WEEKLY CLIMATE NEWS

14-18 August 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

Worldwide GLOBE at Night 2017 Campaign commences -- The eighth in a series of GLOBE at Night citizen-science campaigns for 2017 will commence this Monday (14 August) and continue through Wednesday, 23 August. 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 Sagittarius 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 2017 campaign is scheduled for 12-21 September 2017. [GLOBE at Night]
State of the Climate in 2016 report indicates record warm year -- During this past week NOAA scientists and their colleagues released a 298-page report entitled State of the Climate in 2016. This peer-reviewed study, compiled by more than 450 scientists from 60 countries, was based upon their examination of trends in temperature and precipitation, extreme weather and climate events, increases in greenhouse gas concentrations and changes in the polar sea ice around the world in 2016.
The report contained the following key points:

The atmospheric concentrations of the major greenhouse gases (including carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide) were the highest on record.
The global surface temperature for 2016 was the highest on record and marked the third consecutive year for a record high. This record high temperature was aided by a strong El Niño early in the year.
The globally averaged lower tropospheric temperature was the highest on record.
The globally averaged sea surface temperature for the year was the highest on record.
The global upper ocean heat content in the top 700 meters of the ocean was slightly less than the record high set in 2015.
The global sea level for the year was the highest on record, marking the sixth consecutive year of an increase of global sea level.
Extremes were observed in the water cycle and in the variability of precipitation around the globe.
The Arctic continued to warm and the Arctic sea ice extent remained low.
The waters around Antarctic experienced record low sea ice extent.
Global ice and snow cover declined during 2016.
The number of tropical cyclones across all ocean basins in 2016 was well above average overall.

Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society

NOAA NCEI News

The "Dog Days" officially ended on 11 August, having begun the third day in July. Superstition has it that dogs tend to become mad during that time of the year. (The Weather Channel)
Collecting global sea level data from space reaches 25 years -- The 25th anniversary of the launch of the NASA/CNES Topex-Poseidon satellite was celebrated last week. This first major oceanographic research satellite, which was a joint venture between NASA and France's space agency Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES), measured ocean surface topography to an accuracy of 4.2 cm from 1992 to 2006. Three successors, named Jason 1 (2001-2013), Jason 2 (2008-current) and Jason 3 (2016-current), have continuously mapped global ocean currents and tides through the present time. Data from these satellites have been used to create a 25-year time series of the changes in global sea level and to monitor El Niño and La Niña events. [NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Feature]
Count down to the "Great North American Eclipse" -- The "Great North American Eclipse" is set to occur at the start of next week (21 August 2017), when the moon will pass in front of the Sun and create a total solar eclipse that will travel across the North American continent from Oregon on the Pacific Coast to South Carolina on the Atlantic Coast.

NASA is funding several science teams to conduct scientific experiments during the solar eclipse. Eleven ground-based science investigations will be conducted across the nation, with three looking at the response of the ionosphere (the ionized layer of the Earth's atmosphere at altitudes between 50 and 400 miles above the surface). [NASA Goddard Space Flight Center]
NASA and the GLOBE (Global Learning and Observation to Benefit the Environment) Program are encouraging the public to make observations of the atmosphere on the day of the total solar eclipse as the eclipse path passes from west to east across the nation. The public is invited to make observations of the clouds (type and amount of cover) and air temperature and then post their results using a special GLOBE Observer app. [Globe Observer]

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

The National Weather Service has an informative webpage entitled "2017 Total Solar Eclipse" http://www.weather.gov/source/crh/eclipse.html that contains an interactive map allowing the user to obtain up to seven-day weather forecasts along the eclipse path (beginning on 15 August).
Follow the recommended eclipse viewing safety rules provided on the NOAA and NASA websites to protect your eyes from potential damage. EJH

