WEEKLY CLIMATE NEWS

4-8 July 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

Weather in Philadelphia for the 4th of July 1776--This Monday is the 4th of July or Independence Day. Sean Potter, a consulting meteorologist who has an interest in history, wrote an article four years ago that describes the weather observations made during July 1776 in Philadelphia by Thomas Jefferson who wrote the Declaration of Independence. [Weatherwise Magazine] Have a happy and safe 4th of July! EJH
Using past records to assess chances of rain on the 4th of July -- An interactive map of the historic probability of 0.10 inches of rain fall on the 4th of July at over one thousand stations across the 50 states was produced from 30 years of observations (1981-2010) by NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI). (Zoom in to any place across the nation to access more stations.) Additional information and maps that can be downloaded are available from the Beyond the Data blog posted by Deke Arndt, Chief of the Climate Monitoring Branch at NCEI. [NOAA News]
Way out there!...The earth reaches aphelion, the point in its annual orbit when it is farthest from the sun during the midday hours of today (officially at 1624Z on Monday,4 July 2016, which is equivalent to 12:24 PM EDT or 11:24 AM CDT, etc.). At aphelion, the earth-sun distance is 152,089,000 km, or 3.4% greater than the distance at perihelion, the smallest earth-sun distance, which occurred earlier this year during the afternoon of 2 January 2016. [US Naval Observatory]
Worldwide GLOBE at Night 2016 Campaign is underway -- The seventh in the series of GLOBE at Night citizen-science campaigns for 2016 will continue through Wednesday, 6 July. GLOBE at Night is a worldwide, hands-on science and education program designed to encourage citizen-scientists worldwide to record the brightness of their night sky by matching the appearance of a constellation (Hercules in the Northern Hemisphere and Scropius in the Southern Hemisphere) with the seven magnitude/star charts of progressively fainter stars. Activity guides are also available. The GLOBE at night program is intended to raise public awareness of the impact of light pollution. The next series in the 2016 campaign is scheduled for 28 July-6 August 2016. [GLOBE at Night]
A view of the International Space Station from above -- A sequence of images made by NASA's Landsat 8 satellite, orbiting Earth at an altitude of approximately 438 miles shows a brief glimpse of the International Space Station orbiting below the Landsat 8 satellite at an altitude of 250 miles. [NASA Earth Observatory]

CURRENT CLIMATE MONITORING

National archive of surface marine observations is updated -- Within the last week officials with NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) unveiled the latest update to its International Comprehensive Ocean–Atmosphere Data Set Release 3.0 (ICOADS R3.0), which incorporates additional data and metadata. ICOADS now represents the most complete archive of surface marine meteorological and oceanographic observations, spanning five centuries and containing data from a variety of sources including observations from ships, moored buoys and surface drifters. For the first time, near-surface variables such as salinity, nutrients and dissolved carbonate chemistry are also included. The collected ICOADS data will be used in gridded analyses of sea surface temperature. [NOAA NCEI News]
Monitoring early spring melting of Greenland Ice Sheet from space -- A natural-color image of a large area of the Greenland Ice Sheet near the southwestern coastal area was made in mid-June 2016 from data collected by the Advanced Land Imager (ALI) onboard NASA's Earth Observing-1 satellite. Numerous melt ponds and streams darken the surface, helping to enhance the melting. Comparison is made with another satellite image of the same region made in June 2014 from the Operational Land Imager (OLI) on NASA's Landsat 8 satellite. According to a scientist at the National Snow & Ice Data Center, the melting of the ice this season is ahead of the previous three seasons, but lags the record melt year of 2012. [NASA Earth Observatory]
Citizen scientists help observe sea ice conditions at North Pole -- Adventure travelers who pay their way to cruise on a ship to the Arctic Ocean and the North Pole over the last several years have been helping polar scientists collect sea ice data in the Arctic Ocean. These data have been used by a number of scientific organizations who are studying the decline in Arctic Sea Ice as it relates to global climate change. [EOS News]

