8-12 August 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.

• The "Dog Days" officially end on 11 August, having begun the third day in July. Superstition has it that dogs tend to become mad during that time of the year. (The Weather Channel)
• A Nighttime Show -- The annual Perseid meteor shower should peak in the predawn hours of Friday morning, but the display should continue Saturday. The Perseids, which are associated with the some bits of Comet Swift-Tuttle, are noted for being fast and bright, and often leave persistent trains. Typically, the Perseids are usually very active for several days before and after the peaks, often producing 30 to 60 meteors per hour. Unfortunately, the illumination from a full moon should interfere with viewing the Perseids. If the skies are clear in your area, go to a region that has few lights and look up and to the northeast during the early morning hours.
• Ash plume detected over Krakatau Volcano -- A natural-color image obtained at the start of last week from the Advanced Land Imager (ALI) aboard NASA's Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) satellite shows a thin ash plume rising from Anak Krakatau (also known as Krakatoa), which erupted in 1883 as one of the largest volcanic eruptions of the 19th Century. [NASA Earth Observatory]
• An interview with a NASA hurricane specialist -- NASA's Earth Observatory mission recently conducted an interview with Scott Braun, a research meteorologist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and a participant in the recent Genesis and Rapid Intensification Processes (GRIP) experiment. He provides his views of the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season. [NASA Earth Observatory]

• Maps show record temperatures in July heat wave -- NOAA's Environmental Visualization Laboratory has produced maps showing the 2755 highest maximum temperatures and the 6171 highest minimum temperatures that were either tied or exceeded across the coterminous United States during July 2011. The maps show the effect of the heat wave that gripped the southern Plains, the Midwest and the Northeast. These data, collected and compiled by NOAA's National Climatic Data Center, are preliminary and may be updated as additional data are received. [NOAA Environmental Visualization Laboratory]
• Exceptional drought record set in July -- An official with the National Drought Mitigation Center reported that during the month of July 2011, the percent of the coterminous United States classified as experiencing exceptional drought reached nearly twelve percent, which marks the largest percentage for the worst drought category in the 12-year history of the center's US Drought Monitor. [EurekAlert!]

• Environmental data available from Great Lakes Observing System -- NOAA's Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL) and its partners are designing a new comprehensive system to integrate and stream the large quantity of environmental data collected by the Great Lakes Observing System (GLOS), a network that will include satellites, aircraft, stationary platforms, buoys, drifters and floats, automated underwater vehicles, towed sensor arrays, and ships. With the GLOS data streaming system expected to be available by 2012, the available lake and meteorological data will be especially useful to the residents of the eight states and two Canadian provinces surrounding the Great Lakes. [NOAA Research]
• 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]

• Gases other than carbon dioxide could be targeted to slow climate change -- Three scientists from NOAA's Earth System Research Laboratory have determined that cutting the emissions of several greenhouse gases other than carbon dioxide, such as methane; nitrous oxide and other ozone-depleting gases, could slow anticipated changes in global climate by reducing their direct radiative forcing. [NOAA News]
• Effects of aerosols upon climate may be underestimated -- Researchers at the University of Michigan claim that aerosols or airborne soot particles and droplets containing dissolved sulfur dioxide appear to affect climate more than satellite-based estimates currently predict. [University of Michigan News]

• Hurricane season outlooks are updated -- Forecasters with NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, along with those from the National Hurricane Center, released their updated Atlantic hurricane season outlook last week. These forecasters continued to anticipate an active 2011 Atlantic hurricane season, increasing their level of confidence that this would be an active season and boosting the number of possible tropical cyclones from their mid-May outlooks due to several indicators. They anticipate an active season because favorable atmospheric and oceanic conditions associated with a tropical multi-decadal signal, higher than average sea surface temperatures in the tropical Atlantic and Caribbean, and reduced vertical wind shear over the Atlantic Basin due to possible redevelopment of La Niña. Since the mid-May NOAA outlook five named tropical cyclones (Arlene, Bret, Cindy, Don and Emily) have developed to date across the basin that includes the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico in addition to the North Atlantic Ocean. NOAA's new and updated outlook projects, with a 70 percent probability, that 14 to 19 named cyclones (maximum sustained surface winds exceeding 38 mph) will develop, 7 to 10 hurricanes (winds greater than 73 mph) will form, with three to five hurricanes possibly becoming major (category 3 or greater on the Saffir-Simpson Scale). [NOAA News]
  The hurricane forecasters at Colorado State University, including Philip Klotzbach and William Gray, also have issued an updated August forecast for 2011, which calls for "a very active" season with above average named tropical cyclone activity in the North Atlantic basin. They base their outlook on neutral ENSO conditions and warm waters in the tropical Atlantic. In addition to the five named tropical storms that have occurred to date, they foresee the occurrence of 16 named cyclones, nine hurricanes and five major hurricanes. They also anticipate a higher than average probability that a major hurricane will make landfall in the continental United States and in the Caribbean. [The Tropical Storm Project]

