WEEKLY CLIMATE NEWS

13-17 June 2016

DataStreme Earth Climate System will return for Fall 2016 with new Investigations files starting during Preview Week, Monday, 22 August 2016. All the current online website products will continue to be available throughout the summer break period.

ITEMS OF INTEREST

Southwest monsoon season begins -- This Wednesday (15 June 2016) is the typical date when the summer monsoon season begins in the Southwestern US. At that time, a dome of warm air expands northward across Arizona and New Mexico from the plateau of northern Mexico, with an attendant shift in the wind direction. Low level winds transport humid air northward from the Gulf of California and the eastern Pacific, while mid-level winds bring humid air from the Gulf of Mexico. The National Weather Service Forecast Office (NWSFO) in Tucson, AZ has a webpage called "Tracking the Monsoon" that provides links to satellite imagery and climate data for the region. The NWSFOs across the Southwest from San Diego, CA eastward to El Paso, TX has produced an informative 3-minute Monsoon Season 2016 Outlook video for "Monsoon Safety Awareness Week" (12-17 June).
Arizona and New Mexico will observe "Monsoon Awareness Week" during this week. If you live in either of these two states, you should take time to become familiar with the various public affairs announcements issued by your local National Weather Service Office.
World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought -- This Friday (17 June 2016) has been declared World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). This year's theme is "Inclusive cooperation for achieving Land Degradation Neutrality" with the slogan, "Protect Earth. Restore Land. Engage People." In December 1994, the United Nations General Assembly declared that World Day to Combat Desertification would be observed on 17 June of each year; this international observance would highlight the urgent need to curb the desertification process especially in those nations in Africa experiencing serious drought and/or desertification. In addition, the goal is to strengthen the visibility of the drylands issue on the international environmental agenda. [UNCCD]
New U.S. Climate Atlas is available online -- NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) recently placed its updated U.S. Climate Atlas online with a new interface designed for easy access. High resolution maps depicting the monthly or annual geographic distribution of the maximum and minimum temperatures and the precipitation across the 48 contiguous United States can be produced using a variety of options. In addition to maps showing the "normal" conditions based upon the 1981-2010 climatological averaging interval, maps for individual months extending back to 1895 are available; these monthly maps can also be compared with "climatology" maps showing the 1981-2010 normals. [NOAA NCEI News]
Views of the National Parks from space and over time -- In recognition of the upcoming 100th anniversary of the National Park System (NPS), the staff of NASA's Earth Observatory mission has assembled a collection of three-dozen images made of selected national parks from data collected by NASA's fleet of orbiting satellites. For several of the units administered by NPS, several images are provided to permit comparison of how the landscape of the park has changed over time. In addition, a feature article titled "Natural Beauty at Risk: Preparing for Climate Change in National Parks" describes how projected changes in temperature, precipitation and concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide associated with a changing climate could affect the land cover in national parks. [NASA Earth Observatory]

CURRENT CLIMATE STATUS

National weather and climate reviewed for May and spring 2016 -- Scientists at the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) recently reported that their analysis of preliminary data indicates that the monthly temperature averaged across the contiguous US for May 2016 was 0.1 Fahrenheit degrees above the 20th-century (1901-2000) average. Therefore, this past month was the 61st warmest (or 62nd coldest) May since 1895 when comprehensive climate records became available nationwide. A band of states in the southern Rockies, the southern Plains, the Ohio Valley and the Middle Atlantic running from Colorado eastward to Virginia and Maryland had below average statewide temperatures. Conversely, states along the West Coast, the US-Canadian border, New England and Florida had above average May statewide temperatures. Washington state had its eleventh warmest May in 122 years. Alaska had its second warmest May on record.
The nationwide average temperature for the just-concluded meteorological spring (March, April and May 2016) was the 2.8 Fahrenheit degrees above the 20th-century average, making this spring the sixth warmest since records began in 1895. All of the 48 contiguous states reported statewide average temperatures that were either above or much above the long-term average. Seven states in the Northwest and across the northern Plains to the Upper Midwest had statewide temperatures that were in the top ten in the 122-year period of record. The May 2016 statewide temperature for Washington state was second highest on record. Likewise, six states along the Atlantic Seaboard had top ten May temperatures.
The precipitation across the coterminous US for May 2015 was 0.13 inches above the 20th-century average, which was the 45th wettest May in the 122-year record. Eighteen states scattered across the nation had above average precipitation for May. The statewide May precipitation in Delaware and Virginia experienced their fifth wettest Mays on record. On the other hand, nine states had below average May statewide precipitation totals.
Spring 2016 precipitation across the nation was 1.09 inches above the 20th century average, which was the 18th wettest spring in 122 years. Nineteen states across the West and the nation's midsection experienced above average spring precipitation. Louisiana, Texas and Nebraska had spring precipitation totals that were in the top ten largest on record. On the other hand, states across the Northeast and Southeast had below average spring precipitation. New York State had its ninth driest spring on record, while Connecticut had its twelfth driest spring. [NOAA NCEI State of the Climate]
NOTE: A description is provided of the climatological rankings employed by NCEI for their monthly and seasonal maps. [NOAA/NCEI]
State of recurrent "nuisance"coastal flooding for 2015 -- Scientists from NOAA's Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services and from NCEI recently prepared an annual report entitled "2015 State of U.S. 'Nuisance' Tidal Flooding" that provides a review of the state of recurrent coastal tidal flooding considered "nuisance flooding" when a water level measured at a NOAA water level gauge exceeds the local elevation threshold for minor impacts. The report indicates that in the year running from May 2015 to April 2016 nuisance tidal flooding around the nation not only exceeded historical averages, but the numbers increased by more than 50% in 2015 over the previous year. The 2015 spike in these events was deemed to be related (either directly or indirectly) to the occurrence of a strong El Niño even during the year. [NOAA/NCEI State of the Climate]

