13-17 April 2009

• March 2009 weather and climate reviewed -- Scientists at the NOAA National Climatic Data Center recently reported that their analysis of preliminary data indicates the monthly temperature averaged across the coterminous US for March 2009 was several tenths of a degree above the 20th century average. States across the Northwest and the northern Plains had below average temperatures, while sections of the Midwest, the southern Plains and the southern Rockies had above average statewide temperature. March precipitation across the nation was one-tenth of an inch above the 20th century nationwide average. Storms traveling across the northern Plains and the Southeast resulted in above to much above average March precipitation in states from the Northwest to the upper Midwest and across the Southeast. Minnesota, Mississippi and Alabama experienced much above average statewide precipitation in March 2009. On the other hand, Arizona, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland reported much below average March precipitation. Below average precipitation was also reported across the eastern Great Lakes, the Northeast and the Southwest. Approximately one quarter of the nation's land area was experiencing moderate to exceptional drought conditions by the end of the month. [NOAA News]
• State and city weather extremes for March 2009 -- The National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) has posted a listing of some of the notable extremes in temperature, precipitation and other weather elements across the nation for the recently completed month of March 2009 in "Selected U.S. City and State Extremes for March 2009." Note that this site may be updated during the following several weeks as more data are received and analyzed.
• New satellite data shows thinner Arctic sea ice -- According to data collected from NASA satellites, researchers at the National Snow and Ice Data Center the sea ice covering the Arctic Ocean is not only shrinking over the last several decades, but also thinning, as younger and thinner ice has replaced the older and thicker ice during the last five years. [NASA] [NASA Earth Observatory]
• An Antarctic ice bridge collapses -- Images obtained from the MODIS instruments onboard NASA's Aqua and Terra satellites over a one week period at the beginning of April show the collapse of the narrow ice bridge connecting two islands off the Antarctic coast that represented a remnant of that continent's Wilkins Ice Shelf. [NASA Earth Observatory]
• Scientists attempt return to an Antarctic glacier -- A scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and colleagues are planning to return in the 2009-2010 field season to Antarctica's Pine Island Glacier to drill holes for ultimate deployment of instruments within the ice and cameras in the seawater below the ice shelf during the following season.[NASA Earth Science News Team]
• New gravity satellite could help study ocean circulation -- The European Space Agency recently announced that the instruments on board its recently launched Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) satellite have been activated, including accelerometers and gradiometer used to make high resolution measurements of Earth's gravity. In addition to obtaining information about the Earth's interior, these instruments should provide information in the study of ocean behavior that can be used to help forecast climate change. [BBC News]
• Attempting to pinpoint the "edge of space" -- Scientists at the University of Calgary have developed and tested a new instrument called the Supra-Thermal Ion Imager on a JOULE-II rocket launched by NASA from Alaska that was determined the altitude of the boundary between the winds in the Earth's atmosphere and the flow of charged particles in space at 118 km above the Earth's surface. [EurekAlert!]
• Economic conditions help cut carbon emissions -- Point Carbon, an energy research company, recently reported that emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere from many of the industrialized nation have fallen during the last year (2008) due in large part to the worldwide economic slowdown. [USA Today]
• 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]
• Global and US Hazards/Climate Extremes -- A review and analysis of the global impacts of various weather-related events, including drought, floods and storms during the current month. [NCDC]

• Aerosols and Arctic warming -- A climate scientist at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies and colleagues report that the simulations run on a coupled ocean-atmosphere model indicate that nearly half (45 percent) of the atmospheric warming across the Arctic basin since 1976 could be associated with changes in aerosol levels due to human activity. [NASA Earth Science News Team]
• Reforestation of eastern North America could sequester more carbon dioxide -- Researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and McGill University report that their analysis of historical and current data suggests that reforestation across eastern North America, including Wisconsin, could potentially cause increased absorption of atmospheric carbon dioxide. [University of Wisconsin-Madison]
• Sounds from exploding volcanoes compared with jet engines -- Researchers from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the University of Hawaii, the University of Mississippi and Ecuador's Escuela Politecnica Naional who studied low-frequency sounds emitted from Mount St. Helens in Washington State and Tungurahua volcano in Ecuador found this infrasound from volcanoes similar to that emitted by jet engines. They believe that very large natural volcanic jets were making very low frequency jet noise, which could be used possibly as a means of predicting imminent volcanic eruptions. [Scripps News]

