WEEKLY CLIMATE NEWS

25-29 June 2012

DataStreme Earth Climate Systems will return for Fall 2012 with new Investigations files starting during Preview Week, Monday, 27 August 2012. All the current online website products will continue to be available throughout the summer break period.

ITEMS OF INTEREST

Lightning Awareness Week -- The nation will celebrate its eleventh annual National Lightning Safety Awareness Week, this upcoming week, 24 through 30 June 2012, as declared by NOAA's National Weather Service (NWS). NWS launched its national campaign in Tampa, FL (the so-called “lightning capital of the country”) last week. [NOAA News] On average, 54 people in the nation are killed annual by lightning and numerous more are injured. A cartoon character, Leon the Lightning Lion, is promoting the slogan "Don't be a fool! Get out of the pool!" NWS, in conjunction with other sponsors, has a "Lightning Safety" website, http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/, that has links to a variety of informational and teacher resource materials. As many as 20 states are also observing this week with statewide activities.
Silent Spring reaches 50 years -- The serialized version of Silent Spring a book written by Rachel Carson about the detrimental effects to the environment caused by widespread pesticide use was published in The New Yorker magazine starting in June 1962. The book helped sway public opinion and resulted in the creation of tighter restrictions on pesticide use in the United States and other nations. Rachel Carson was employed by the US Bureau of Fisheries. [NASA Earth Observatory]
A view of "Blue Marble" from an Arctic perspective -- A composite natural color image of planet Earth as viewed from over the Arctic was recently assembled by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center from data collected by the Visible/Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the recently launched Suomi-NPP satellite. [NASA Earth Observatory]
The half-way point -- Midpoint of calendar year 2012 will occur at midnight local standard time on Sunday morning, 2 July 2012.

CURRENT CLIMATE STATUS

Review of global weather and climate for May 2012 -- Scientists at NOAA's National Climatic Data Center report that the recently concluded month of May was the second warmest May since sufficiently dense global climate records began in 1880. They based their report on preliminary calculations of the combined global land and ocean surface temperature for May 2012, which was only 0.09 Fahrenheit degrees (0.05 Celsius degrees) below the all-time May monthly global temperature record set in 2010. The worldwide average May 2012 land surface temperature was the highest for any May since 1880, while the monthly global ocean surface temperature was the tenth highest on record, as ENSO-neutral conditions (El Niño-Southern Oscillation) prevailed across tropical waters during the month. Furthermore, the combined Northern Hemisphere land and ocean average surface temperature for May 2012 represents the all-time temperature record for any May.
In addition, the combined global land and ocean surface temperature for the last three months (March through May), considered meteorological spring in the Northern Hemisphere (fall in the Southern Hemisphere) was the seventh highest since 1880, as the recent La Niña event weakened, evolving into ENSO-neutral conditions.
Snow cover extent across the Northern Hemisphere during May was the second smallest of the 43-year period of record. Arctic sea ice was also the twelfth smallest for any May since satellite records began in 1979. On the other hand, the sea ice around Antarctica was above average, resulting in the fifteenth largest extent for any May in the 34-year record. [NOAA/NCDC State of the Climate]

CURRENT CLIMATE MONITORING

Three-decades of global soil moisture data available from satellite observations -- The European Space Agency (ESA) recently released the first set of global soil moisture observations obtained remotely from European and American satellites running from 1978 through 2010. These data, which are available to the scientific community for climate studies, represent a predecessor of the data now being collected by ESA's SMOS (Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity) mission. [ESA SMOS]
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]

PALEOCLIMATE RECONSTRUCTION

Early migration of First Americans based upon new deglaciation data -- A researcher at Oregon State University reports that a new study of lake sediment cores collected from an island in the western Gulf of Alaska would indicate that deglaciation following the last Ice Age across Alaska's eastern Aleutian chain took place 1500 to 2000 years earlier than previously thought. Consequently, this earlier date of deglaciation suggests that the "First Americans" could have migrated from east Asia to North and South America along the area's coast approximately 15,000 years before present, nearly two millennia earlier than the currently accepted date of ice retreat. [Oregon State University]
Past periodic warm episodes in Arctic could be linked to melting Antarctic ice sheets -- An international team of scientists from the US, German and Russia report that their analyses of a long mud core collected on land in the northeastern Russian Arctic region reveal periodic warm interglacial intervals over the past 2.8 million years ago that occurred at time when parts of Antarctica was ice free, and hence, warm. They suggest that this correspondence could indicate a strong inter-hemispheric connectivity in climate. [UMass Amherst] [NSF News]

CLIMATE FORCING

Emissions from tropical deforestation are assessed -- Researchers from Winrock International, an environmental nonprofit organization from Little Rock, AR, and their colleagues at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the University of Maryland have developed a method that has permitted them to make a new estimate of the gross carbon emissions from tropical deforestation. Their estimate for the early 2000s is considerably lower than other recently published estimates. [Winrock International]