CURRENT CLIMATE STATUS

July 2017 weather and climate for the nation reviewed -- Scientists at the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) recently reported on their analysis of preliminary weather data collected during the month of July 2017. The average temperature for the contiguous US during July was 75.7 degrees F, or 2.1 Fahrenheit degrees above the 20th century (1901-2000) average. Therefore, July 2017 was the tenth warmest July since comprehensive nationwide temperature records began in 1895. Above to much above-average July temperatures were reported across the majority of the 48 contiguous states, with only 16 states scattered across the Mid-South, the Midwest and the Northeast experiencing near-average temperatures. Across the West, eight states (California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah and Wyoming) reported statewide average temperatures that ranked in the top ten highest on record for their respective states. Similarly, Florida in the Southeast had its seventh highest July average temperature over the last 123 years.
The nationally-averaged July precipitation total across the contiguous United States was 2.74 inches (or 0.04 inches above the 20th century average), which made July 2017 the 69th wettest (or 55th driest) July in the 123-year record. Many of the states in the northwestern quadrant of the nation below to much below-average precipitation. Montana, North Dakota and Washington had statewide July precipitation totals that ranked in the lowest eleven in the last 123 years. On the other hand, states across the Four Corners area of the Southwest, the South Central States, the Midwest and the Middle Atlantic reported above to much above-average July rainfall. Colorado, Delaware, Indiana, Maryland, Ohio and Pennsylvania experienced statewide July precipitation totals that ranked in the top ten over the 123-year period of record. [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]
Death Valley could have recorded all-time highest monthly average temperature for world in July -- According to preliminary analysis, the cooperative weather observing station in Death Valley recorded an average temperature for July 2017 of 107.4 degrees Fahrenheit (or degrees 41.9 degrees Celsius), which could represent the highest monthly average temperature ever recorded on Earth. For comparison, the normal monthly average July temperature in Death Valley is 102.2 degrees. During July 2017, the highest temperature was 127 degrees and the lowest temperature was 89 degrees. However, this new world record monthly average temperature for Death Valley has been challenged by the report that King Khalid Military City in Saudi Arabia reported a 107.44-degree Fahrenheit average temperature for August 2014. Further review of the records is pending. [Washington Post's Capital Weather Gang News]
Pacific Northwest scorched by recent heat wave -- A meteorologist with NOAA's Climate Prediction Center wrote a feature for the ClimateWatch Magazine that describes the recent heat wave across the Pacific Northwest that saw temperatures approaching all-time record highs for many locations across the region. Essentially all of these temperatures exceeded 100 degrees Fahrenheit. [NOAA Climate.gov News]
Earliest traverse of the Northwest Passage in the Arctic made in July by an ice breaker -- During the month of July 2017, the Finnish Ice Breaker MSV Nordica set a new record for the earliest transit time through the Arctic Northwest Passage, as it cut a path from Alaska to Greenland through the fabled passage across northern Canada over a period of just 24 days this summer. [NOAA Climate.gov News]

CURRENT CLIMATE MONITORING

Archive of historical radar data available on Google Cloud Storage -- NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) and the technology company Google have formed a partnership in which the historical archive and near real-time Level-II data obtained from NOAA's Next Generation Weather Radar (NEXRAD) will be available to the public from the company's Google Cloud Storage, an online data storage and access service. NEXRAD Level-II data, which have been received from 160 radar sites operated by the National Weather Service, the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Defense since 1991, consist of the basic size, shape, and motion of raindrops, hail or debris detected in the atmosphere by each NEXRAD radar. [NOAA NCEI News]

CLIMATE FORCING

"Hot spots" of sea level rise found along the Southeast Coast -- University of Florida researchers recently have found that "hot spots" for rapid sea level rise off the Southeast Coast of the US are associated with two large-scale atmospheric patterns, El Niño and the Northern Oscillation (NAO) combining to cause sea water to pile up and inundate coastal areas over recent years. Sea levels in these hot spots have risen at a rate approximately six times greater than the global average between 2011 and 2015. Researchers warn that while the hot spots may move and cause flooding in the area to slow temporarily, communities on the coast must still prepare for longer-term sea level rise. [University of Florida News]

CLIMATE FORECASTS

Updated 2017 NOAA Atlantic hurricane outlook is released -- Forecasters at NOAA's Climate Prediction Center (CPC) issued their updated Atlantic Hurricane Season Outlook for 2017, which increased the number of predicted named tropical cyclones for the North Atlantic Basin (including the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico) from their initial seasonal outlook that they made in May. Specifically, they are now predicting a 60-percent chance of 14–19 named tropical cyclones (hurricanes and tropical storms with sustained surface winds of at least 39 mph), as compared with their earlier outlook of a 45-percent chance of 11 to 17 named systems. They also currently envision between five and nine hurricanes (with maximum sustained surface winds of 74 mph or higher) along with two to five major hurricanes (Category 3 hurricanes or greater on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Intensity Scale with winds of at least 111 mph), which represent slight increases in their earlier forecasts of two to four major hurricanes, while maintaining their earlier outlooks for five to nine hurricanes. At the same time, the CPC forecasters lowered the chances of a below-average season to 10 percent from the earlier 20 percent. These new projections indicate their expectation of a high probability of an above-average hurricane season, as long-term statistics show that an average Atlantic season consists of 12 named tropical cyclones and the six hurricanes that normally form during each year. Three of these hurricanes typically become major hurricanes.
The CPC forecasters claim that the increased likelihood of above average tropical cyclone activity across the Atlantic basin is due to several factors that include more favorable atmospheric conditions along with the marked reduction in the chances for the development of an El Niño event during the next several months during the peak of the Atlantic hurricane season. In addition, sea surface temperatures across the tropical Atlantic Ocean are also higher. As of the early August, the Atlantic basin has had five tropical storms (Arlene, Bret, Cindy, Don and Emily) and one hurricane (Franklin) during 2017. in the North Atlantic basin (that includes the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico). [NOAA News]
An updated Atlantic hurricane forecast was issued by Dr. Philip Klotzbach and associates at Colorado State University one week ago in which they predicted a total of 16 named tropical cyclones for the entire 2017 season, including eight hurricanes. The forecasters also anticipated three major hurricanes and an above-average probability of at least one major hurricane landfall along the coasts of the continental United States and the islands in the Caribbean. [The Tropical Meteorology Project]