• President considers climate engineering as an option -- President Obama's new science adviser recently stated that the Administration is considering various engineering schemes, such as injecting particulate matter into the upper atmosphere to produce a sunscreen, that would be used to combat the current increases in global temperatures, since the President is concerned with the consequences associated with a change in the planetary climate. [USA Today]

• Brazilian rainforest reserves help reduce wildfires -- From ten years of fire data collected by satellites, researchers at Duke University claim that rainforest reserves in Brazil appear to provide an important buffer against wildfires that have been devastating that nation's Amazon rainforests.
  [NASA Earth Observatory]

• Floods shown to affect soil chemistry and crop productivity -- Researchers from Purdue University and the US Department of Agriculture who conducted a study of how wet weather conditions and flooding affects soils across the Midwest conclude that the water in the soil causes oxygen depletion, which affects the chemistry of the soil-water systems, then soil aggregation and ultimately decreases in soil quality and crop production. [Soils Science Society of America]

• Hurricane forecast update -- The hurricane forecast team from Colorado State University headed by Phil Klotzbach recently released their April update of their forecast of the North Atlantic hurricane season for the 2009 season that is to officially begin on 1 June 2009. The team foresees fewer Atlantic hurricanes this coming year as compared with 2008 as well as fewer than they predicted in their initial seasonal forecast made in early December 2008. Currently, they call for a season with slightly above average activity with 12 named tropical cyclones (tropical storms and hurricanes), of which six could reach hurricane status. [USA Today] [The Tropical Meteorology Project]
• Uneven ozone recovery due to changes in climate and atmospheric circulation-- Using recent satellite measurements of ozone together with ozone-depleting substances and greenhouse gases, scientists at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center have run numerical simulations on the Goddard Earth Observing System Chemistry-Climate Model (GEOS-CCM) to examine how future projected climate change will affect ozone recovery through the rest of this century. The results of these simulations indicate that the stratospheric ozone layer should recover from the chlorofluorocarbons released into the atmosphere during the 20th century, but look different since the projected levels of greenhouse gases would result in climate change along with a different atmospheric circulation pattern. [NASA]
• Wildfire hotspots shift with climate change -- Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley and Texas Tech University using infrared satellite data of wildfires collected over a decade from the European Space Agency satellites have assembled a map showing what could happen to the global distribution and behavior of wildfires during the next three decades due to projected changes in climate. [University of California, Berkley]

• Reduced nickel trigger seen as possible trigger for increased ancient oxygen -- Research conducted by scientists at the Carnegie Institution and the University of Alberta on banded-iron formations of sedimentary rocks prior to the 550 million years ago suggests that increases in oxygen levels beginning approximately 2.4 billion years ago during the "Great Oxidation Event" may be linked to a drop in the levels of dissolved nickel in seawater, which could have affected the methanogens (methane-producing microorganisms) in the ancient oceans. [EurekAlert!]

• Commitment to science emphasized by new NOAA chief -- Dr. Jane Lubchenco, who was recently sworn in as NOAA administrator and undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere, called for a renewal of the nation's commitment to science. She outlined some of NOAA's science priorities that include: understanding and adapting to climate change; creating jobs through innovation especially in fishing communities; restoring ocean health and vitality; and providing critical weather information. [NOAA News]
• Proposed NOAA recovery plan designed to help job creation, communities and the habitat --- Last week, NOAA officials submitted its proposed recovery plan to the US Congress that would create new jobs, strengthen the economy, restore the environment and combat climate change. These goals are in keeping with NOAA's mission involving with weather forecasting and research, fisheries, ocean and coastal management. [NOAA News]
• Website for human dimensions of climate change -- An interagency effort within the US federal government that included NOAA, the Bureau of Land Management and the US Forest Service, has resulted in a website called HD.gov (for HumanDimensions.gov) that provides users, such as natural resource managers, with information on the human dimensions on a variety of topics of interest such as climate change. [HD.gov]
• Earthweek -- Diary of the Planet [earthweek.com] Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.

