WEEKLY CLIMATE NEWS

9-13 July 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

Welcome to the weather, climate and ocean educators attending the 2012 DataStreme LIT Leader Workshop that is being held at Silver Spring, MD from 9 to 11 July 2012.
Climate appears to be one factor in wildfires --In a recent interview, a climatologist at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory discussed whether changing climate is playing a role in the recent wildfire outbreak across. He notes that changing climate is just one of several factors in the development of these widespread wildfires. [NASA JPL]
Monitoring three decades of growth of metropolitan Washington, DC from space -- Comparison of images of the Washington, DC metropolitan area obtained from the Thematic Mapper onboard NASA's Landsat 5 satellite in August 1984 and in August 2011 reveal the substantial growth that has occurred in the region over the last 28 years as well as some of the different ways that various communities have attempted to regulate this growth. [NASA Earth Observatory]
New website to offer tips on coastal flooding preparation -- NOAA's Office of Coast Survey recently announced a new website that is designed to provide the public with information necessary to protect life and property from coastal flooding. In addition to this website www.stormsurge.noaa.gov , NOAA has also created another website NOAA QuickLook that provides current water levels along the coasts during severe storms including hurricanes. [NOAA News]

CURRENT CLIMATE STATUS

Record-breaking expanse of national drought noted --In preparing their US Drought Monitor, officials at the National Drought Mitigation Center noted that nearly 47 percent of the land area across the nation was under drought conditions during this past week. In addition, nearly 56 percent of the 48 coterminous states were in moderate to exceptional drought. This area of drought is the largest since the US Drought Monitor was begun 12 years ago. [University of Nebraska-Lincoln News Releases]
Canadian seasonal climate summary for Spring 2012 -- Climate scientists with Environment Canada recently reported that the nationwide average temperature during meteorological spring 2012 (March through May) was 1.6 Celsius degrees above the 1961-1990 normal spring temperature, making this past spring the ninth warmest spring since nationwide records began in 1948. Nearly all of the nation experienced above average spring temperatures, with only British Columbia, along with the Yukon and Northwest Territories have close to average temperatures. Southern sections of Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec experienced much above average spring temperatures, with some locations experiencing positive temperature anomalies (departures from normal) that were greater than 3 Celsius degrees. Nationwide, spring precipitation across Canada was slightly above the 1961-1990 average, with Spring 2011 being the 24th wettest in 65 years. Northern and eastern Canada were relatively dry, while the Prairie Provinces and southern sections of the Yukon and Northwest Territories reported above average spring precipitation. [Environment Canada]

CURRENT CLIMATE MONITORING

Smoke from western wildfires spreads across nation --An image produced by data obtained on the Independence Day holiday from the Ozone Mapper Profiler Suite (OMPS) on the NOAA/NASA Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership satellite shows smoke from the western wildfires had spread eastward to the upper Mississippi Valley and the western Great Lakes. [NASA Earth Observatory]
Radar signals cause interference with satellite data collection -- Scientists and engineers with the European Space Agency (ESA) have found that certain radar units, especially those associated with military operations over the North Atlantic and North Pacific Oceans, have created radio interference with the signals being transmitted from ESA's Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (SMOS) satellite and from NASA's Aquarius mission. [ESA]
New "bottom-up" estimates made of China's carbon dioxide emissions --A team of atmospheric scientists from Harvard University and China's Nanjing University have produced the first "bottom-up" estimates of China's carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere between 2005 and 2009. The bottom-up approach involves estimating the emissions based on measurements of pollutants at the local level, rather than the often-used "top-down" technique that uses annual national energy statistics obtained from governmental sources. The new and more accurate approach contains the first statistically rigorous estimates of the uncertainties surrounding these emission estimates. [Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences]
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

New methods used to track ancient climates in Northwest -- Researchers at Penn State University, the University of Pittsburgh and Idaho State University have been employing a variety of methods that include using tree ring analyses and oxygen isotope data from lake sediments to produce proxy records of the past climate across the American West during the relatively dry Medieval Climate Anomaly (AD 950 to 1250). The researchers found that the patterns of drought were complex and that winters may not have been dry in the Pacific Northwest. They also noted a relationship between winter precipitation accumulations in eastern Washington and Pacific Decadal Oscillation temperature anomalies. [Penn State Live]

CLIMATE FORCING

Last week's solar flare is monitored -- An image obtained by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) spacecraft last Thursday morning shows a moderate-classified flare emanating from the Sun's surface. This flare, near a sunspot, could result in radio blackouts on Earth. A flare classification scheme is available. [NASA GSFC]
Small volcanoes could help cool climate -- Scientists from the University of Saskatchewan, Rutgers University, the National Center for Atmospheric Research and the University of Wyoming have found that aerosols from a relatively small volcanic eruption can be sent sufficiently high into the atmosphere by weather systems, where these aerosols could affect global temperatures. Their conclusions were based upon their study of data collected from satellites following last year's eruption of the Nabro volcano in Eritrea in northeast Africa. University of Saskatchewan Research]
Reduced sea ice and increased global atmospheric temperatures contribute to Arctic warming -- Researchers at Australia's University of Melbourne report that the combination of melting sea ice and increased global air temperatures is contributing to the high rate of warming in the Arctic, where temperatures have been increasing at rates that approach four times the global average. [The University of Melbourne Newsroom]

