WEEKLY CLIMATE NEWS

26-30 June 2017

DataStreme Earth Climate System will return for Fall 2017 with new Investigations files starting during Preview Week, Monday, 21 August 2017. 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 2017 AMS DataStreme LIT Leader Summer Training Workshop that is being held in Boulder, CO from 26 through 29 June 2017.
Change in seasons -- The beginning of July marks the beginning of the new heating season. Traditionally, meteorologists and climatologists define the heating season to run from 1 July to 30 June of the following year. Heating degree day units are accumulated commencing on 1 July. Likewise, the snow season runs from 1 July through 30 June. Seasonal snowfall totals for next season will be summed from Tuesday.
The half-way point -- Midpoint of calendar year 2017 will occur at noon, local standard time, on Sunday, 2 July 2017.
Participate in Field Photo Weekends -- The public is invited to join thousands of other citizen scientists from across the nation in the Field Photo Weekend during the Fourth of July Weekend (1-4 July 2017) by taking six digital photographs at a place that you choose and submit these photos via a smart phone app or on-line with your computer. These photos, to be taken in the four cardinal directions (North, East, South and West), upward and downward, will be placed in the Geo-Referenced Field Photo Library, which is a community- and citizen- science data portal for people to share, visualize and archive geo-referenced photos from the fields in the world. Field Photo Weekend is a partnership between CoCoRaHS, the Southern Climate Impacts Planning Program (SCIPP) and the Earth Observation and Modeling Facility (EOMF)
By taking photos this weekend along with another Field Photo Weekend later this year (Labor Day weekends), one can begin to visualize seasonal changes in the local landscape. Similar Field Photo Weekends were held earlier this year on the Presidents' Day (18-20 Feb. 2017) and the Memorial Day (27-29 May 2017) Weekends.

CURRENT CLIMATE STATUS

Comparing the nation's highest and lowest temperatures for last week's summer solstice -- A news feature was posted that shows maps of the highest and lowest daily temperatures recorded on the date of the summer solstice (last Wednesday, 21 June 2017), at more than 4000 stations around the nation over a period of at least 30 years. [NOAA Climate.gov News]

CURRENT CLIMATE MONITORING

Virtues of the TAO buoy network are extoled -- A meteorologist with NOAA's Climate Prediction Center wrote the ENSO blog for the ClimateWatch Magazine that describes how observational data collected by the Tropical Atmospheric Ocean (TAO)—moored buoy array across the equatorial Pacific Ocean can be used to help monitor El Niño/La Niña conditions and provide scientists with an improved understanding of these ENSO events. [NOAA Climate.gov News]
Review of global weather and climate for May 2017 -- Scientists at NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) report that the recently concluded month of May was the third 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 2017, which was 1.49 Fahrenheit degrees (0.83 Celsius degrees) above the 20th century (1901-2000) average May temperature of 58.6 degrees Fahrenheit. This May global temperature lagged behind corresponding temperatures for May 2016 and May 2015. When considered separately, the global ocean surface temperature for May 2017 was 1.28 Fahrenheit degrees above the 20th century average, making last month's sea surface temperature the third highest May temperature since 1880. ENSO-neutral conditions remained across the equatorial Pacific Ocean during May 2017. The average May 2017 land surface temperature was 2.07 Fahrenheit degrees above the 20th century average, which meant that this land surface temperature was the seventh highest May land temperature in the 138-year period of record. Regions of northwest Africa, central and eastern Asia, and polar Canada showing very large positive temperature deviations.
In addition, the combined global land and ocean surface temperature for the last three months (March through May), which is considered meteorological spring in the Northern Hemisphere (fall in the Southern Hemisphere), was the second highest since 1880, only 0.27 Fahrenheit degrees below the record highest May temperature set one year ago (2016). Furthermore, the ocean and land surface temperatures for this year's three-month interval were also second highest on record. [NOAA/NCEI State of the Climate]
The May 2017 sea ice extent data for the Arctic Ocean was the fifth smallest May sea ice extent since satellite records began in 1979. The sea ice cover on the waters around Antarctica in May was the second smallest May extent since 1980.
According to data from the Rutgers Global Snow Lab, the Northern Hemisphere snow cover extent for May was the twelfth largest in the 51-year period of record.
A global map of Selected Significant Climate Anomalies and Events for May 2017 is available from NCDC.

CLIMATE FORECASTS

June 2017 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 2017 in ten 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 2017). They also provide future climate outlooks for the next three months (July-September 2017) that spans the remainder of meteorological summer and the first month of autumn for each of the eight regions around the nation. [NOAA NCEI News] or [NOAA NIDIS US Drought Portal]
An El Niño forecast from Down Under -- Forecasters with the Australian Bureau of Meteorology recently issued an updated ENSO Outlook, in which they reported a current continuation of ENSO-neutral conditions. According to their interpretation, while sea surface temperatures (SST) in the tropical Pacific were slightly above-average, the atmospheric component of the system, the trade winds and Southern Oscillation Index were well within the neutral range. Therefore, the Australian forecasters have canceled their previous El Niño WATCH, which had meant the likelihood of El Niño forming in 2017 would have been at least 50%. [Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology]

CLIMATE AND SOCIETY

Earthweek -- Diary of the Planet [earthweek.com]

Historical Events:

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)
30 June 1999...Mount Baker, Washington closed out a record snowfall season both for the United States and the verifiable world record as the seasonal total from 1 July 1998 to 30 June 1999 finished with 1,140 inches. (National Weather Service files)
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 1931...The summer flood along the Yangtze River during July and August 1931 was the most severe in history, with over 51 million Chinese affected. 3.7 million people perished from this greatest disaster of the century due to disease, starvation or drowning. This flood was preceded by a prolonged drought in China during the 1928-1930 period. (National Weather Service files)
1 July 1979...Nearly half a foot (5.8 inches) of snow fell 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)
2 July 1908...The temperature at Dumfries, Scotland reached 91 degrees, the highest temperature ever recorded in Scotland. (The Weather Doctor)
2 July 1942...The temperature at Portland, OR hit 107 degrees, an all-time record for the city. This record was subsequently reached on three other occasions. (ThreadEx) (Intellicast)
2 July 1989...Midland, TX reported an all-time record high of 112 degrees. (The National Weather Summary)
2 July 1998...Italy's highest recorded temperature was 108.5 degrees, set at Catania, Italy: (The Weather Doctor)
2-6 July 1994...Heavy rains from the remains of Tropical Storm Alberto produced major flooding across northern and central Georgia. Three-day rains exceeded 15 inches at Atlanta. An impressive 21.10 inches of rain fell at Americus, GA on the 6^th to establish a 24-hour maximum precipitation record for the Peach State. Numerous road closures and bridge washouts. Thirty people were killed and 50,000 were forced from their homes, as 800,000 acres were flooded. Total damage exceeded $750 million. (NCDC) (Intellicast)

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