4-8 July 2011

DataStreme Earth Climate Systems will return for Fall 2011 with new Investigations files starting during Preview Week, Monday, 29 August 2011. All the current online website products will continue to be available throughout the summer break period.

• Way out there!...The earth reaches aphelion, the point in its annual orbit when it is farthest from the sun on Monday morning (officially at 15Z on 4 July 2011, which is equivalent to 11 AM EDT or 10 AM CDT). At aphelion, the earth-sun distance is 152,089,000 km, or 3.4% greater than the distance at perihelion, the smallest earth-sun distance, which occurred earlier this year on the early evening of 3 January 2011.
• Agreement reached to provide improved climate services for the West -- Late last week, the Western Governors’ Association (WGA) and NOAA announced a joint agreement for improving the development and delivery of climate science and services to 19 Western states and three US Flag Pacific Islands. Two priority areas were addressed involving disaster risk reduction focusing on the impact of extreme events and improved science and climate information to support the management of coastal, estuarine, and marine resources important to achieving resilient coastal communities and ecosystems. [NOAA News]

• New climate normals put released -- During the last week, scientists at NOAA's National Climatic Data Center issued the new national climate normals that represent averages for the three decades running from 1981-2010, which replace the older normal values calculated for the 1971-2000 reference period. The NOAA scientists also noted that the nation's average temperature increased by approximately 0.5 Fahrenheit degrees between the old and new normal periods. Overnight minimum values tended to increase more than daytime high temperatures. [NOAA News]
• Comprehensive report indicates 2010 as one of two warmest years on record -- NOAA scientists released a comprehensive "2010 State of the Climate" report on the global climate last week in which 41 climate attributes were tracked in 45 nations on every continent by 368 scientists. The report indicates that globally, 2010 year was one of the two warmest years since sufficient instrumental records began in the late 19th century. The scientists indicated that the El Niño-Southern Oscillation, along with other climate patterns played a major role in making 2010 a warm year. [NOAA News]
• Pollution from Southwest wildfires measured by satellite -- Researchers from NASA and the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) have been tracking atmospheric pollutants that have spread across a large section of the nation from the large wildfires that have been burning across Arizona and New Mexico during June 2011.
• At the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, researchers are compiling data on the atmospheric concentrations of nitrogen dioxide collected by the Ozone Measuring Instrument (OMI) that flies aboard NASA's Aura satellite. The nitrogen dioxide has increased across the Southwest due to the large wildfires. [NASA GSFC]
• Researchers at NCAR’s Atmospheric Chemistry Division have used data collected from the MOPITT (Measurements of Pollution in the Troposphere) sensor on NASA’s Terra satellite to map the concentrations of atmospheric carbon monoxide across the Plains and Midwest from Arizona's Wallow Fire during the first half of June. [UCAR/NCAR]

• 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]

• Aircraft operations can affect clouds and precipitation near airports -- Scientists from the National Center for Atmospheric Research and colleagues at NASA and the University of Wyoming report that take-off and landing operations by aircraft under certain atmospheric conditions can disturb the local atmosphere sufficiently to cause modest increases in rain and snow around airports that can also create precipitation-produced holes or canals in the clouds. [UCAR/NCAR]

• Increasing temperatures could significantly alter US premium wine industry -- Stanford University climate scientists warn that increased global temperatures within the next 30 years could significantly hurt the premium wine growing regions in California and other areas of the US, such as Oregon and Washington. High-value wine growing land in northern California could be cut in half by 2040. [Stanford University]

• End of La Niña raises uncertainty in climate outlooks -- Recent sea surface data collected by the NASA/European Ocean Surface Topography Mission/Jason-2 satellite indicate that the recent La Niña event has essentially ended across the equatorial Pacific Ocean during the month of June 2011, with a return to "normal conditions." A climatologist and oceanographer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory discusses how the current period between La Niña and El Niño patterns represent a high degree of uncertainty for long-range climate forecasters who are producing seasonal and longer climate outlooks. [NASA JPL]

• Response to climate change influenced by culture -- A psychologist at Penn State University and her colleagues report that the choices people make in consuming resources and using contraception devices influence their responses to changing climate issues. The researchers also indicate that culture may influence decisions on environmental consumption and behavior. [Penn State University]
• 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.