• Dramatic changes in Arctic sea ice occurred in past -- A team of scientists from Denmark's University of Copenhagen have determined that larger seasonal and annual variations in the Arctic sea ice have occurred during the last 10,000 years than during recent summers. They noted that during the Holocene Climate Optimum, (approximately 8000 to 5000 years ago) warmer conditions than currently observed resulted in a summer Arctic ice cover that was nearly 50 percent smaller than the modern record small ice cover observed in summer of 2007. [University of Copenhagen]
• Prehistoric warming of ocean water could trigger ice shelf collapse -- A team of scientists from Oregon State University, the University of Wisconsin, the National Center for Atmospheric Research and China's Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology have been analyzing "Heinrich events," or large mass discharges of icebergs into the North Atlantic from the Laurentide Ice Sheet during the last Ice Age. These researchers have found that the subsurface warming of small amounts of sea water can trigger a rapid collapse of ice shelves. They are also concerned that warmer waters could result in a collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. [Oregon State University]
• East Africa's climate affected by events in equatorial Pacific during present interglacial -- An international team of scientists from the United States, Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Belgium have reconstructed a 21,000-year record of rainfall in East Africa that indicates the timing of floods and droughts across this region has been dominated by events in the equatorial Pacific related to warm (El Niño) or cool (La Niña) phases of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). [LabSpaces]
• Ancient tides may have been much higher than present tides -- Using high resolution computer simulations, scientists at Oregon State University, the University of Leeds, the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Toronto, and Tulane University have concluded that ancient ocean tides may have been more variable and exhibited greater ranges between low and high tides than current tides. A variety of phenomena could have been responsible for the higher tides, including ice ages, plate tectonics, land uplift, erosion and sedimentation. [Oregon State University News]
• Humans developed in savanna-like environments -- Employing chemical isotopic analyses of ancient soils from East Africa, scientists from the University of Utah and their colleagues have found that grassy, tree-dotted savannas prevailed across the region during the last six million years where early humans and their ape relatives evolved. They determined that tree cover was less than 40 percent of the total area across the region. [University of Utah News Center]

• Cheapest way of limiting the human influence on this century's climate -- Researchers from the Joint Global Change Research Institute (University of Maryland and the US Energy Department's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory or PNNL) have been using computer models to determine the cheapest means to limit the human influence upon increased global temperatures. Using the PNNL Global Change Assessment Model they showed that if society wanted to limit atmospheric carbon dioxide in 2100 to less than 40 percent higher than today's levels, the lowest cost option would be to use every available means of reducing emissions, including more nuclear and renewable energy, choosing electricity over fossil fuels, reducing emissions through technologies that capture and store carbon dioxide, and even using forests to store carbon. [Pacific Northwest National Laboratory]
• 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]
• Earthweek -- Diary of the Planet [earthweek.com] Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.