CURRENT CLIMATE MONITORING

NASA's IceBridge Arctic Spring field campaign concludes -- On 21 May, the five-week field campaign of NASA's Operation IceBridge in the Arctic was concluded for spring. This campaign was the eighth Arctic deployment, where researchers used research aircraft on sixteen research flights out of Thule Air Base in Greenland and Fairbanks, AK to collect data on Arctic sea and land ice. Operation IceBridge's mission is to collect data on changing polar land and sea ice and maintain continuity of measurements between the original ICESat spacecraft mission that ended in 2009 and the next mission, ICESat-2, is scheduled for launch in 2018. [NASA Goddard Space Flight Center]
NOAA takes control of new global ocean satellite as hurricane season starts -- As the Atlantic and eastern Pacific hurricane seasons officially began last week, NOAA officially assumed operational control of the Jason-3 satellite from NASA. This low-altitude orbiting satellite, which was launched last January, measures the surface height of the global ocean, monitors the rate of sea-level rise and provides data needed by forecasters with NOAA's National Weather Service to accurately forecast the strength of tropical cyclones that could threaten the nation's coasts. [NOAA News]
Investment made to improve ocean observations for weather and climate prediction -- Last week NOAA's Climate Program Office announced $4.5 million would be invested in four projects to test technology designed to improve the Tropical Pacific Observing System (TOPOS 2020). This TOPOS 2020) Project, consisting of an array of buoys in the tropical Pacific, would be used to better understand El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), how it develops, and how it affects Earth's weather and climate. The four new projects consist of i) enhanced ocean boundary layer observations; ii) new rainfall, wind speed, and biogeochemical sensors; iii) autonomous surface vessels as low-cost observing platforms and iv) new sensors to measure wind stress. [NOAA Office of Oceanic & Atmospheric Research News]

CLIMATE FORCING

Soil moisture in summer could lead to steam baths and ovens -- Deke Arndt, Chief of the Climate Monitoring Branch at NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information, recently posted a blog called "Beyond the Data" that discusses the impact that the moisture accumulated in the soil from spring precipitation has upon the summer temperatures the nation's midsection could experience in the upcoming weeks. Using a map that displays the correlation between June rainfall and the June-August temperature over the span of the historical record (1895-2015), he thinks a signal exists between rainfall and subsequent temperatures at least in some geographic areas, primarily the southern Plains. He notes that a lack of spring rains could lead to dry soils and the potential for a hot summer, which he termed the "dry oven" scenario, such as across the southern Plains in the summer of 2011 when the region was experiencing drought conditions. On the other hand, wet soils would keep temperatures lower due to the "steam bath" scenario. Deke is watching how the temperatures across the Plains will respond this summer following the heavy spring rains that saturated the soils across the region. There is some signal. Places with some shading show some relationship between summer temperature outcomes and June precipitation. In those places, all else being equal (though it's usually not), wet conditions late in the spring tilt outcomes toward cooler summers, while dry times tip the hand toward hotter summers. [NOAA Climate.gov News]

CLIMATE FORECASTS

El Niño Advisory ends while La Niña Watch continues -- Forecasters with NOAA's Climate Prediction Center (CPC) recently announced that the El Niño has essentially dissipated across the equatorial Pacific during May 2016, leaving ENSO-neutral conditions as sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies dropped to near zero or slightly negative (observed SSTs slightly lower than long-term average SSTs). Consequently, the forecasters have given their last El Niño Advisory. At the same time, they continued their La Niña watch as they envision a La Niña event developing during the Northern Hemisphere summer of 2016, with a a 75 percent chance of La Niña conditions during fall and the 2016-17 winter. [NOAA Climate Prediction Center]
An ENSO blog was written by a CPC researcher detailing the demise of the 2015-16 El Niño event during the last several months after peaking late last year. A comparison was made between this recent El Niño and the major 1997-98 event. Discussion was also made of the long-range forecasts running through early 2017, focusing upon the anticipated development of a La Niña event during the next several months. [NOAA Climate.gov News]
Hurricane outlooks issued for the eastern and central North Pacific -- Recently, NOAA released its outlooks for the upcoming 2016 hurricane seasons in the eastern and central Pacific Basins:

For the Eastern North Pacific basin (east of 140 degrees West longitude), the outlook from NOAA's Climate Prediction Center suggests the likelihood of a near-normal hurricane season, with a 40-percent chance of a near-normal season, as compared with a 30-percent chance of an above-normal season and 30-percent chance of a below normal season. This outlook would call for a 70-percent chance of the formation of between 13 and 20 named tropical cyclones (hurricanes or tropical storms), with six to eleven hurricanes. Between three and six major hurricanes (category 3 or higher) were also envisioned. These anticipated numbers compare with the 45-year average of 15 named tropical cyclones per year that include eight hurricanes and as many as four major hurricanes. The forecasters indicate that the dissipation of the recent El Niño event and a transition to a La Niña event along with global patterns of sea surface temperature anomalies (or departures of the observed sea surface temperatures from the long-term averages) were important factors that influenced their forecasts. [NOAA Climate Prediction Center]
For the Central North Pacific basin (between 180 degrees and 140 degrees West longitude), forecasters at NOAA's Central Pacific Hurricane Center in collaboration with their colleagues at the Climate Prediction Center expect that the upcoming hurricane season could range from near- to above-average. They called for a 40-percent chance of near average normal activity, a 40-percent chance of above-average activity, with only a 20-percent change of a below-normal season. The forecasters foresee that four to seven tropical cyclones could affect the central North Pacific in 2016, either forming with in the basin or entering it from the Eastern Pacific. On average, four to five tropical cyclones (including tropical depressions, tropical storms and hurricanes) travel across the basin that stretches from 140 degrees west longitude to the International Dateline. The forecasters voiced some uncertainty in their outlooks, due to anticipated transition to La Niña conditions that would tend to suppress tropical cyclones across the basin, while changes in global sea surface temperatures across the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans appear to be causing a shift to a more active decadal cycle in the central Pacific basin. . [NOAA Central Hurricane Center]

CLIMATE AND SOCIETY

Honors given to seven safeguarding nation's natural resources from climate change -- Seven individuals and organizations were honored recently as the first recipients of the Climate Adaptation Leadership Award for Natural Resources that was established by a partnership of federal agencies including NOAA to spotlight innovative tools and outstanding actions toward climate-smart resource conservation and management. [NOAA News]
Earthweek -- Diary of the Planet [earthweek.com]

Historical Events:

13 June 1907...The temperature at Tamarack, CA dipped to 2 degrees above zero, the lowest reading of record for June for the U.S. The high that day was 30 degrees. Tamarack received 42 inches of snow between the 10^thand the 13^th. On the 13^th the snow depth was 130 inches. (The Weather Channel)
13 June 1977...Masirah, Oman received 16.95 inches of rain this day, a national record. (The Weather Doctor)
14 June 1876...Cherrapunji, India recorded 1036.3 mm (40.8 inches) of rain in 24 hours. (The Weather Doctor)
14 June 1961...The temperature in Downtown San Francisco, CA soared to 106 degrees to establish an all-time record for that location. (The Weather Channel)
15 June 1879...McKinney, ND received 7.7 inches of rain in 24 hours, a state record. This 24-hour state precipitation record has since been broken in June 1975 with an 8.10-inch reading. (The Weather Channel)
15 June 1887...Regina, Saskatchewan reported its wettest day to date as 6.31 inches rain fell. (The Weather Doctor)
15 June 1896...The temperature at Fort Mojave, CA soared to 127 degrees, the highest reading of record for June for the U.S. The low that day was 97 degrees. Morning lows of 100 degrees were reported on the 12^th, 14^th and 16^th of the month. (The Weather Channel)
15 June 1957...East Saint Louis, IL was deluged with 16.54 inches of rain in 24 hours, a record for the state of Illinois. In July 1996, this record was broken when 16.91 inches fell. (The Weather Channel)
15 June 1991...The second largest volcanic eruption of the 20th Century began as Mt. Pinatubo in the Philippines injected 15 to 30 million tons of sulphur dioxide 100,000 feet into the atmosphere. As a result of the eruptions, 343 people were killed in the Philippines and 200,000 were left homeless. Material from the eruption would spread around the globe, leading to climate changes worldwide as the sun's energy was blocked out and global temperatures cooled by as much as one Fahrenheit degree, making 1992 one of the coolest globally since the 1970s. (National Weather Service files)
16 June 1917...The temperature soared to 124 degrees at Mecca, CA climaxing the most destructive heat wave of record in California history. (David Ludlum)
17 June 1965...Holly, CO was deluged with 11.08 inches of rain to establish a state 24-hour rainfall record. (The Weather Channel)
18 June 1991...Atlanta, GA set a new record for the amount of the rain in one hour as 3.47 inches fell between 6:52 and 7:52 PM EDT. (Intellicast)
19 June 240 BC...On the summer solstice, Eratosthenes estimated the circumference of the Earth using two sticks.
19 June 2004...Annette Island, AK set an all-time record high temperature of 93 degrees. Since record keeping began in 1941, Annette Island has seen 90 degree temperatures four times.
(National Weather Service files)

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