PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE RIVERTON WY 542 AM MDT TUE JUL 28 2015 A COLD DRY AIRMASS SETTLED IN BEHIND YESTERDAY`S COLD FRONT. HERE ARE SOME OF THE COLDER READINGS SO FAR THIS MORNING. ...LOW TEMPERATURE REPORTS PAST 6 HOURS ... LOCATION TEMP TIME/DATE ELEVATION ...BIG HORN COUNTY... 30 E GREYBULL 33 F 0458 AM 07/28 8898 FT 17 E SHELL 33 F 0400 AM 07/28 9580 FT ...FREMONT COUNTY... 11 N DUBOIS 24 F 0400 AM 07/28 8750 FT 3 S TOGWOTEE PASS 26 F 0400 AM 07/28 10430 FT 17 NE DUBOIS 27 F 0300 AM 07/28 8400 FT N WIND RIVER MTS 28 F 0510 AM 07/28 8833 FT 10 W DUBOIS 33 F 0527 AM 07/28 8432 FT 12 SW LANDER 33 F 0400 AM 07/28 8700 FT ...JOHNSON COUNTY... POWDER RIVER PASS 33 F 0400 AM 07/28 9480 FT ...LINCOLN COUNTY... DEADMAN MTN 28 F 0400 AM 07/28 10350 FT 4 S COKEVILLE 28 F 0400 AM 07/28 6185 FT 3 E SAGE JUNCTION 29 F 0400 AM 07/28 6378 FT COKEVILLE 30 F 0530 AM 07/28 6160 FT 6 ENE SMOOT 31 F 0400 AM 07/28 7600 FT 3 NW ETNA 31 F 0516 AM 07/28 5692 FT 20 NE COKEVILLE 31 F 0400 AM 07/28 9425 FT 15 NE COKEVILLE 31 F 0400 AM 07/28 8180 FT AFTON AIRPORT 32 F 0535 AM 07/28 6220 FT 3 NNE ETNA 32 F 0526 AM 07/28 5997 FT COKEVILLE 32 F 0522 AM 07/28 6191 FT 15 E COKEVILLE 32 F 0400 AM 07/28 7840 FT 15 SE SMOOT 32 F 0400 AM 07/28 9000 FT 15 NE COKEVILLE 33 F 0400 AM 07/28 8470 FT 5 SSE LA BARGE 33 F 0500 AM 07/28 6530 FT 8 NE AFTON 33 F 0400 AM 07/28 8450 FT BLIND BULL SUMMIT 34 F 0400 AM 07/28 8900 FT THAYNE 34 F 0528 AM 07/28 5928 FT ETNA 34 F 0534 AM 07/28 5823 FT BEDFORD 34 F 0521 AM 07/28 6279 FT 4 ESE DIAMONDVILLE 34 F 0400 AM 07/28 6789 FT ...PARK COUNTY... HOYT PEAK 28 F 0430 AM 07/28 9800 FT 12 SE PAHASKA 32 F 0400 AM 07/28 9780 FT PARKER PEAK (E. YNP) 32 F 0400 AM 07/28 9400 FT 10 WNW CODY 32 F 0440 AM 07/28 8401 FT 14 S SYLVAN PASS 32 F 0508 AM 07/28 8650 FT BEARTOOTH LAKE 33 F 0400 AM 07/28 9275 FT 1 SW CANYON 33 F 0449 AM 07/28 7900 FT KIRWIN SNOTEL 34 F 0400 AM 07/28 9550 FT QUADRANT 34 F 0449 AM 07/28 7900 FT ...SUBLETTE COUNTY... 21 W BIG PINEY 25 F 0509 AM 07/28 8200 FT 7 NE PINEDALE 25 F 0426 AM 07/28 8530 FT BONDURANT 27 F 0500 AM 07/28 6650 FT 6 WNW CORA 27 F 0533 AM 07/28 7462 FT 1 NE PINEDALE 28 F 0532 AM 07/28 7382 FT 2 NW BONDURANT 29 F 0451 AM 07/28 6726 FT 14 E BONDURANT 30 F 0400 AM 07/28 8240 FT NEW FORK LAKE 30 F 0400 AM 07/28 8340 FT PINEDALE AIRPORT 30 F 0515 AM 07/28 7085 FT N WIND RIVER MTS 31 F 0400 AM 07/28 9820 FT SNIDER BASIN 31 F 0400 AM 07/28 8060 FT 28 WNW BIG PINEY 31 F 0400 AM 07/28 8500 FT BIG PINEY AIRPORT 32 F 0453 AM 07/28 6974 FT PINEDALE 33 F 0300 AM 07/28 7195 FT 10 E BIG SANDY 33 F 0400 AM 07/28 9080 FT 9 E BIG PINEY 33 F 0500 AM 07/28 6803 FT MARBLETON 33 F 0257 AM 07/28 6896 FT 16 E BOULDER 33 F 0400 AM 07/28 9360 FT 20 E BONDURANT 34 F 0400 AM 07/28 7740 FT PINEDALE 34 F 0500 AM 07/28 7310 FT ...TETON COUNTY... 