25-29 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.

• Peak in the annual temperature curves -- This upcoming week is the fourth full week of July, which for many locations across the nation typically marks the warmest week of the year, as indicated by the daily normal high and low temperatures. Usually, those stations located away from the moderating influences of the oceans reach their highest temperatures during the third to fourth week of July, or a roughly one month after the summer solstice, when the Northern Hemisphere receives the most hours of daylight and the largest amounts of solar radiation. During July, temperatures continue to rise to their highest typical values as radiational heating continues. However, the length of daylight and the amount of sunshine during this month begin decrease and the normal daily temperatures will begin to fall toward their lowest levels in mid to late January.

• New normals available in more friendly format -- NOAA's National Climatic Data Center recently released climate normals for nearly 8000 stations around the nation that cover the new 1981-2010 climate reference interval. These data that were released at the start of this month were in a database format that is not particularly user-friendly. During the last week, Jan Null, a climatologist with Golden Gate Weather Services in California has placed the nation's new climate normals of monthly and annual temperature, precipitation and snowfall on their web site in a user-friendly manner. These data sets are arranged by state at http://ggweather.com/normals/.
• World's climate data yet to be placed on a computer -- A research study led by Spain's Rovira i Virgili University recently found that only 20 percent of the world's recorded climate information has been digitized for use by scientists, while the remaining 80 percent of the data are not accessible currently in digital format. Some of these un-digitized climate data are from Europe date back to the 17th Century. The unavailability of the climate data is hampering climate research. [EurekAlert!] Editor's note: NOAA's National Climatic Data Center has been making strides in digitizing most of the historic climate data from the United States and making these data available for scientists and other users. EJH

• Weather satellites detecting high levels of atmospheric humidity -- Sensors onboard NOAA's fleet of geosynchronous (GOES) and polar-orbiting (POES) environmental satellites have been providing images of the high levels of atmospheric humidity that have developed across the continental United States during the last several weeks as part of the heat wave that has swept across much of the country. Animations of the images of distribution of dewpoint temperature and air temperature across the US can be viewed. [NOAA’s Satellite and Information Service]
• Corn crop and relationship with climate and increased humidity climate studied --A feature article describes how the nation's ever increasing corn crop has helped influence the intensity of heat waves, such as the one currently underway. The major role that evapotranspiration plays during the growth of corn in adding water vapor to the atmosphere especially across the Corn Belt is addressed. Numerous stations across the Midwest reported daily high low temperature records, along with record high dewpoint temperatures. [UCAR & NCAR Currents]
• Snow remains across Utah's mountains -- While many areas of the nation have been sweltering over the last several weeks, cool weather conditions and a heavy snowpack remained across the West, as evident by the image obtained in mid-July from the sensor aboard NASA's Landsat 5 satellite depicting the snow on the Uinta Mountains in northeast Utah. This past winter's snow in the Uintas was over eight times normal. [NASA Earth Observatory]
• 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]

• Recent global temperature increases offset by more stratospheric particles -- Scientists at the NOAA Earth System Research Laboratory and their colleagues at the NOAA, the University of Colorado and NASA report that their measurements of aerosols or airborne particles in the atmosphere using lidar has shown an increase in the atmospheric aerosol loading. This increase in the aerosols over the last ten years would cause a backscatter of incoming sunlight into the Earth-atmosphere system and account for the offset of the rise in temperature due to increased carbon dioxide by approximately one third. [NOAA News]
• Assessing the contribution of dairy farms to greenhouse gas emissions -- Scientists at the US Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service Northwest Irrigation and Soils Research Laboratory in Kimberly, ID have conducted a year-long study that collected data as to the contribution of large-scale dairy farms contribute to the emission of greenhouse gases. The emissions of ammonia, carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide from a commercial 10,000-milk cow dairy were monitored. [USDA-ARS Northwest Irrigation and Soils Research Laboratory]

• Maximum tree heights estimated -- Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the University of Maryland and the Santa Fe Institute in New Mexico have developed a model designed to estimate maximum tree height across the United States for different environmental conditions. Local meteorological data such as average annual temperature, precipitation, solar radiation and atmospheric humidity were some of the input data. In addition to the maximum tree height, the model also produces information about forest density and carbon storage. [MIT News]

• Seasonal outlooks for the nation released -- This past week, forecasters with NOAA's Climate Prediction Center recently released their new three-month Seasonal Outlook running through October 2011. Much of the nation was expected to have a better than equal chance of having above average temperatures through the last month of meteorological summer and the first two months of meteorological autumn. The signal for above average temperature appears strongest over the southern tier of states, primarily across the Southwest. Sections of the Southeast, the Great Lakes and the Northeast appear to have a good chance of above average temperatures for the next three months. However, sections of the West Coast from southwestern California north to Oregon were expected to have a better than even chance of below average temperature. Other sections of the nation were thought to have equal chances of above or below average temperatures. The Great Basin could experience an above average chance of below average precipitation for the next three months, while sections of the northern and central Plains, along with Florida in the Southeast, were expected to stand a good chance of receiving above average rainfall. Elsewhere, no clear-cut signal appears, meaning equal chances of below and above average precipitation. [NOAA Climate Prediction Center] The NOAA forecasters also released their Seasonal Drought Outlook that is to run through October. They foresee drought persisting or developing across the southern Plains and the Mid-South, primarily across Texas, Oklahoma, southern Kansas, Arkansas and Louisiana. On the other hand, improvement of drought conditions were expected across sections of the southern Rockies and the Southeast. [NOAA Climate Prediction Center]

