WEEKLY CLIMATE NEWS

11-15 June 2018

ITEMS OF INTEREST

Worldwide GLOBE at Night 2018 Campaign for June is underway -- The sixth in the series of GLOBE at Night citizen-science campaigns for 2018 will continue through Wednesday, 13 June. 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 with the seven magnitude/star charts of progressively fainter stars. These constellations are Hercules in the Northern Hemisphere and Crux for the Southern Hemisphere. Activity guides are also available. The GLOBE at night program is intended to raise public awareness of the impact of light pollution. The seventh series in the 2018 campaign is scheduled for 4-13 July 2018. [GLOBE at Night]
American Southwest monsoon season begins -- This Friday (15 June 2018) 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 northwestward from the Gulf of Mexico. This monsoon season typically runs through the end of September. The National Weather Service Forecast Office (NWSFO) in Tucson, AZ has a webpage called "Tracking the Monsoon" that provides links to satellite imagery, surface and upper air weather observations and long-term climate data for the region. "Monsoon Awareness Week" is being observed from Sunday 10 June through Friday 15 June 2018 at the NWSFOs across the Southwest, stretching from southern California to west Texas. A list of events in the Tucson (AZ) metropolitan area associated with this week is available. An informative 3:39-minute for "Monsoon Awareness Week 2018" has been produced that describes the hazards associated with the monsoon such as flash floods, lightning, downburst winds, blowing dust and heat stress. The Tucson NWSFO also has produced a 6:11 minute Monsoon 2018 Outlook video that provides an outlook into their precipitation forecast for this year's monsoon that involves three key factors: i.) current equatorial Pacific sea surface temperatures, ii.) current soil moisture conditions and position of the subtropical high pressure and iii.) long-term climate models.
If you live in this region, you should take time to become familiar with the various public affairs announcements issued by your local National Weather Service Office. See also http://monsoonsafety.org/ .
Observing Global Wind Day -- This Friday, 15 June 2018, has been designated as Global Wind Day. Organized by the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) and the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC), Global Wind Day is a worldwide event that is held annually on 15 June and it meant to be a day for discovering wind energy, its power and the possibilities that it holds to change the world. [Global Wind Day]
World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought -- This Sunday (17 June 2018) has been declared World Day to Combat Desertification by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). This year's rallying call is “Land has true value - Invest in it,” calling all producers, consumers and policy makers to make a difference by investing in the future of land. 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]
Nearly two decades of continuous satellite images document planetary change -- NASA scientists have collected and archived the images obtained from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) onboard the NASA Terra satellite, launched in 1999, and the Aqua satellite that was launched in 2002. The scientists are now encouraging the public to interactively view these archived images using NASA's Worldview, an interface for browsing full-resolution, global satellite imagery. A two-minute YouTube video shows a collection of the MODIS images that can be used to see at least 18 years of planetary changes that have been associated with such events such as hurricanes, wildfires, volcanoes and calving glaciers. [NASA Global Climate Change News]