CLIMATE AND SOCIETY

Winter storm risk and resilience in Northeast are analyzed in view of a changing climate -- Researchers with Columbia University's Earth Institute and colleagues recently reported on their analysis of the risks and economic effects that midlatitude winter storms have upon dense populations across the Northeast in view of changing climate conditions. They analyzed winter storms that affected the tri-state New York City metropolitan area between 2001 and 2014, using the storms' wind, precipitation, storm tide and snow depth to evaluate the strongest 20 storms for that period. [Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory News]
Earthweek -- Diary of the Planet [earthweek.com]

Historical Events:

14 August 1936...Temperatures across much of eastern Kansas and western Missouri soared above 110 degrees. Kansas City, MO hit an all-time record high of 113 degrees. It was one of sixteen consecutive days of 100-degree heat for Kansas City. During that summer there were a record 53 days of 100-degree heat, and during the three summer months Kansas City received just 1.12 inches of rain. (The Kansas City Weather Almanac)
14-17 August 2003...Residents of Bismarck, ND wilted under a record string of four consecutive days with temperatures greater than 100 degrees. (The Weather Doctor)
15 August 1946...Saint Louis, MO was deluged with a record 8.78 inches of rain in 24 hours. (The Weather Channel)
15 August 1995...Apalachicola, FL soared to 103 degrees to set all-time high temperature. (Intellicast)
15 August 2004...The weather station at Yakutat, AK reported its all-time maximum temperature: 88 degrees. (The Weather Doctor)
16 August 1909...A dry spell began in San Bernardino County of southern California that lasted until the 6th of May in 1912, a stretch of 994 days! Another dry spell, lasting 767 days, then began in October of 1912. (The Weather Channel)
17 August 1885...Amos, CA hit 130 degrees to set the unofficial August U.S. high temperature record. (Intellicast)
18 August 1924...A record August rainfall for the United Kingdom occurred when 9.4 inches deluged Cannington (Somerset) England. (The Weather Doctor)
18 August 1927...Pressure in unnamed tropical storm fell to 887 millibars (26.18 inches of mercury) over the Pacific Ocean east of Luzon in the Philippines, one of the lowest surface measurements on record. (The Weather Doctor)
18 August 1931: The Yangtze River in China peaked during a horrible flood that killed 3.7 million people directly and indirectly over the next several months. This was perhaps the worst natural disaster of the 20th century. (National Weather Service files)
18-19 August 1935...The temperature soared to record high levels in each of the Maritime Provinces, with a 98-degree reading at Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, 101 degrees in Collegeville, Nova Scotia and 103 degrees in Rexton, New Brunswick. (The Weather Doctor)
18 August 1936...Iowa had its hottest ever August day with the average high temperature for 113 stations being 106.5 degrees Fahrenheit. (Intellicast)
18-19 August 2007...A cooperative observer near Hokah in southeastern Minnesota recorded 15.10 inches of rain, establishing a new 24-hour maximum precipitation record for the Gopher State. (NCDC)
19 August 1939...Tuckerton, NJ received 14.81 inches of rain, which established a 24-hour maximum precipitation record for the Garden State. (NCDC)
19 August 1955...Rains from tropical Storm Diane fell on ground saturated from Tropical Storm Connie a week before. Westfield, MA recorded 18.15 inches in 24 hours, to set a statewide record for the Bay State, while the 24-hour precipitation record for the Nutmeg State was set at Burlington, CT with 12.77 inches. Extreme flooding occurred in all of New England. (Intellicast)
19 August 1960...The heaviest recorded 24-hour precipitation accumulation to date for the Arctic drenched Mould Bay, Northwest Territories with 1.88 inches of rain. (The Weather Doctor)
19 August 1969..."Never say die" Camille let loose a cloudburst in Virginia resulting in flash floods and landslides that killed 151 persons and cause 140 million dollars damage. Massies Hill in Nelson County, Virginia received an estimated 27 inches of rain in 24 hours. This amount is an unofficial record for the state, while the official 24-hour maximum precipitation record is 14.28 inches at Williamsburg on 16 September 1999. (David Ludlum) (NCDC)
19 August 1986...The temperature at San Antonio, TX soared to an all-time record high of 108 degrees. (Sandra and TI Richard Sanders 1987)
19 August 2010...A 2-month long heat wave in Russia ended on this date. During the heat wave daily maximum temperatures in Moscow were as much as 27 degrees above average. The heat wave caused 15,000 deaths, 600 wildfires, and $15 billion loss of economic growth. (National Weather Service files)

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