7 NW MOOSE 21 F 0500 AM 07/28 11610 FT SUMMIT - JACKSON RESORT 25 F 0430 AM 07/28 10318 FT 32 ESE JACKSON 28 F 0400 AM 07/28 8750 FT 3 SW MOOSE 29 F 0533 AM 07/28 6440 FT EXTREME SW YELLOWSTONE 30 F 0449 AM 07/28 6400 FT MORAN JUNCTION 30 F 0528 AM 07/28 6749 FT 4 W SOUTH ENTRANCE YNP 30 F 0345 AM 07/28 7040 FT JACKSON HOLE AIRPORT 30 F 0535 AM 07/28 6445 FT YELLOWSTONE LAKE 30 F 0456 AM 07/28 7835 FT SOUTH ENTRANCE YNP 30 F 0445 AM 07/28 6900 FT 7 E MORAN JCT 31 F 0452 AM 07/28 7251 FT GRAND TARGHEE 31 F 0300 AM 07/28 9260 FT 5 S OF SOUTH ENTRANCE YNP 31 F 0230 AM 07/28 7020 FT SOUTH ENTRANCE YNP 31 F 0400 AM 07/28 6920 FT TOGWOTEE PASS 31 F 0400 AM 07/28 9850 FT SE YELLOWSTONE 31 F 0100 AM 07/28 9240 FT 8 NNE MORAN JUNCTION 32 F 0400 AM 07/28 7030 FT 8 W SOUTH ENTRANCE YNP 32 F 0300 AM 07/28 7265 FT 4 N MOOSE 32 F 0458 AM 07/28 6730 FT 1 W GRANT VILLAGE 33 F 0110 AM 07/28 7874 FT SNAKE RIVER AT JACKSON LAKE 33 F 0445 AM 07/28 6779 FT 2 S GRANT VILLAGE 33 F 0400 AM 07/28 7980 FT 2 SW TETON VILLAGE 34 F 0503 AM 07/28 6221 FT HOBACK JUNCTION 34 F 0533 AM 07/28 5928 FT COYOTE MEADOWS 34 F 0503 AM 07/28 6830 FT OLD FAITHFUL 34 F 0500 AM 07/28 7350 FT WY MOOSE 1 NNE 34 F 0305 AM 07/28 6466 FT 2 NE TETON PASS 34 F 0400 AM 07/28 8200 FT
Tuesday, July 28, 2015
Cold Morning Summary for July 28 2015
Summary of Mondays Powerhouse Cold Front in Wyoming.
 | ||||||||||||||||||
Sunrise temperatures July 28 2015
Snow fell in the mountains above about 8000 feet with the cold frontal passage Monday afternoon.
Riverton Forecast Office has provided a summary
of the storm including a possible tornado
in the Big Horn Mountains.
A strong storm system moved through the region on Sunday and Monday, its impact was felt across much of western and central Wyoming.
As the storm strengthened to our west, dry southwest flow delivered dangerous fire weather conditions to areas east of the Divide where the abundant grasses have been drying over the past couple of weeks.
Red Flag Warnings, indicating very high fire danger, were issued for Sunday afternoon and again for Monday. Unfortunately these warnings were verified when several grass fires broke out across the region, including a large fire near Bar Nunn, which is part of the Casper metro area, and another fire that started near Lander after a powerline was blown down in the strong wind.