• Project launched to reduce cost of wind energy -- NOAA, along with the US Department of Energy and private partners, recently launched the Wind Forecast Improvement Project, a collaborative effort designed to reduce the cost of wind energy production as part of the President's effort to reach his renewable and clean energy goals. Part of this Wind Forecast Improvement Project involves the placement of sophisticated wind sensors that will collect wind data from the surface to approximately 400 feet above the surface where the wind turbines operate. [NOAA News]
• Pollutants continue to lurk after they disappear -- A researcher at Israel's Tel Aviv University claims that even if pharmaceutical wastes deemed to be environmental pollutants appear to have disappeared with current testing, these contaminants may still continue to present health implications. Biological and chemical processes such as sun exposure could change their form and create new chemicals that continue to be contaminants in the water or soil. [American Friends of Tel Aviv 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]
• 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]

• Discovery made of large and distant water reservoir -- Two teams of astronomers including those from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), have discovered the largest and farthest reservoir of water ever detected in the universe, which is 30 billion trillion miles or 12 billion light-years away from our solar system. [Caltech]
• Earthweek -- Diary of the Planet [earthweek.com] Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.

• 25 July 1979...Tropical Storm Claudette produced phenomenal rainfall totals in southeast Texas. Thirty to forty inches fell in 24 hours around Alvin. Freeport reported a total of 30 inches. Total damage from flooding was over $400 million. (Intellicast)
• 25 July 1987...Sixteen cities in the eastern U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date. Beckley, WV equaled their all-time record high of 91 degrees, established just the previous day. It marked their fourth day in a row of 90-degree heat, after hitting 90 degrees just twice in the previous 25 years of records. The water temperature of Lake Erie at Buffalo, NY reached 79 degrees, the warmest reading in 52 years of records. (The National Weather Summary)
• 26 July 1943...Tishomingo, OK baked in the heat as the mercury soared to 121 degrees, a Sooner State record high temperature. (The Weather Channel)
• 26 July 1960...The temperature at Salt Lake City, UT hit 107 degrees, an all-time record high for that location. (The Weather Channel)
• 27 July 1897...Jewell, MD received 14.75 inches of rain, which was a 24-hour rainfall record for Maryland. (NCDC)
• 27 July 1939...The temperature at Lewiston, ID hit 117 degrees to establish an all-time record high for that location. (The Weather Channel)
• 27-28 July 1984...Unprecedented rainfall fell at Alvsbyn in Sweden (approximately 62 miles south of the Arctic Circle), which was remarkable for such a northern location that is at about the same latitude as Fort Yukon, AK. On the 26^th, 5.51 inches fell and on the 27^th, an additional 5.63 inches were recorded. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 27 July 1989...Thunderstorms produced locally heavy rains in the southwestern U.S. Yuma, AZ experienced their most severe thunderstorm of record. Strong thunderstorm winds, with unofficial gusts as high as 95 mph, reduced visibility to near zero in blowing dust and sand. Yuma got nearly as much rain in one hour as is normally received in an entire year. The storm total of 2.55 inches of rain was a record 24-hour total for July. Property damage due to flash flooding and high winds was in the millions. (Storm Data)
• 28 July 1930...The temperature at Greensburg, KY soared to 114 degrees to set a state record. (The Weather Channel)
• 28 July 1934...The temperature at Orofino, ID climbed to 118 degrees to establish a record for Idaho. (The Weather Channel)
• 28 July 1995...Yuma, AZ reached its all-time high temperature reading with 124 degrees. (Intellicast)
• 29 July 1898...The temperature at Prineville, OR soared to 119 degrees to establish a state record, which was tied on the 10^th of August of that same year at Pendleton. (The Weather Channel)
• 29 July 1930...Mississippi's record high temperature of 115 degrees was set at Holly Springs. (Intellicast)
• 30 July 1949...The state record temperature for Connecticut was established when the town of Greenville registered an afternoon high of 102 degrees. (The Weather Channel)
• 30 July 1965...The temperature at Portland, OR reached 107 degrees to equal their all-time record high. (The Weather Channel)
• 31 July 1861...Numerous world rainfall records were set at Cherrapunji, India as of this last day of July. These records include: 366.1 inches for a single 31-day month (during July 1861); 502.63 inches for two months (June-July 1861); 644.44 inches for three months (May-July 1861); 737.72 inches for four months (April-July 1861) and 1041.78 inches for 12 months (Aug. 1860-July 1861). (WMO, NWS)
• 31 July 1991...Roswell, NM closed out the month with a total of 6.68 inches of rain to set a new record for the month. (Intellicast)
• 31 July 1986...The temperature at Little Rock, AR soared to 112 degrees to establish an all-time record high for that location. Morrilton, AR hit 115 degrees, and daily highs for the month at that location averaged 102 degrees. (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.