• 13 April 1955...The town of Axis, AL was deluged with 20.33 inches of rain in 24 hours establishing a state record. (The Weather Channel)
• 13 April 1985...The high temperature of 86 degrees for this date at Medford, OR was the highest ever so early in the spring season. (Intellicast)
• 14 April 1933...The state intensity record for snowfall for New Hampshire was set at Franklin Lake as 35 inches fell in 24 hours. (Intellicast)
• 14 April 1986...The world's heaviest hailstone, weighing 2.25 pounds, fell in the Gopalganj District of Bangladesh. This hailstone could have reached speeds in excess of 90 mph. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar) (Wikipedia)
• 15 April 1921...Two-mile high Silver Lake (elevation 10,220 ft) in Boulder County, Colorado received 76 in. of snow in 24 hrs, the heaviest 24-hr total of record for North America. The storm left a total of 87 in. in twenty-seven and a half hours. (David Ludlum)
• 15 April 1927...New Orleans, LA was drenched with 14.01 inches of rain, which established a 24-hour rainfall record for the state. This record was eclipsed in August 1962, when 22.00 inches fell in a 24-hour span. (The Weather Channel)
• 16 April 1975...A single storm brought 119 inches of snow to Crater Lake, OR, establishing a state record. (Intellicast)
• 16 April 2007…An intense nor'easter raging along the New England Coast caused the barometric pressure reading at Albany, NY to fall to 28.84 inches of mercury (976.68 mb), the lowest barometric pressure reading ever recorded in April in the Empire State's capital city. (The Weather Doctor)
• 17 April 1948…A ten-minute deluge dumped 34 mm (1.34 inches) of rain on Tauranga, the wettest 10 minutes ever recorded on New Zealand. (The Weather Doctor)
• 17 April 1997...The Red River of the North crested at Fargo, ND, with a record crest of 39.6 ft, which is 22.6 ft above flood stage. This record flood, produced by several major winter storms, heavy spring rain, rapid snow melt, and ice jams, was responsible for at least 11 deaths (7 in North Dakota and 4 in Minnesota) and tremendous property damage along with large scale evacuations of residents from the Grand Forks metropolitan area. Dikes along the river gave way. Overall damage and cleanup costs have been estimated to range from $1 to $2 billion in Grand Forks, where a portion of the downtown burned as firefighters had a difficult time reaching the buildings due to the flood. [NCDC]
  Editor's Note: "History repeats!" During the second week of April 2001, the Red River at Grand Forks reached a river stage of 45 ft, or approximately 17 ft above flood stage and about 7 ft below the top of the levee. In 1997 this gauge measured a record 54.35 ft. EJH
• 18 April 2004...A record 182 consecutive days of no measurable precipitation began in San Diego, CA on this date, which ended on 17 October 2004 with 0.09 inches of rain. This new record broke the 181-day record set the previous year. Interestingly, the rain that followed the more recent dry spell resulted in October 2004 becoming San Diego's wettest month on record (4.98 inches). (Accord Weather Guide Calendar)
• 19 April 1973...Glenrock, WY received 41 inches of snow in just 24 hours, and a storm total of 58 inches, to establish two state records. (18th-20th) (David Ludlum) (The Weather Channel)

Return to DataStreme ECS website

Prepared by Edward J. Hopkins, Ph.D., email hopkins@meteor.wisc.edu
© Copyright, 2009, The American Meteorological Society.