In addition to the wind and fire danger, severe thunderstorms broke out along the cold front. Severe weather reports ranged from downed tree limbs to a possible tornado that touched down in the Bighorn Mountains, destroying 7 camper trailers. The National Weather Service will survey the damage on Tuesday, July 28th and confirm whether the damage was from a tornado or straight line winds, and supply an EF rating if appropriate. Click here to see a compiled list of severe storm reports from Monday.
Very cold air settled in behind the front, with periods of snow falling over the western mountains. Freezing temperatures are expected overnight in the western valleys in addition to the higher elevations.
A significant amount of instability, moisture, lift, and spin was present in the atmosphere across northern Wyomong on Monday. This creates an environment favorable for tornadoes and one could have formed in a severe thunderstorm that tracked through the northeastern quarter of the Big Horn Basin on Monday afternoon.
There were a lot of reports of wind damage, and this area of the Bighorn Mountains is notorious for straight line wind damage, so a team of meteorologists from the National Weather Service office in Riverton is going to head out at first light and determine whether or not the damage was from a tornado or from straight line winds.
Either way, we did receive a report of 7 camper trailers described by Emergency Management as "destroyed." We also received reports of several uprooted trees and large tree trunks snapped in half. None of these trailers were known to be occupied at the time and no injuries, fatalities, or missing persons have been reported.
Strong winds developed ahead of the cold front as fast flow aloft was easily mixed down in the hot afternoon air. Widespread 30 to 40 mph winds were accelerated by thunderstorms that developed in the afternoon. Some of these storms produced wind gusts in excess of 70 mph and caused damage across large swaths of western and central Wyoming. Most of the damage reports included tree limbs down, but there was also a report of the strong wind causing a power line to topple over near Lander and start a wildfire. There were also reports of carports damaged in Hayatville, Wyoming.
Click here to see a pop-up list of the highest winds reported during this event.
A large fetch of hot, dry air was fed in ahead of the approaching story system, leading to elevated fire danger across much of the state on Sunday and especially on Monday as winds increased.
After a couple of slow fire seasons and a wet spring and early summer, there was plenty of grass and other fine vegetation ready to burn after just a couple of weeks of hot, dry weather. A few dry lightning strikes and some strong Wyoming winds was all it took to get some of these fires started, the cause of some of these fires remains under investigation.
The "good" thing about these big events is that they usually advertise themselves well. Messaging about the high fire danger on Sunday and Monday begain on Thursday of last week with our first ever event-driven Multimedia Fire Weather Briefing issued on Friday to highlight the complexities of this system. The first Red Flag Warning for this event was issued on Saturday, with an average of 34 hours of lead time for the Monday event, 16 hours for the Sunday event.
There were two fairly high-impact fires. One occurred near Bar Nunn (Casper Metro Area) that prompted an evacuation order and closed several roads and off ramps along Interstate 25. The fire is rumored to be caused by lightning and ended up scortching a couple of fences but all lives and homes in the area were spared. The other wildfire was started when power lines were blown down by the wind in the Lander foothills. Power was out for over 5,000 residents of Lander and Hudson for several hours and it took firefighters even longer to extinguish this wind-driven blaze.
|
Saturday, July 25, 2015
Mid-Summer Frost in Star Valley?
The final week of July is climatologically the warmest of the year in Star Valley. However an unseasonably strong upper trough will bring a taste of fall in Mid-summer to western Wyoming early next week.
Temperatures in the typically colder valley locations could drop to the mid 30's by Tuesday morning with areas of frost. Similar conditions could also reoccur Wednesday morning prior to much warmer temperatures as high pressure develops over the area.
If these temperatures are reached they would be near record lows for the last week of July.
 |
| 500 mb Forecast 6am Tuesday July 28 2015 |
 |
| Surface Pressure and temperatures 6am Tuesday July 28 2015 |
If these temperatures are reached they would be near record lows for the last week of July.
Monday, July 20, 2015
Earth's warmest June on Record!