CLIMATE FORCING

Explaining mid-June heat wave that scorched the American Southwest -- An article was written that investigates the causes for the numerous record high temperatures across the American Southwest that helped scorch the region in mid-June. This feature represents a follow-up to the "Event Tracker" article that was written the previous week by the researcher from NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) who focused upon identification of those locations across California and Arizona that reported high temperatures ranking in the top five readings for any time of the year. A large ridge of high pressure extending upward through the troposphere that was anchored over the Southwest appears responsible for this June record heat wave. [NOAA Climate.gov News]
Saharan dust loads the atmosphere over Africa and surrounding waters -- NASA scientists have been monitoring the airborne dust from Africa's Sahara Desert from data collected by satellites. One satellite image of the aerosol loading was made from data collected slightly more two weeks ago by the Ozone Mapping Profiler Suite onboard the NOAA-NASA Suomi-NPP satellite. Nearly simultaneously, a natural-color image of a section of the west coast of Africa, the eastern tropical Atlantic and the Cape Verde Islands was obtained from the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the Suomi-NPP satellite. These images show how far the wind carries the dust out over the Atlantic and the Indian Oceans. [NASA Earth Observatory]
Recalling the 25th anniversary of the Mount Pinatubo eruption-- Scientists from the US Geological Society (USGS) and their colleagues recently assessed the impact that the eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines on 15 June 1991. This volcanic eruption was the largest from any location on Earth in the previous 100 years. Attention is directed to the NASA TOMS satellite image showing the veil of ash that encircled the globe by the end of June 1991. [USGS Newsroom]
Carbon emissions from Arctic could grow grow faster than observed -- NASA scientists and their colleagues warn that emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere over the Arctic could be increasing during the colder months of the year, at rates that were going undetected was compared with the emissions during the short summer months. The scientists analyzed airborne data collected from 2009 to 2013 by NASA's Carbon in Arctic Reservoirs Vulnerability Experiment (CARVE) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Global Greenhouse Gas Reference Network, as well as satellite data from the Japanese Greenhouse Gas Observing Satellite (GOSAT). [NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory]

CLIMATE FORECASTS

Canadian national seasonal outlook issued -- Forecasters with Environment Canada issued their outlooks for temperature and precipitation across Canada for July, August and September 2016, which represents the last two months of meteorological summer and the first month of autumn. The temperature outlook indicates that most of Canada would experience above normal (1981-2010) summer-early fall temperatures with only a few exceptions. Scattered areas along the eastern coast of Baffin Island were expected to have below normal summer temperatures. In northern sections of the Yukon and Northwest Territories, temperatures for the next three months should be close to normal.
The Canadian precipitation outlook for summer and early autumn 2016 indicates that below average precipitation could be expected across large sections of western Canada, extending from southwestern British Columbia eastward across the Prairie Provinces to Saskatchewan as well as across regions around the Great Lakes and into Eastern Canada that includes Labrador and portions of the Maritime Provinces. A large section of northern Canada along with sections of Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec could have above normal precipitation for these three months.
[Note for comparisons and continuity with the three-month seasonal outlooks of temperature and precipitation generated for the continental United States and Alaska by NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, one would need to use Environment Canada's probabilistic forecasts for temperature and precipitation.]
Updated June 2016 regional climate impacts and outlooks released -- During the last week NOAA scientists and their colleagues in other partner agencies released a set of "Quarterly Climate Impacts and Outlook" reports for June 2016 in eight regions around the nation (and a section of northwestern Canada). These reports outline historical climate trends and describe major climate events that occurred during the previous three months that constitute meteorological spring (March through May 2016). They also provide future climate outlooks for the next three months (July-September 2016) that spans the remainder of meteorological summer and the first month of autumn for each of the eight regions around the nation. [NOAA NCDC News] or [NOAA NIDIS US Drought Portal]

CLIMATE AND SOCIETY

New panel established to guide sustained National Climate Assessment -- Last week NOAA officials announced appointment of 15 members to Advisory Committee for the Sustained National Climate Assessment, a new committee that will advise NOAA on sustained climate assessment activities and products across the nation, including engagement of stakeholders. In addition, NOAA will ensure that the committee's advice will be provided to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy for use by the United States Global Change Research Program (USGCRP). Members of this new advisory committee include experts in physical and social sciences, communication and education.[NOAA Office of Oceanic & Atmospheric Research News]
Better soil data could help improve future food security around the globe -- Researchers with the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis and their colleagues claim that obtaining better soils data will be beneficial in predicting future crop productivity under various scenarios of climate change. In some regions of the world soils and soil management is the primary driver of crop yield, more so than climate variability or the deployment of farm technology. [International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis News]
Earthweek -- Diary of the Planet [earthweek.com]

Historical Events:

4 July 1911...The northeastern U.S. experienced sweltering 100-degree heat. The temperature soared to 105 degrees at Vernon, VT and North Bridgton, ME, and to 106 degrees at Nashua, NH, to establish all-time records for those three states. Afternoon highs of 104 degrees at Boston, MA, 104 at Albany, NY, and 103 at Portland, ME, were all-time records for those three cities. (The Weather Channel)
4 July 1956...A world record for the most rain in one minute was set at Unionville, MD with a downpour of 1.23 inches. (The Weather Channel) (The National Severe Storms Forecast Center)
4 July 1989...Independence Day was "hot as a firecracker" across parts of the country. Nineteen cities, mostly in the north central U.S., reported record high temperatures for the date, including Williston, ND with a reading of 107 degrees. In the southwestern U.S., highs of 93 at Alamosa, CO, 114 at Tucson, AZ, and 118 at Phoenix, AZ, equaled all-time records for those locations. (The National Weather Summary)
4 July 2007...The temperature at St. George, UT hit an unofficial temperature reading of 118 degrees, which would have topped the state's all-time record of 117 degrees, set in St. George in 1985. (The Weather Doctor)
5 July 1925...An immense hailstone weighing 227 grams (0.5 lb) fell at Plumstead in London, England, the heaviest hailstone ever recorded in the United Kingdom. (The Weather Doctor)
5 July 1936...The all-time state record high of 120 degrees was set at Gann Valley, SD. (Intellicast)
5 July 1937...The temperature at Medicine Lake, MT soared to 117 degrees to tie the state record. Glendive, MT reached 117 degrees on 20 July 1893. (National Weather Service files)
Midale and Yellow Grass in Saskatchewan hit 113 degrees to establish all-time record high temperatures for Canada that same day. (The Weather Channel)
5 July 1985...The temperature at St. George, UT reached 117 degrees, setting a record high temperature for the Beehive State. (NCDC)
5 July 1986...The low temperature at Boise, ID dropped to a crisp 35 degrees, the coldest ever for the month. (Intellicast)
5 July 1988...Afternoon and evening thunderstorms spawned eleven tornadoes in Montana and three in North Dakota. Baseball size hail was reported at Shonkin, MT, and wind gusts to 85 mph were reported south of Fordville, ND. Twenty cities in the north central U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date, including Fargo, ND with a reading of 106 degrees. Muskegon, MI equaled their July record with a high of 95 degrees. (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data)
5 July 1989...Moisture from what once was Tropical Storm Allison triggered thunderstorms over the Middle Atlantic Coast Region, which deluged Wilmington, DE with a record 6.83 inches of rain in 24 hours, including 6.37 inches in just six hours. Up to ten inches of rain was reported at Claymont, northeast of Wilmington. July 1989 was thus the wettest month in seventy years for Wilmington, with a total of 12.63 inches of rain. Alamosa, CO reported an all-time record high of 94 degrees, and Pierre, SD hit 113 degrees. Denver, CO reached 101 degrees, topping 100 for the second straight day, only happened once before in 1972 (The National Weather Summary) (Storm Data) (Intellicast)
5 July 1993...Heavy rains deluged the Central Plains as one of the greatest floods in U.S. history began to unfold. Twenty-four hour totals included 5.90 inches at Columbia, IA, 5.15 inches at Centralia, KS and 4.80 inches at Haddam, KS. (Intellicast)
6 July 1928...A hailstorm at Potter, NE produced a stone that was 5.5 inches in diameter, and seventeen inches in circumference, weighing a pound and a half. At the time, it was the world's largest hailstone. (David Ludlum) (Wikipedia)
6 July 1921...The mercury hit 104 degrees at Ville Marie, Quebec, marking Quebec's highest temperature on record. (The Weather Doctor)
6 July 1936...Steele, ND reached 121 degrees, the state record. Moorhead, MN reached 114 degrees to set a record high temperature for the Gopher State. (Intellicast) (NCDC).
6 July 1988...Thirty-six cities in the north central and northeastern U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date. Afternoon highs of 98 degrees at International Falls, MN and 101 degrees at Flint, MI equaled all-time records. Highs of 96 degrees at Muskegon, MI and 97 degrees at Buffalo, NY were records for July. (The National Weather Summary)
6 July 1994...An impressive 21.10 inches of rain fell at Americus, GA to establish a 24-hour maximum precipitation record for the Peach State. (NCDC)
7 July 1889...The greatest 20-minute rainfall ever recorded on Earth occurred when 8.1 inches of rain fell on Curtea-de-Arges, Romania. (The Weather Doctor)
7 July 1905...The mercury soared to 127 degrees at Parker, AZ to tie the state record established at Fort Mohave on 15 June 1896. The current record for Arizona is 128 degrees set at Lake Havasu City on 29 June 1994 (National Weather Service files).
7 July 1982...France's hottest day on record occurred at Le Luc near St. Tropez when the high reached 108.9 degrees. (The Weather Doctor)
7 July 1988...Thirty-eight cities in the north central and northeastern U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date. Youngstown, OH hit 100 degrees, and for the second day in a row, Flint, MI reached 101 degrees, equaling all-time records for those two cities. (The National Weather Summary)
8 July 1936...The temperature hit an all-time record high of 106 degrees at the Central Park Observatory in New York City, a record that lasted until La Guardia Airport hit 107 degrees on 3 July 1966. (The Weather Channel)
8 July 1989...Sixteen cities in the central and western U.S. reported record high temperatures for the date. The high of 103 degrees at Denver, CO equaled their record for July, and a 110-degree reading at Rapid City, SD equaled their all-time record high. Denver reported a record five straight days of 100 degree heat, and Scottsbluff, NE reported a record eight days in a row of 100 degree weather. (The National Weather Summary)
8 July 2003...What may be the world's highest dew point temperature was recorded at Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, on the Persian Gulf. A dew point of 95 degrees was recorded at 3 PM while the air temperature was 108 degrees. The apparent temperature at that time would have been 172 degrees.(National Weather Service files)
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) [Note: In September 2012, this 134-degree reading was determined to be the world record high temperature as a World Meteorological Organization panel disqualified the previously recognized world record temperature of 136 degrees set at El Azizia in Libya on 13 September 1922 due to errors made in recording the temperature at that location.]
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)

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