CLIMATE FORECASTS

New seasonal climate outlooks issued -- Near the end of last week, forecasters at the NOAA Climate Prediction Center released their new three-month seasonal national climate outlooks for July through September 2012, corresponding to the last two months of the meteorological summer season and the first month of meteorological autumn. The forecasters call for a better than equal chance for above average temperatures across most of the coterminous United States, with the highest probability of above average temperatures extending from the Great Basin and the Southwest eastward to the mid-Mississippi and Ohio Valleys. The forecasters felt that several sections of the nation, primarily along the Pacific Coast, across the upper Midwest and New England would experience equal chances of below or above average summer temperatures. In addition, the forecasters also expected that Florida, along with neighboring sections of the Southeastern States along the Gulf Coast could have a better than even chance of above average precipitation for the next three months. Southern sections of Arizona and New Mexico could also have above average rainfall. However, the forecasters felt that the northwestern quadrant of the nation, centered primarily upon northern Rockies would experience a better than even chance of below average summer-early autumn precipitation. Elsewhere a large section of the country could experience equal chances of above and below average summer rainfall. [NOAA Climate Prediction Center] A summary 3-month outlook text for non-technical users is available.
Seasonal drought outlook posted -- Forecasters at the NOAA Climate Prediction Center issued their three-month seasonal drought outlook for the nation last week, which would run from mid-June through September 2012. Their outlook would call for persistence of drought conditions across a large section of the nation, extending from the Midwest westward across the central and southern Plains to the central Rockies and then across the Great Basin and the Sierras to interior sections of California. Drought could develop across sections of the Midwest and eastern Plains. However, the forecasters foresaw improvement of the drought conditions across northern sections of the Florida Peninsula and adjoining sections of the Southeast, along with southern sections of Arizona and New Mexico. Some slight improvement in drought conditions was possible in widely scattered areas across the Southeast, the Southwest and the upper Midwest. [NOAA CPC Drought Outlook]
Higher temperatures predicted for the Los Angeles metropolitan area by mid-century -- Climate experts at the University of California, Los Angeles predict that the temperatures in the Los Angeles metropolitan region of southern California should rise by an average 4 to 5 Fahrenheit degrees as of the middle of the 21st century because of changing climate. They also warn that the number of extremely hot days with temperatures of at least 95 degrees Fahrenheit in the downtown area should triple, while those hot days in the surrounding valleys and at higher elevations could quadruple. Their forecasts are based upon sophisticated techniques used to downscale the output statistics from global climate models used by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to regional and local scale output. [UCLA Newsroom]

CLIMATE IMPACTS ON THE BIOSPHERE

Hawaiian seabirds residing on an atoll vulnerable to sea-level rise -- A team of US Geological Survey biologists warn that tropical seabirds such as various types of albatross residing on the French Frigate Shoals, a low-lying atoll in the Hawaiian Island chain, would be vulnerable to projected increases in sea level. [USGS Newsroom]
Emperor penguins could be threatened by melting sea ice -- Researchers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and their colleagues warn that if global temperatures continue to rise, the Emperor penguins that are found in East Antarctica could eventual disappear because of the concurrent decline in Antarctic sea ice. [Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution]
Response of carbon cycle to climate change is studied -- Scientists at Queen Mary, University of London who studied the temperature dependence of respiration in both aquatic and land ecosystems have found that those organisms in marine and freshwater environments appear to have the potential to release more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere in a warmer climate than their land counterparts. [Queen Mary, University of London]

CLIMATE AND SOCIETY

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.

Historical Events:

25 June 1925...The mercury hit 101 degrees at Portland, OR, their earliest 100 degree reading of record. (Sandra and TI Richard Sanders)
25 June 1953...The temperature at Anchorage, AK soared to 86 degrees, their highest reading of record. (The Weather Channel)
25 June 1988...Fifty-two cities in the central and eastern U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date. Highs of 100 degrees at Erie, PA and 104 degrees at Cleveland, OH established all- time records for those two locations. Highs of 101 degrees at Flint, MI, 105 degrees at Chicago, IL, and 106 degrees at Fort Wayne, IN equaled all-time records. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
Southwestern Ontario experienced a heat wave as the mercury soared to 104.4 degrees in Windsor and 100.8 degrees in London, the hottest day ever recorded in these cities. (The Weather Doctor)
26 June 1931...The temperature soared to 92 degrees at Anchorage, AK, the highest reading of record to date for that city. (The Weather Doctor)
27 June 1915...The temperature at Fort Yukon, AK soared to 100 degrees to establish a state record. (The Weather Channel)
27 June 1988...The afternoon high of 107 degrees at Bismarck, ND was a record for the month of June, and Pensacola, FL equaled their June record with a reading of 101 degrees. Temperatures in the Great Lakes Region and the Ohio Valley dipped into the 40s. (The National Weather Summary)
27 June 1994...The temperature reached 122 degrees at the Waste Isolation Treatment Plant east of Carlsbad, NM to set the state high temperature record for New Mexico. In Oklahoma, the temperature at the mesonet station near Tipton reached 120 degrees, setting an all-time record for the Sooner State. (NCDC) (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
28 June 1892...The temperature at Orogrande, UT soared to 116 degrees to establish a record for the Beehive State. This record was broken by one degree in July 1985. (Sandra and TI Richard Sanders)
28 June 1954...The temperature at Camden, SC reached 111 degrees to establish an all-time high temperature record for the Palmetto State. (NCDC)
28 June 1960...The maximum 24-hour precipitation record for the Bluegrass State was established at Dunmor, KY when 10.40 inches fell. (NCDC)
28 June 1976...Temperature reached 96 degrees in Southampton, England's Mayflower Park for the highest temperature ever in June in England. (The Weather Doctor)
28 June 1980...The temperature at Wichita Falls, TX soared to 117 degrees, their highest reading of record. Daily highs were 110 degrees or above between the 24^th of June and the 3^rd of July. (The Weather Channel)
28 June 1994...Laughlin, NV reached 125 degrees, the state's all-time record high temperature. (Intellicast) The temperature at Monahans, TX reached 120 degrees to set a new high temperature record for the Lone Star State. (NCDC)
29 June 1931...The temperature at Monticello, FL hit 109 degrees to establish an all-time record for the Sunshine State. (The Weather Channel)
29 June 1975...Litchville recorded 8.10 inches of rain for North Dakota's state 24-hour precipitation record. (NCDC)
29 June 1988...Jackson, MS equaled their record for the month of June with an afternoon high of 105 degrees. (The National Weather Summary)
29 June 1994...The mercury hit a scorching 128 degrees at Lake Havasu City, AZ to set a new all-time record high temperature for the Grand Canyon State. This reading also tied the one at Death Valley, CA on the same day for the US June record. The previous state record for Arizona was 127 degrees set at Parker on 7 July 1905. The temperature at Laughlin, NV reached 125 degrees, which also set an all-time record high temperature for the Silver State. (NCDC) (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar) (The Weather Doctor)
The lowest temperature ever recorded in Australia: was a 9.4 degree below zero reading at Charlotte Pass, New South Wales, Australia. (The Weather Doctor)
30 June 1912...The deadliest tornado in Canadian history struck Regina, Saskatchewan, as 28 people were killed. (The Weather Doctor)
30 June 1983...Tasmania's coldest night on record was observed as the temperature at Shannon dropped to 8.6 degrees. (The Weather Doctor)
30 June 1989...The remains of tropical storm Allison dropped copious amounts of rain on Louisiana. Winnfield, LA reported 22.52 inches of rain in three days, and more than thirty inches for the month, a record for June. Shreveport received a record 17.11 inches in June, with a total for the first six months of the year of 45.55 inches. Thunderstorms also helped produce record rainfall totals for the month of June of 13.12 inches at Birmingham, AL, 14.66 inches at Oklahoma City, OK, 17.41 inches at Tallahassee, FL, 9.97 inches at Lynchburg, VA, and more than 10.25 inches at Pittsburgh, PA. Pittsburgh had also experienced a record wet month of May. (The National Weather Summary) (Intellicast)
Month of July 1861...The greatest one-month of precipitation ever measured globally (366 inches) was recorded at Cherrapunji, India. Total rainfall for the period 1 August 1860 to 31 July 1861 was the greatest rainfall in one year ever recorded (1041.78 inches). (The Weather Doctor)
Month of July 1931...The July- August 1931 flood in the Yangtze basin of China affected over 51 million people or one-quarter of China's population. As many as 3.7 million people perished from this great 20^th century disaster due to disease, starvation or drowning. (The Weather Doctor)
1 July 1911...The high temperature of just 79 degrees at Phoenix, AZ was their lowest daily maximum of record for the month of July. The normal daily high for 1 July is 105 degrees. (The Weather Channel)
1 July 1915...Pawtucket, RI received a deluge with 5.1 inches of rain in 24 hours. (Intellicast)
1 July 1979...It snowed almost half a foot (5.8 inches) at Stampede Pass, WA, a July record. (The Weather Channel)
1 July 1988...Twenty-six cities in the north central and northeastern U.S. reported record low temperatures for the date --an unusual cool spell in what turned out to be one of the hottest summers on record. Lows of 48 degrees at Providence, RI, 48 degrees at Roanoke, VA, 49 degrees at Stratford, CT, and 48 degrees at Wilmington, DE, were records for the month of July. Boston, MA equaled their record for July with a low of 50 degrees. Barre Falls, MA dropped to 34 degrees. Five inches of snow whitened Mount Washington, NH. (The National Weather Summary) (Intellicast)
1 July 1987...Lake Charles, LA was drenched with a month's worth of rain during the early morning. More than five inches of rain soaked the city, including 2.68 inches in one hour. (The National Weather Summary)

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