June 2015: Earth's Warmest June on Record
By: Jeff Masters , 4:10 PM GMT on July 20, 2015
June 2015 was Earth's warmest June since global record keeping began in 1880, said NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) on Monday. NASA also rated June 2015 as the warmest June on record. June 2015's warmth makes the year-to-date period (January - June) the warmest such period on record, according to both NOAA and NASA. A potent El Niño event in the Eastern Pacific that crossed the threshold into the "strong" category in early July continues to intensify, and strong El Niño events release a large amount of heat to the atmosphere, typically boosting global temperatures by at least 0.1°C. This extra bump in temperature, when combined with the long-term warming of the planet due to human-caused emissions of heat-trapping gases like carbon dioxide, makes it likely that 2015 will be Earth's second consecutive warmest year on record. Four of the six warmest months in recorded history (for departure from average) have occurred this year, according to NOAA:
NOAA's top ten warmest global monthly departures from average
1) 0.90°C, Mar 2015
1) 0.90°C, Feb 2015
3) 0.89°C, Jan 2007
4) 0.88°C, June 2015
5) 0.87°C, Feb 1998
6) 0.86°C, May 2015
7) 0.85°C, Mar 2010
8) 0.84°C, Dec 2014
9) 0.83°C, Nov 2013
9) 0.83°C, Apr 2010
Figure 1. Departure of temperature from average for the globe for 12-month periods ending in June each year, starting in 1880 and ending in 2015. There is no evidence of a long term slow-down in global warming. Image credit: NOAA.
For the oceans, the June global sea surface temperature was 0.74°C (1.33°F) above the 20th century average, the highest for June on record, and tied with September 2014 as the highest monthly departure from average for any month. Nine of the ten highest monthly departures from average have occurred since May 2014. Global land temperatures during June 2015 were also the warmest on record. Global satellite-measured temperatures in June 2015 for the lowest 8 km of the atmosphere were the 3rd warmest in the 37-year record, according to theUniversity of Alabama Huntsville (UAH). The lowest 8 km of the atmosphere heats up dramatically in response to moderate to strong El Niño events, with a time lag of several months--as occurred during the El Niño events of 1998 and 2010. Thus, we should see Earth's lower atmosphere temperature hit record levels late this year and/or early next year.
Figure 2. Departure of temperature from average for June 2015, the warmest June for the globe since record keeping began in 1880. Record warmth occurred across the western United States, parts of northern South America, several regions in central to western Africa, central Asia around and to the east of the Caspian Sea, and parts of southeastern Asia. Western Greenland and some areas in India and China were cooler than average, and northern Pakistan was much cooler than average. Over the oceans, record warmth was observed across much of the northeastern and equatorial Pacific as well as parts of the equatorial and southern Indian Ocean, various regions of both the North and South Atlantic Ocean, and the Barents Sea to the northeast of Scandinavia. Only part of the North Atlantic between Greenland and the United Kingdom was much cooler than average. Image credit: National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) .
Deadliest weather disaster of June 2015: Pakistan's brutal heat wave
The deadliest weather-related disaster of June 2015 was an intense heat wave in Pakistan that killed approximately 1,242 people. If these numbers are correct, this year's heat wave would beat the 1991 heat wave (523 deaths) as Pakistan's deadliest in recorded history, and would rank as Earth's eighth deadliest heat wave, according to statistics from EM-DAT, the International Disaster Database. The terrible heat wave that hit India in May 2015 ranks as Earth's fifth deadliest heat wave:
The 10 Deadliest Heat Waves in World History
1) Europe, 2003: 71,310
2) Russia, 2010: 55,736
3) Europe, 2006: 3,418
4) India, 1998: 2,541
5) India, 2015: 2,500
6) U.S. and Canada, 1936: 1,693
7) U.S., 1980: 1,260
8) Pakistan, 2015: 1,242
9) India, 2003: 1,210
10) India, 2002: 1,030
10) Greece and Turkey, 1987: 1,030
Figure 3. Pakistanis receive ice outside a hospital during heatwave in Karachi on June 24, 2015. A state of emergency was declared in hospitals. Image credit : RIZWAN TABASSUM/AFP/Getty Images.