CLIMATE FORECASTS

El Niño watch is posted -- Early last week, forecasters at NOAA's Climate Prediction Center issued an El Niño watch as they foresaw a 50 percent chance of the development of El Niño conditions during the second half of 2012. An El Niño watch is issued when conditions appear favorable for the development of El Niño conditions (sea surface temperatures in the central equatorial Pacific that are at least 0.5 Celsius degrees above average for at least one month) within the next six months. Currently, equatorial sea surface temperatures (SST) have been observed to be above average in the eastern Pacific Ocean. [NOAA Climate Prediction Center]

CLIMATE IMPACTS ON THE BIOSPHERE

Vegetation in Colorado Rockies is changed by nitrogen pollution -- Researchers from the University of Colorado Boulder report that high amounts of nitrogen compounds associated with air pollution produced by power plants, motor vehicles and agriculture appears to be changing the alpine vegetation in Colorado's Rocky Mountain National Park. They warn that the emission of nitrogen compounds into the atmosphere could result in irreversible changes in the biodiversity and soil chemistry. [University of Colorado Boulder]
Largest sea turtles appear threatened by rising beach temperatures -- A research team from several academic institutions such as Drexel University and Princeton University and from government agencies report that projected changes in climate conditions could create hotter and drier beaches where eastern Pacific population of leatherback turtles nest. These potentially more hostile conditions could result in a decrease of the population of leatherback turtles by 75 percent by the end of the 21st century. [Drexel University]

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:

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)
11 July 1888...The temperature at Bennett, CO reached 118 degrees, setting a record high temperature for the Centennial State. (NCDC)
11 July 1911...The highest temperature ever recorded in Maine was at North Bridgton, with a reading of 105 degrees. (NCDC)
11 July 1936...The temperature at St. Albans, Manitoba reached the provincial high temperature record of 112 degrees Fahrenheit, while the temperature at Atikokan, Ontario peaked at 108 degrees, tying the highest temperature ever in Ontario. (The Weather Doctor)
12 July 1900...The record high state temperature reading of 114 degrees in Wyoming was reached at Basin. This record has since been eclipsed in 1983 by a 115-degree reading. (Intellicast)
12 July 1910...Cherrapunji in India's northeastern Meghalaya State -- one of the rainiest places on Earth -- recorded 839 mm (33 inches) of rainfall on this day. (The Weather Doctor)
12-14 July 1936...The hottest three-day period in US history was recorded, with average temperatures of 88.5 degrees Fahrenheit; the second warmest such period had occurred three days earlier. (The Weather Doctor)
13 July 1975...Dover, DE was deluged with 8.50 inches of rain to establish a 24-hour maximum precipitation record for the state. (The Weather Channel)
13 July 1996...Heavy rains from the remnants of Hurricane Bertha caused roads to washout in the Camden, ME area. Two people were hurt when they drove into a 600-pound boulder that had fallen onto the roadway due to the heavy rain. (Accord's Weather Guide Calendar)
14 July 1886...Los Angeles had its greatest 24-hour July rainfall with 0.24 inches. (Intellicast)
14-15 July 1911...Baguio, Luzon, Philippines reported 46 inches of rain, which represents Asia's greatest 24-hour rainfall: (The Weather Doctor).
15-16 July 1916...A dying South Atlantic Coast storm produced torrential rains in the southern Appalachian Mountains. Altapass, NC was drenched with 22.22 inches of rain, a 24-hour rainfall record for the Tarheel State, and at the time, a 24-hour record for the U.S. (The current 24-hour rainfall record for the US is 43 inches set 25-25 July 1979 at Alvin, TX). Flooding resulted in considerable damage, particularly to railroads. (David Ludlum) (Intellicast) (NCDC)
15 July 1983...The Big Thompson Creek in Colorado flooded for the second time in seven years, claiming three lives, and filling the town of Estes Park with eight to ten feet of water. (The Weather Channel)
15 July 1989...Thunderstorms drenched Kansas City, MO with 4.16 inches of rain, a record for the date. Two and a half inches of rain deluged the city between noon and 1 PM. Afternoon thunderstorms in South Carolina deluged Williamstown with six inches of rain in ninety minutes, including four inches in little more than half an hour. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
15 July 1993...Four-inch diameter hail fell at Hot Springs, SD. In North Dakota, Jamestown recorded 6.40 inches of rain, Fargo 5.09 inches and Bismarck 4.08 inches. (Intellicast)
15 July 2001...Rain fell at 3.91 inches per hour in Seoul, South Korea, the heaviest amount since 1964. In total, 12.2 inches of rain fell in Seoul and Kyonggi. The rain was responsible for 40 reported fatalities. (The Weather Doctor)

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