record. The storm brought the monthly total to 82.5 inches, the greatest monthly total ever. The city went on to set a new winter season record with well over 200 inches. (Intellicast)
13 December 1878...Los Angeles, CA fell to 30 degrees, the lowest temperature at that time for December. (Intellicast)
13 December 1915...A heavy snowstorm kicked off the snowiest winter in modern records for western New England. (The Weather Channel)
13 December 1962...A severe Florida freeze occurred. Morning low temperatures reached 35 degrees at Miami, 18 degrees at Tampa, and 12 degrees at Jacksonville. The renowned "Coldest December Day" was the coldest December weather of the 20th century and caused millions of dollars damage to crops and foliage. In Georgia, the morning low of 9 degrees below zero at Blairsville established a state record for the month of December. (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)
14 December 1924...The temperature at Helena, MT plunged 79 Fahrenheit degrees in 24 hours, and 88 degrees in 34 hours. The mercury plummeted from 63 degrees above to 25 degrees below zero. At Fairfield, MT, the temperature plunged 84 Fahrenheit degrees in just 12 hours, from 63 degrees at noon to 21 degrees below zero at midnight. This temperature fall is the greatest 12-hour temperature change ever recorded in the United States. (David Ludlum) (National Weather Service files)
14 December 1987...A powerful storm spread heavy snow from the Southern High Plains to the Middle Mississippi Valley, and produced severe thunderstorms in the Lower Mississippi Valley. Kansas City, MO was blanketed with 10.8 inches of snow, a 24-hour record for December. (Storm Data) (The National Weather Summary)
15 December 1582...The Spanish Netherlands, Denmark and Norway adopted the Gregorian calendar.
15 December 1945...A record December snowstorm buried Buffalo, NY under 36.6 inches of snow, with unofficial totals south of the city ranging up to 70 inches. Travel was brought to a halt by the storm. (14^th-17^th) (The Weather Channel)
16 December 1890...A big snowstorm at Pittsburgh, PA dropped 23.9 inches in 24 hours, the greatest 24-hour snow for that city. (Intellicast)
16 December 2000...NASA announced that an ocean was most likely located beneath the icy surface of the Jovian moon Ganymede. (Wikipedia)
17 December 1884...A three-week blockade of snow began at Portland, OR. A record December total of 34 inches was received. (David Ludlum)
17 December 1930...Greensboro, NC experienced its greatest 24-hour snowfall when 14.3 inches fell. (Intellicast)

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