By the time summer is over, it is possible that a third heat wave may be added to this list: the on-going European heat wave. Excess mortality in France, the U.K., and Italy during the late June to early July portion of Europe's 2015's heat wave was over 1,200 people: 700 in France, at least 447 in the U.K., and 140 in Italy. Hundreds more probably died in surrounding countries, during some of the hottest temperatures ever recorded in Western Europe. Direct deaths, not excess mortality, are tabulated in the EM-DAT database for heat waves, though, and direct deaths can be a factor of eight less than deaths tabulated by considering excess mortality, as I discussed in more detail in my May 29 post on the heat wave in India. For example, the U.S. National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) and EM-DAT list the total direct deaths from the U.S. heat wave of 1980 at 1,260, but NCDC estimated that the combined direct and indirect deaths (i.e., excess mortality) due to heat stress was 10,000. Extreme heat capable of causing high excess mortality will affect portions of Southeast Europe late this week, when some of the highest temperatures on record will likely occur.
One billion-dollar weather disaster in June 2015: flooding in China
Thankfully, only one billion-dollar weather-related disaster hit the Earth last month, according to the June 2015 Catastrophe Report from insurance broker Aon Benfield: flooding in China that caused $2 billion in damage and killed sixteen people. With eight billion-dollar weather disasters occurring during the first half of 2015, Earth is on pace for its lowest number of such disasters since 2004, when sixteen occurred.
Disaster 1. Severe thunderstorms and torrential seasonal Mei-Yu rains rains inundated northern and southern sections of China on June 7 - 11, killing 16 people and doing at least $2 billion in damage. The provincial regions of Hunan, Guizhou, Hubei, and Gansu were the most severely impacted, with more than 20,000 homes damaged. In this picture, we see houses along a river submerged in floodwaters in Kaili in Qiandongnan, southwest China's Guizhou province on June 8, 2015. Image credit: STR/AFP/Getty Images.
Arctic sea ice falls to 3rd lowest June extent on record
Arctic sea ice extent during June 2015 was the 3rd lowest in the 36-year satellite record, and June snow cover was the 2nd lowest, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC). A large area of high pressure that has set up shop north of Alaska is expected to persist for the remainder of July, and is likely to bring sunny skies and a warm flow of air into the Arctic that will lead to rapid ice loss in the coming weeks. Later this month, low pressure is expected to develop over Northeastern Eurasia, which could lead to the establishment of theArctic Dipole pattern. This pattern of airflow develops in response to high pressure north of Alaska and low pressure over Northeastern Eurasia, and brings large amounts of warm air into the Arctic. The Arctic Dipole pattern occurred in all the summer months of 2007, and helped support the record 2007 summer reduction in sea ice extent (that record was beaten in 2012, a year that did not feature an Arctic Dipole pattern.)
Notable global heat and cold marks set for June 2015
Hottest temperature in the Northern Hemisphere: 51.7°C (125.1°F) at Death Valley, California, U.S., June 30
Coldest temperature in the Northern Hemisphere: -30.0°C (-22.0°F) at Summit, Greenland, June 1
Hottest temperature in the Southern Hemisphere: 38.1°C (100.6°F) at Bacabal, Brazil, June 15
Coldest temperature in the Southern Hemisphere: -81.3°C (-114.3°F) at Concordia, Antarctica, June 21
Major stations that set (not tied) new all-time heat or cold records in June 2015
Mercedes, Uruguay, min, -8.2°C, June 19
Durazno, Uruguay, min, -6.8°C, June 19
Pukaki Aerodrome, New Zealand, min, -19.8°C, June 23
Omarama, New Zealand, min, -21.0°C, June 24
Cartagena, Colombia, max. 40.4°C, June 24
Santa Marta, Colombia, max, 38.6°C, June 24
Arjona, Colombia, max, 40°C, June 24
Urumitia, Colombia, max, 42.0°C, June 27
Riohacha, Colombia, max, 40.0°C, June 29
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, max., 47.2°C, June 29
New all-time national and territorial heat records set or tied in 2015
As of July 20, 2015, nine nations or territories have tied or set all-time records for their hottest temperature in recorded history thus far in 2015, and one (Israel) has set an all-time cold temperature record. For comparison, only two nations or territories set all-time heat records in 2014, and nine did in 2013. The most all-time national heat records held by any year is nineteen in 2010. Most nations do not maintain official databases of extreme temperature records, so the national temperature records reported here are in many cases not official. I use as my source for international weather records researcher Maximiliano Herrera, one of the world's top climatologists, who maintains a comprehensive list of extreme temperature records for every nation in the world on his website. If you reproduce this list of extremes, please cite Maximiliano Herrera as the primary source of the weather records. Wunderground's weather historian Christopher C. Burt maintains a database of these national heat and cold records for 235 nations and territories on wunderground.com's extremes page. Here are the all-time national or territorial heat and cold records set so far in 2015:
Germany set its national heat record on July 5, when the mercury soared to 40.3°C (104.5°F) at the Kitzingen station in Bavaria.
