WEEKLY CLIMATE NEWS

25-29 May 2015

DataStreme Earth Climate System will return for Fall 2015 with new Investigations files starting during Preview Week, Monday, 24 August 2015. All the current online website products will continue to be available throughout the summer break period.

ITEMS OF INTEREST

Zenithal Sun -- The noontime sun should be at the zenith or directly over the heads of those on the Hawaiian Island of Oahu (Honolulu metropolitan area) this week (25-27 May). [US Naval Observatory, Data Services]
National Hurricane Awareness Week -- NOAA has declared the week of 24-30 May 2015 as Hurricane Awareness Week across the nation. In the Eastern North Pacific basin, the hurricane season began on 15 May, while the hurricane season in the North Atlantic basin, including the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico will begin next Monday, 1 June.
Change in season -- Meteorological spring in the Northern Hemisphere, the three-month span from March through May, concludes next Sunday (31 May 2015), while meteorological summer (June, July and August) will commence on the following day.

CURRENT CLIMATE STATUS

Global temperatures for April 2015 reviewed -- Using preliminary data collected from the global network of surface weather stations, scientists at NOAA's National Climatic Data Center report that the combined global land and ocean surface temperature for April 2015 was the fourth highest for any April since comprehensive global climate records began in 1880, or approximately 1.3 Fahrenheit degrees above the 20th century (1901-2000) average. The scientists also reported that when considered separately, the temperature over the oceans was the highest April temperature in 136 years with a sea surface temperature that was nearly 1.1 Fahrenheit degrees above the 20th century average. Record sea-surface temperatures for the month were the result of the strengthening of El Niño conditions across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean. In addition, the average land temperature was the tenth highest for any April since 1880, with a land temperature 2 Fahrenheit degrees above the long-term average.
Data from the National Snow and Ice Data Center indicated that the average Arctic sea ice extent was the second smallest monthly April extent since satellite surveillance began in 1979. Conversely, the Antarctic sea ice extent was the largest April Antarctic sea ice extent on record for the satellite era. [NOAA/NCDC State of the Climate]
A global map of Selected Significant Climate Anomalies and Events for April 2014 is available from NCDC.

CURRENT CLIMATE MONITORING

Monitoring "drought buster" rains across southern Plains from satellites -- A map of the total rainfall accumulated across the 48 contiguous United States between mid-April and mid-May shows locally heavy rainfall across the Texas and Oklahoma in a region of the southern Plains that had been experiencing drought conditions until recently. The map was assembled from data collected from the Integrated Multi-Satellite Retrievals for GPM, a product of the new Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission. Precipitation estimates for the map were obtained from passive microwave and infrared sensors on several satellites, including NASA's new GPM spacecraft, as well as monthly surface precipitation gauge data. [NASA Earth Observatory]
Torrential rain creates 3rd-wettest day in Oklahoma City history -- Numerous slow-moving thunderstorms moving across central Oklahoma on 6 May 2015 produced flooding rains across the region. Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma City received 7.10 inches of rain, which made the 6th the wettest day in the month of May and the third wettest day on record in Oklahoma history. Weather records for the capital city of the Sooner State extend back to 1891. A description of how climate scientists describe and rank these extreme events is provided. [NOAA Climate.gov News]
Satellite shows diminished snowpack on Pacific Northwest mountains -- Comparison of natural-color images of Washington and Oregon made by the MODIS sensor on NASA's Aqua satellite in May of 2014 and 2015 shows this year's lack of an adequate snowpack across the region's Olympic and Cascade Mountains. [NASA Earth Observatory]