CURRENT CLIMATE STATUS

National weather and climate reviewed for May and spring 2018 -- 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 2018 was 5.2 Fahrenheit degrees above the 20th-century (1901-2000) average. Therefore, this past month was the warmest May since 1895 when comprehensive climate records became available nationwide. Every one of the 48 contiguous United States had above to much above average statewide temperatures, with eight states (Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Missouri, Ohio, Oklahoma and Virginia) reporting their highest statewide temperatures on record. In addition, twelve additional nearby states had temperatures for May 2018 that ranked either second or third highest in their respective state records. The national average maximum (or daytime) temperature for May was the second highest in the 124 years of record, while the national average minimum (nighttime) temperature represents a record high for May. Alaska had its 38th warmest May since sufficient statewide records began in 1925.
The nationwide average temperature for the just-concluded meteorological spring (March, April and May 2018) was 1.5 Fahrenheit degrees above the 20th-century average, making this spring the 22nd warmest since records began in 1895. Fifteen of the 48 contiguous states across the Southwest and along the West Coast reported statewide average temperatures that were either above or much above the long-term average. New Mexico had a spring average temperature that was the second highest on record, while Arizona, Colorado, Texas and Utah had statewide temperatures that were in the top twelve in 124 years. Four of the New England States (Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island) also experienced above average statewide spring temperatures. The remainder of the states in the "Lower 48" had near average spring temperatures. Springtime in Alaska was relatively warm, as the state experienced a March through May statewide average temperature that ranked 10th highest since 1925.
The precipitation across the coterminous US for May 2018 was 0.06 inches above the 20th-century average, which was the 55th wettest (or 70th driest) May in the 124-year record. Seven states along the Atlantic Seaboard running from Florida northward to Maryland and Delaware had statewide precipitation totals that ranked within the top nine on record, with Florida having its wettest May since 1895. Several other stations across the northern sections of the country had above average precipitation. Conversely, 15 states in the Northeast, the western Gulf Coast, the southern Plains, southern Rockies and the Pacific Northwest had below to much below average May statewide precipitation totals. Louisiana had its 10th driest May on record, New Hampshire its 11th driest and Washington its 12 smallest precipitation on record. Alaska was relatively wet in May, with a statewide precipitation average that was fourth largest since 1925.
Spring 2018 precipitation across the nation was 0.03 inches below the 20th century average, which was 61st driest (64th wettest) spring in 124 years. Ten states across the Plains and the Southwest had below to much below average spring precipitation. Arizona and New Mexico had their tenth driest springs on record. On the other hand, a dozen states in the Southeast and Middle Atlantic, had above to much-above average spring precipitation. North Carolina had its sixth wettest spring on record, while Florida experienced its twelfth wettest. [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]
Satellite altimetry observations of sea surface height indicate warm water spreading across central Pacific -- Data collected by the sensors onboard the NASA/European Jason-3 satellite indicate that the neutral or near-average ocean heights across the equatorial Pacific during this past April have begun to increase during May. This increase in ocean heights typically are caused by intrusions of warmer water at or below the sea surface. A patch of high sea levels was traveling slowly to the east along the Equator, which would represent a downwelling Kelvin wave, often taken as a precursor of an El Niño event. [NASA Global Climate Change News]

CURRENT CLIMATE MONITORING

Another milestone is reached at the Mauna Loa Observatory -- Late last week scientists from NOAA's Earth System Research Laboratory and Scripps Institution of Oceanography announced that atmospheric carbon dioxide levels measured at NOAA's Mauna Loa Atmospheric Baseline Observatory had averaged more than 410 parts per million (by volume) in April and May 2018. These monthly averages were the highest monthly averages ever recorded at the Observatory, which commenced nearly continuous carbon dioxide measurements in 1958. The growth rate of atmospheric carbon dioxide has been accelerating, from 1.6 ppm per year in the 1980s to 2.2 ppm per year during the last decade; the global carbon dioxide average increased by 2.3 ppm between 2016 and 2017. Increasing carbon dioxide levels appear to be associated with human activity, especially with the combustion of fossil fuels. [NOAA Research News]
Translational speeds of tropical cyclones are slowing globally -- A scientist with NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) recently reported that his analysis of the tracks of tropical cyclones over water and land around the world between 1949 and 2016 shows a general slowing of the forward speed of tropical cyclones over the 66-year period by approximately ten percent. This slowdown has occurred in all the world's ocean basins, except for the North Indian Ocean. The largest slowdown was found in the western North Pacific, which had a 20 percent reduction. The North Atlantic had a six percent decrease in translational speed. A slower movement of tropical cyclones can lead to higher rainfall totals and devastating flooding, especially when these systems approach the coast and make landfall. The reasons for this global slowing of tropical cyclones may involve complex interactions of environmental factors, such as the strength of atmospheric circulation patterns. [NOAA NCEI News]

CLIMATE AND SOCIETY

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

Historical Events:

11 June 1877...The temperature at Los Angeles, CA reached 112 degrees during a heat wave. It would have been the all-time record for Los Angeles, but official records did not begin until twenty days later. Over a century later, Los Angeles would again reach this temperature on 26 June 1990. (The Weather Channel) (The Weather Doctor)
11 June 1972...Heavy showers brought 1.64 inches of rain to Phoenix, AZ, a record for the month of June. (The Weather Channel)
12 June 1991...The largest volcanic eruption of the 20th Century began as Mt Pinatubo in the Philippines injected 15 to 30 million tons of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere. Global dust cloud cooled the planet, reversing for a time the global warming trend, as 1992 was globally one of the coolest since the 1970s. On the same day that Mt Pinatubo awakens from its 635-year slumber, Typhoon Yunya crossed Luzon province. Mudslides and flooding caused many deaths and added with impacts of Pinatubo leaving more than a million homeless. (The Weather Doctor)
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 sulfur 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 dropped 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)

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