Vietnam tied its national heat record of 42.7°C (108.9.0°F) at Con Cuong on June 30.
Palau tied its national heat record of 34.4°C (94.0°F) at Koror Airport on June 14.
Venezuela set a new national heat record of 43.6°C (109.9°F) at Coro on June 29. Previous record: 42.0°C (107.6°F) at Machiques, Zulia State in February 1983.
Laos tied its national heat record of 42.0°C (107.6°F) at Thakhek on June 20.
Ghana set a new national heat record of 43.3°C (109.9°F) at Navrongo on June 10. This is the third time this year Ghana has tied or set a new all-time heat record. Previous records: 43.1°C (109.6°F), set the previous day, on June 9, and 43.0°C (109.4°F) on February 12.
Cocos Islands (Australian territory) tied their all-time heat record with 32.8°C (91.0°F) on June 8.
Equatorial Guinea set a new national heat record of 35.5°C (95.9°F) at Bata on March 17. Previous record: 35.3°C (95.5°F) at Malabo in February 1957.
Wallis and Futuna Territory (France) set a new territorial heat record with 35.5°C (95.9°F) on January 19 at Futuna Airport.
Israel set a new national cold record of -14.2°C (6.4°F) at Merom Golan on January 10.
Special Mentions:
Antarctica set a new heat record for its mainland of 17.5°C (63.5°F) at Esperanza Base on March 24. Previous record: 17.4°C (63.3°F) at Marambio Base, set the previous day. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has appointed a committee to study this event and determine if this represents an official record for the continent. Note that this is a record for mainland Antarctica, not a territorial or continental record. The all-time maximum record for the continent and territory of Antarctica is 19.8°C (67.6°F) on January 30, 1982, in Signy Island, South Orkney, an island group located about 450 miles northeast of the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, the northernmost portion of mainland Antarctica. Geologically, the South Orkney are on the Antarctic plate, and politically, they are part of Antarctica. This record was improperly listed as a territorial record for Antarctica in last month's global summary.
Switzerland had its highest reliably measured temperature on record in Geneva on July 7, when the mercury hit 103.5°F (39.7°C). The only higher temperature ever measured in the country was a 106.7°F (41.5°C) reading on August 11, 2003 at Grono. As reported at the Swiss news site swissinfo.ch, this old record was achieved "using an old measurement technique of weather huts, which generally recorded temperatures a few degrees higher than modern instruments." Weather records researcher Maximiliano Herrera agrees that this year's 39.7°C reading in Geneva is the highest reliably measured temperature ever in Switzerland, though the August 11, 2003 temperature at Grono was probably warmer (near 40°C), after correcting for the known problems with the site.
Mr. Herrera originally listed Samoa as tying its national heat record with 36.5°C (97.7°F) on January 20 at Asau, but a subsequent review of the record revealed possible issues with the measurement equipment, so this record is dubious.
Kudos also to Mr. Herrera for supplying the data for the "Notable global heat and cold marks set for June 2015" and "Major stations that set (not tied) new all-time heat or cold records in June 2015" sections.
Jeff Masters
NOAA's top ten warmest global monthly departures from average
1) 0.90°C, Mar 2015
1) 0.90°C, Feb 2015
3) 0.89°C, Jan 2007
4) 0.88°C, June 2015
5) 0.87°C, Feb 1998
6) 0.86°C, May 2015
7) 0.85°C, Mar 2010
8) 0.84°C, Dec 2014
9) 0.83°C, Nov 2013
9) 0.83°C, Apr 2010
Figure 1. Departure of temperature from average for the globe for 12-month periods ending in June each year, starting in 1880 and ending in 2015. There is no evidence of a long term slow-down in global warming. Image credit: NOAA.