• 4 July 1911...The northeastern U.S. experienced sweltering 100-degree heat. The temperature soared to 105 degrees at Vernon, VT and North Bridgton, ME, and to 106 degrees at Nashua, NH, to establish all-time records for those three states. Afternoon highs of 104 degrees at Boston, MA, 104 at Albany, NY, and 103 at Portland, ME, were all-time records for those three cities. (The Weather Channel)
• 4 July 1956...A world record for the most rain in one minute was set at Unionville, MD with a downpour of 1.23 inches. (The Weather Channel) (The National Severe Storms Forecast Center)
• 4 July 1989...Independence Day was "hot as a firecracker" across parts of the country. Nineteen cities, mostly in the north central U.S., reported record high temperatures for the date, including Williston, ND with a reading of 107 degrees. In the southwestern U.S., highs of 93 at Alamosa, CO, 114 at Tucson, AZ, and 118 at Phoenix, AZ, equaled all-time records for those locations. (The National Weather Summary)
• 4 July 2007...The temperature at St. George, UT hit an unofficial temperature reading of 118 degrees, which would have topped the state's all-time record of 117 degrees, set in St. George in 1985. (The Weather Doctor)
• 5 July 1925...An immense hailstone weighing 227 grams (0.5 lb) fell at Plumstead in London, England, the heaviest hailstone ever recorded in the United Kingdom. (The Weather Doctor)
• 5 July 1936...The all-time state record high of 120 degrees was set at Gann Valley, SD. (Intellicast)
• 5 July 1937...The temperature at Medicine Lake, MT soared to 117 degrees to establish a state record. (Sandra and TI Richard Sanders - 1987)
  Midale and Yellow Grass in Saskatchewan hit 113 degrees to establish an all-time record high for Canada that same day. (The Weather Channel)
• 5 July 1985...The temperature at St. George, UT reached 117 degrees, setting a record high temperature for the Beehive State. (NCDC)
• 5 July 1986...The low temperature at Boise, ID dropped to a crisp 35 degrees, the coldest ever for the month. (Intellicast)
• 5 July 1988...Afternoon and evening thunderstorms spawned eleven tornadoes in Montana and three in North Dakota. Baseball size hail was reported at Shonkin, MT, and wind gusts to 85 mph were reported south of Fordville, ND. Twenty cities in the north central U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date, including Fargo, ND with a reading of 106 degrees. Muskegon, MI equaled their July record with a high of 95 degrees. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
• 5 July 1989...Moisture from what once was Tropical Storm Allison triggered thunderstorms over the Middle Atlantic Coast Region, which deluged Wilmington, DE with a record 6.83 inches of rain in 24 hours, including 6.37 inches in just six hours. Up to ten inches of rain was reported at Claymont, northeast of Wilmington. July 1989 was thus the wettest month in seventy years for Wilmington, with a total of 12.63 inches of rain. Alamosa, CO reported an all-time record high of 94 degrees, and Pierre, SD hit 113 degrees. Denver, CO reached 101 degrees, topping 100 for the second straight day, only happened once before in 1972 (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) (Intellicast)
• 5 July 1993...Heavy rains deluged the Central Plains as one of the greatest floods in U.S. history began to unfold. Twenty-four hour totals included 5.90 inches at Columbia, IA, 5.15 inches at Centralia, KS and 4.80 inches at Haddam, KS. (Intellicast)
• 6 July 1928...A hailstorm at Potter, NE produced a stone that was 5.5 inches in diameter, and seventeen inches in circumference, weighing a pound and a half. At the time, it was the world's largest hailstone. (David Ludlum) (Wikipedia)
• 6 July 1921...The mercury hit 104 degrees at Ville Marie, Quebec, marking Quebec's highest temperature on record. (The Weather Doctor)
• 6 July 1936...Steele, ND reached 121 degrees, the state record. Moorhead, MN reached 114 degrees to set a record high temperature for the Gopher State. (Intellicast) (NCDC).
• 6 July 1988...Thirty-six cities in the north central and northeastern U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date. Afternoon highs of 98 degrees at International Falls, MN and 101 degrees at Flint, MI equaled all-time records. Highs of 96 degrees at Muskegon, MI and 97 degrees at Buffalo, NY were records for July. (The National Weather Summary)
• 6 July 1994...An impressive 21.10 inches of rain fell at Americus, GA to establish a 24-hour maximum precipitation record for the Peach State. (NCDC)
• 7 July 1889...The greatest 20-minute rainfall ever recorded on Earth occurred when 8.1 inches of rain fell on Curtea-de-Arges, Romania. (The Weather Doctor)
• 7 July 1905...The mercury soared to 127 degrees at Parker, AZ to tie the state record established at Fort Mohave on 15 June 1896. (The Weather Channel)
• 7 July 1982...France's hottest day on record occurred at Le Luc near St. Tropez when the high reached 108.9 degrees. (The Weather Doctor)
• 7 July 1988...Thirty-eight cities in the north central and northeastern U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date. Youngstown, OH hit 100 degrees, and for the second day in a row, Flint, MI reached 101 degrees, equaling all-time records for those two cities. (The National Weather Summary)
• 8 July 1936...The temperature hit an all-time record high of 106 degrees at the Central Park Observatory in New York City, a record that lasted until La Guardia Airport hit 107 degrees on 3 July 1966. (The Weather Channel)
• 8 July 1989...Sixteen cities in the central and western U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date. The high of 103 degrees at Denver, CO equaled their record for July, and a 110-degree reading at Rapid City, SD equaled their all-time record high. Denver reported a record five straight days of 100 degree heat, and Scottsbluff, NE reported a record eight days in a row of 100 degree weather. (The National Weather Summary)
• 8 July 2003...Dhahran, Saudi Arabia on the Persian Gulf, recorded a dewpoint of 95 degrees. (The Weather Doctor)
• 9 July 1914...Finland's hottest day on record occurred when the temperature at Turku, Finland reached 96.6 degrees. (The Weather Doctor)
• 9 July 1950...The town of York, NE was deluged with 13.15 inches of rain in 24 hours to establish a record for the Cornhusker State. (The Weather Channel)
• 9 July 1968...Columbus, MS received 15.68 inches of rain in 24 hours to establish a state record. (The Weather Channel)
• 9 July 1988...The percentage of total area in the country in the grips of severe to extreme drought reached 43 percent, the fourth highest total of record. The record of 61 percent occurred during the summer of 1934. (The National Weather Summary)
• 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)
• 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)

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Prepared by Edward J. Hopkins, Ph.D., email hopkins@meteor.wisc.edu
© Copyright, 2011, The American Meteorological Society.