WEEKLY WEATHER & CLIMATE NEWS

WEEKLY WEATHER AND CLIMATE NEWS

12-16 January 2015

Items of Interest:

AWARE -- http://www.nws.noaa.gov/om/severeweather/severewxcal.shtml
Worldwide GLOBE at Night 2015 Campaign commences -- The series of GLOBE at Night citizen-science campaigns for 2015 will begin with a 10-night campaign that runs from 11 January through 20 January. 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 (Perseus in the Northern Hemisphere and Cetus 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. [GLOBE at Night]
See http://www.globeatnight.org/5-steps.php
Perseus in the Northern Hemisphere and Cetus in the Southern Hemisphere
11-20 December 2014
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GLOBE_at_Night

The Globe at Night dates for 2015 have just been released! They will be:

January 11-20
February 9-18
March 11-20

April 9-18
May 9-18
June 8-17

July 7-16
August 5-14
September 3-12

October 3-12
November 2-11
December 2-11
Approaching coldest time of the year -- This upcoming week is the third week of January, which for many locations across the nation typically marks the coldest week of the year, as indicated by the daily normal high and low temperatures. Usually, those stations located away from the moderating influences of the oceans reach their lowest temperatures during the third week of January, or a roughly one month after the winter solstice, when the Northern Hemisphere receives the fewest hours of daylight and the smallest amounts of solar radiation. During that month, temperatures continue to fall to their lowest typical values as cooling continues. However, the increased length of daylight and increased sunshine during this month begins to warm the ground and overlying atmosphere as normal daily temperatures begin to rise toward their highest levels in mid to late July.
Free admission into the National Parks and Forests-- Next Monday, 19 January 2015, has been designated by the National Park Service as a fee-free day in honor of Martin Luther King, Jr. This fee waiver will cover entrance and commercial tour fees in many of the national parks and monuments administered by the Park Service. [National Park Service Fee Free Days]

Weather and Climate News Items:

Eye on the tropics -- Tropical cyclone activity was found in the South Indian and South Pacific Basins during the last week:
In the South Indian Ocean Basin, Tropical Cyclone Colin formed late last week from a tropical storm that was located nearly 1000 miles to the east-southeast of Diego Garcia. Colin intensified as it traveled toward the southwest, becoming a category 4 tropical cyclone on the Saffir-Simpson Scale over this past weekend. Forecasts indicate that Colin should weaken as it curves toward the south and then to the southeast early this upcoming week, presenting no threat to any land masses. Additional information and a satellite image on Tropical Cyclone Colin can be found on the NASA Hurricane Page.
In the South Pacific Ocean basin, Cyclone Ian formed at the start of last week as a tropical storm to the east of Fiji. This tropical storm initially traveled toward the north, but reversed direction and traveled toward the south-southeast, intensifying into a category 4 tropical cyclone at the end of the week. Ian traveled across the Tonga Islands, producing strong winds, high seas and torrential rain. At least one fatality was reported as of Sunday. The NASA Hurricane Page has additional information and satellite imagery on Cyclone Ian.
NOAA's Atlantic hurricane research activities in 2013 deemed successful -- Despite a relatively quiet 2013 hurricane season in the North Atlantic basin, researchers from the Hurricane Research Division of NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory considered the season to be successful from the standpoint of data collection. These researchers conducted missions aboard hurricane hunter aircraft into two tropical storms and one of the season’s two hurricanes as part of the division’s Hurricane Field Program designed to collect atmospheric data that could be used in operational numerical weather prediction models. [NOAA Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research]
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US Climate Action Report submitted for 2014 -- On New Year's Day, the US Department of State submitted its "2014 US Climate Action Report" to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This report, which fulfills requirements under the UNFCCC, details actions that the nation is taking domestically and internationally to mitigate, adapt to, and assist other nations in addressing climate change. [US Department of State]
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An All-Hazards Monitor -- This Web portal provides the user information from NOAA's National Weather Service, FAA and FEMA on current environmental events that may pose as hazards such as tropical weather, fire weather, marine weather, severe weather, drought and floods. [NOAA/NWS Daily Briefing]
Earthweek -- Diary of the Planet [earthweek.com] Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.