CLIMATE FORECASTS

New Seasonal Climate Outlooks for this summer issued -- Near the end of last week, forecasters at the NOAA Climate Prediction Center (CPC) released their new national Three-Month (Seasonal) Climate Outlooks for the upcoming summer season. These three months, running from June through August 2015, are identified as meteorological summer for the Northern Hemisphere. Specific details of their outlooks include:
- Temperature and precipitation outlooks -- According to their temperature outlook, the western third of the 48 coterminous United States should experience a high chance of above average temperatures for these three upcoming months, with the greatest probability of such an occurrence being along the Pacific Coast. Sections of the Southeast, primarily across Florida, and across northern New England would also have a better than average chance of a warmer than average summer. Conversely, sections of the southern and central Plains along with the Ozark Plateau were expected to have a better than even chance of having below average summer temperatures. Elsewhere across the 48 contiguous states nearly equal chances of warmer or cooler than normal conditions were anticipated.
  Their precipitation outlook calls for better than even chances of wet conditions for summer 2015 across the southern and central Rockies, along with adjacent areas of the high Plains. Above average rainfall was considered to be likely across the Gulf Coast States and the lower Mississippi Valley. The Pacific Northwest was expected to have a better than average chance of having drier than normal summer conditions. The rest of the contiguous states should have equal chances of below and above average summer precipitation.
  Outlooks for June are also available. A summary of the prognostic discussion of the outlook for non-technical users is available from CPC. These forecasts were based in part on the continued strengthening of El Niño conditions across the equatorial Pacific and a continuation of these conditions through the summer in the Northern Hemisphere and to at least the end of the year.
- Seasonal Drought Outlook released -- The forecasters at NOAA's Climate Prediction Center also released their US Seasonal Drought Outlook last week that would run from mid-May through August 2015. Their outlook would call for development or persistence of drought conditions across the Far West, sections of the upper Midwest and the Northeast. In the West, drought was expected to continue along the Pacific Coast and over the interior Northwest, the Great Basin and sections of the Southwest. In the Northeast, drought conditions should prevail from the Middle Atlantic States across most of New England. On the other hand, the forecasters foresaw improvement of the drought conditions across the southern and central Plains, and the region around the Four Corners area (Arizona, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico). Some of these areas could be removed from drought conditions. Note: a Seasonal Drought Outlook Discussion is included describing the forecasters' confidence.
Great Plains States could experience longer dry spells in future -- The U.S. National Climate Assessment issued one year ago reported that croplands across the Great Plains running from Texas northward to North Dakota could receive longer dry spells in future decades as greenhouse gas concentrations continue to rise. The report featured maps of the number of consecutive dry days across these high Plains during the recent 30 years running from 1971 to 2000 and for the projected 30-year span from 2041 to 2070 under scenarios of substantially reduced emissions and with continued rising emissions. [NOAA Climate.gov News]

CLIMATE FORCING

Efforts made to resolve connections between warmer Arctic and mid-latitude severe weather -- An international team of scientists have been studying the possibility of links between the recent rapid warming of the Arctic and several severe weather events during the last decade. Some researchers theorize that increased Arctic temperatures along with wider expanses of melting ice and snow have contributed to weaker upper tropospheric westerly winds and a move wavy jet stream in some years that would anchor a pool of cold air over eastern North America, including the area around the Great Lakes. [NOAA Oceanic and Atmospheric Research News]

PALEOCLIMATE RECONSTRUCTION

Cave deposits serve as proxy climate indicators -- An earth sciences professor at Vanderbilt University recently described her research that involves the study of speleotherms, or mineral cave deposits such as stalactites and stalagmites, that results in their use as proxies for the prehistoric climate. [Research News @ Vanderbilt University]

CLIMATE AND SOCIETY

Exposure of nation's residents to extreme heat could quadruple by 2050 -- Researchers at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and the City University of New York (CUNY) warn that the exposure of residents of the United States to extreme heat could increase between four- and six-fold by mid-century due to both a warming climate and a population that is growing very rapidly in the hottest regions of the nation. The researchers used eleven different high-resolution simulations of future temperatures across the nation between 2041 and 2070. Annual exposure to extreme heat was calculated in terms of "person-days" by multiplying the number of days when the temperature is expected to reach at least 95 degrees Fahrenheit by the number of people who are projected to live in the areas where extreme heat would occur. The largest increases in "person-days" were projected to be in the West South Central, the South Atlantic and the Mountain States, while the least would be in New England. [NCAR/UCAR AtmosNews]
Investment in water conservation and resilience expanded across drought-stricken states -- Early last week the US Agriculture Secretary, Tom Vilsack, announced that his agency's Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) will invest approximately $21 million in additional Farm Bill funds to help farmers and ranchers apply science-based solutions to mitigate the short and long term effects of drought. Financial and technical assistance will be provided in the most severely drought-stricken areas in eight states to help crop and livestock producers apply conservation practices that increase irrigation efficiency, improve soil health and productivity, and ensure reliable water sources for livestock operations. [US Department of Agriculture News Release]
Grants are made available to improve coastal community resilience -- During the last week NOAA has announced that applications are being accepted for grants within the agency's oceans and fisheries programs intended to improve costal community and ecosystem resilience to the effects of extreme weather events, climate hazards, and changing ocean conditions.. NOAA's Ocean Service has $5 million for community resilience projects, while NOAA Fisheries has $4 million available for coastal ecosystem resilience projects. Applicants that would be eligible for funding include nonprofit organizations, institutions of higher education, regional organizations, private (for profit) entities, and local, state, and tribal government. [NOAA News]
Earthweek -- Diary of the Planet [earthweek.com] Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Historical Events:

26 May 1967...A slow moving nor'easter battered New England with high winds, heavy rain, and record late season snow on this day and into the 26th. Over 7 inches of rain fell at Nantucket, MA with 6.57 inches falling in 24 hours to set a new 24-hour rainfall record. The 24.9 inches of snow that fell at Mount Washington, NH set a new May snowfall record. Other locations in New Hampshire received 10 inches of snow near Keene and 6 inches at Dublin. (Intellicast)
26 May 2001...The 2000-2001 snowfall season finally ended in St John's, Newfoundland, during which time a grand total of 255.3 inches of snow fell. The total snow, which broke a century-old mark, was estimated to have weighed 500 million tons! (The Weather Doctor)
27 May 1948...The 1.5 inches of rainfall at Victoria, British Columbia set the record for the wettest May day observed in the provincial capital city. (The Weather Doctor)
28 May 1887...The temperature reached 97 degrees at San Francisco, CA, establishing a record high temperature for the month of May for the city. (Intellicast)
28 May 1942...The latest snowstorm of record for the state of Iowa left ten inches at LeMars, eight inches at Cherokee, and 7.5 inches at Waukon. Afternoon highs were in the lower 30s in parts of northwestern Iowa. (The Weather Channel)
28 May 1984...Sacramento, CA had its highest temperature ever recorded in the month of May, when the temperature reached 110 degrees, breaking the old record of 100 degrees set in 1932. (Intellicast)
28 May 2003...A new Nevada maximum temperature record for May was set when the high temperature at Battle Mountain, NV rose to 102 degrees. (The Weather Doctor)
29 May 2000...A new national maximum temperature record for May is set when the high temperature in Death Valley, CA soared to 122 degrees. (The Weather Doctor)
30 May 1948...The Columbia River reached its highest stage since 1894. A railroad bed acting as a dam gave way during a flood along the Columbia River destroying the town of Vanport, OR. The nearly 18,700 residents escaped with little more than the clothes on their backs. Damage was estimated at 101 million dollars and 75 lost their lives. (David Ludlum) (Intellicast) Twenty carloads of glass were needed in Denver, CO to replace that destroyed by a severe hailstorm. (The Weather Channel)
30 May 1985...The temperature in Oklahoma City, OK reached a sizzling 104 degrees, making it the highest ever for so early in the season. This also marked the very first time the temperature had reached the 100-degree plateau in the month of May at Oklahoma City. (Intellicast)
30 May 1986...Hanford, WA hit a scorching 104 degrees, breaking the all-time record high temperature for May for Eastern Washington. Yakima, WA hit 102 degrees, a record high for the month of May for Yakima. Records also fell at Boise, ID and Reno, NV. (Intellicast)
31 May 1889...The Johnstown, PA disaster occurred, the worst flood tragedy in U.S. history. Heavy rains totaling 4 to 10 inches over the previous 36 hours collapsed the South Fork Dam sending a thirty-foot wall of water rushing down the already flooded Conemaugh Valley. The wall of water, traveling as fast as twenty-two feet per second, swept away all structures, objects, and people, practically wiping out Johnstown. About 2100 persons perished in the flood. (David Ludlum)
31 May-1 June 1941...Thunderstorms deluged Burlington, KS with 12.59 inches of rain to establish a 24-hour rainfall record for the Jayhawk State. (The Weather Channel)
31 May 1973...Canada's sunniest month ends as Eureka, Northwest Territories recorded 621 hours of bright sunshine. (The Weather Doctor)
31 May 1983...Albany, NY experienced its wettest spring (March-May) in 109 years of records as 19.54 inches of precipitation was recorded. (Intellicast)
31 May 1986...The Weather Service Office in Washington, DC reported its driest spring on record with only 3.47 inches of precipitation from 1 March to 31 May. (Intellicast)
31 May 1988...Hot and humid weather prevailed in the eastern U.S. Thirteen cities reported record high temperatures for the date. Cape Hatteras, NC reported their first ninety-degree day in May in 115 years of records. (The National Weather Summary)
31 May 1991...Norfolk, VA hit 100 degrees, setting a new all-time record high for the month of May. (Intellicast)
31 May 1992...This May was the driest on record for Chicago, IL and Rockford, IL. Only 0.30 inches of rain fell at Chicago and Rockford had a paltry 0.48 inches. The total rainfall at El Paso, TX of this past month was 4.22 inches, making this the wettest May ever for the city. The normal rainfall for May is only 0.24 inches, which means that this month rainfall total was 1758 percent of normal! (Intellicast)

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