• 8 August 1878...The temperature at Denver, CO soars to an all-time record high of 105 degrees. (The Weather Channel)
• 8 August 1983...The temperature at Big Horn Basin, WY reached 115 degrees to establish a state record for the Cowboy State. (The Weather Channel)
• 9 August 1930...The temperature reached 113 degrees at Perryville, TN to establish an all-time maximum temperature record for the Volunteer State. (NCDC) (Intellicast)
• 9 August 1960...Vancouver (British Columbia) International Airport's hottest day on record as the mercury hit 91.4 degrees (The Weather Doctor)
• 9 August 2003...The Bavarian city of Roth, Germany had a temperature that hit 105 degrees, a new national record. (The Weather Doctor)
• 10 August 1898...The temperature at Pendleton, OR climbed all the way to 119 degrees to tie the state record set two weeks previously at Prineville. (The Weather Channel)
• 10 August 1936...The temperature soared to 114 degrees at Plain Dealing, LA, and reached 120 degrees at Ozark, AR, to establish record highs for those two states. (The Weather Channel)
• 10 August 1988... The temperature reached 102 degrees at Ely, NV breaking the all-time record there. (Intellicast)
• 10 August 2003...A heat wave continued across the British Isles. At Gravesend in southern England, a new national heat record was set as the mercury soared to 100.58 degrees. The heat forced rail service officials across Britain to limit train speeds to 60 mph because of fears the tracks could buckle. Londoners experience their hottest recorded day in the London's history when the temperature hit 100.22 degrees, which was the first ever time that the temperature went over 100 degrees at Heathrow Airport. (The Weather Doctor)
• 11 August 1914...The temperature at Northwest River, Labrador soared to an all-time Labrador record high of 107 degrees. (The Weather Doctor)
• 11 August 1933...The unofficial shade temperature at San Luis, Mexico reached 58 degrees Celsius (136.4 degrees Fahrenheit), for share of the world record with Aziziyah, Lybia. (The Weather Doctor)
• 11 August 1944...The temperature at Burlington, VT soared to an all-time record high of 101 degrees. (The Weather Channel)
• 11 August 2003...The temperature at Turin, Italy hit 107 degrees, marking the hottest day in over the 250 years that temperature readings have been recorded. (The Weather Doctor)
• 11 August 2004...The temperature at Reykjavík, Iceland reached 76.6 degrees, the hottest day ever recorded in the city where record have been kept since the 19th century. (The Weather Doctor)
• 11 August 2007...Dutch Harbor/Unalaska Airport, AK set its all-time high temperature with a reading of 81 degrees. (The Weather Doctor)
• 12 August 1891...An 80-minute deluge, possibly related to a tropical storm system, pelted Vampo, CA with between 11.5 and 11.8 inches of rain. The observer measured, then emptied the rain gauge several times as it filled. No other U.S. storm has come close to producing this much precipitation in an 80-minute span. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
• 12 August 1933...The temperature at Greenland Ranch in Death Valley, CA hit 127 degrees to establish the officially recognized U.S. record for the month of August. (The Weather Channel)
• 12 August 1936...The temperature at Seymour, TX hit 120 degrees to establish a state record. This Lone Star State record was later tied in June 1994. (The Weather Channel)
• 12 August 1985...With the span of two hours, 17.32 inches of rain fell at Gajo, Gansu, China, marking a worldwide record rainfall event for such a length of time. (NWS)
• 12 August 2001...The temperature at Osoyoos, British Columbia: rocketed to an all-time August record high for the province of 107 degrees. (The Weather Doctor)
• 13 August 1991...The first rainfall recorded on this date in Stockton, CA since weather records began in 1906, when 0.05 inches of rain fell. (The Weather Doctor)
• 13-14 August 1987...Slow-moving thunderstorms deluged northern and western suburbs of Chicago, IL with torrential rains. O'Hare Airport reported 9.35 inches in 18 hours, easily exceeding the previous 24-hour record of 6.24 inches. The airport was closed due to extensive flooding, the first time ever for a non-winter event. Flooding over a five-day period resulted in 221 million dollars damage. It was Chicago's worst flash flood event, particularly for northern and western sections of the city. Kennedy Expressway became a footpath for thousands of travelers to O'Hare Airport as roads were closed. The heavy rains swelled the Des Plaines River above flood stage, and many persons had to be rescued from stalled vehicles on flooded roads. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) (The Weather Channel) (Intellicast)
• 14 August 1936...Temperatures across much of eastern Kansas and western Missouri soared above 110 degrees. Kansas City, MO hit an all-time record high of 113 degrees. It was one of sixteen consecutive days of 100-degree heat for Kansas City. During that summer there were a record 53 days of 100-degree heat, and during the three summer months Kansas City received just 1.12 inches of rain. (The Kansas City Weather Almanac)
• 14-17 August 2003...Residents of Bismarck, ND wilted under a record string of four consecutive days with temperatures greater than 100 degrees. (The Weather Doctor)

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