For the oceans, the June global sea surface temperature was 0.74°C (1.33°F) above the 20th century average, the highest for June on record, and tied with September 2014 as the highest monthly departure from average for any month. Nine of the ten highest monthly departures from average have occurred since May 2014. Global land temperatures during June 2015 were also the warmest on record. Global satellite-measured temperatures in June 2015 for the lowest 8 km of the atmosphere were the 3rd warmest in the 37-year record, according to theUniversity of Alabama Huntsville (UAH). The lowest 8 km of the atmosphere heats up dramatically in response to moderate to strong El Niño events, with a time lag of several months--as occurred during the El Niño events of 1998 and 2010. Thus, we should see Earth's lower atmosphere temperature hit record levels late this year and/or early next year.
Figure 2. Departure of temperature from average for June 2015, the warmest June for the globe since record keeping began in 1880. Record warmth occurred across the western United States, parts of northern South America, several regions in central to western Africa, central Asia around and to the east of the Caspian Sea, and parts of southeastern Asia. Western Greenland and some areas in India and China were cooler than average, and northern Pakistan was much cooler than average. Over the oceans, record warmth was observed across much of the northeastern and equatorial Pacific as well as parts of the equatorial and southern Indian Ocean, various regions of both the North and South Atlantic Ocean, and the Barents Sea to the northeast of Scandinavia. Only part of the North Atlantic between Greenland and the United Kingdom was much cooler than average. Image credit: National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) .
Deadliest weather disaster of June 2015: Pakistan's brutal heat wave
The deadliest weather-related disaster of June 2015 was an intense heat wave in Pakistan that killed approximately 1,242 people. If these numbers are correct, this year's heat wave would beat the 1991 heat wave (523 deaths) as Pakistan's deadliest in recorded history, and would rank as Earth's eighth deadliest heat wave, according to statistics from EM-DAT, the International Disaster Database. The terrible heat wave that hit India in May 2015 ranks as Earth's fifth deadliest heat wave:
The 10 Deadliest Heat Waves in World History
1) Europe, 2003: 71,310
2) Russia, 2010: 55,736
3) Europe, 2006: 3,418
4) India, 1998: 2,541
5) India, 2015: 2,500
6) U.S. and Canada, 1936: 1,693
7) U.S., 1980: 1,260
8) Pakistan, 2015: 1,242
9) India, 2003: 1,210
10) India, 2002: 1,030
10) Greece and Turkey, 1987: 1,030
Figure 3. Pakistanis receive ice outside a hospital during heatwave in Karachi on June 24, 2015. A state of emergency was declared in hospitals. Image credit : RIZWAN TABASSUM/AFP/Getty Images.
By the time summer is over, it is possible that a third heat wave may be added to this list: the on-going European heat wave. Excess mortality in France, the U.K., and Italy during the late June to early July portion of Europe's 2015's heat wave was over 1,200 people: 700 in France, at least 447 in the U.K., and 140 in Italy. Hundreds more probably died in surrounding countries, during some of the hottest temperatures ever recorded in Western Europe. Direct deaths, not excess mortality, are tabulated in the EM-DAT database for heat waves, though, and direct deaths can be a factor of eight less than deaths tabulated by considering excess mortality, as I discussed in more detail in my May 29 post on the heat wave in India. For example, the U.S. National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) and EM-DAT list the total direct deaths from the U.S. heat wave of 1980 at 1,260, but NCDC estimated that the combined direct and indirect deaths (i.e., excess mortality) due to heat stress was 10,000. Extreme heat capable of causing high excess mortality will affect portions of Southeast Europe late this week, when some of the highest temperatures on record will likely occur.
One billion-dollar weather disaster in June 2015: flooding in China
Thankfully, only one billion-dollar weather-related disaster hit the Earth last month, according to the June 2015 Catastrophe Report from insurance broker Aon Benfield: flooding in China that caused $2 billion in damage and killed sixteen people. With eight billion-dollar weather disasters occurring during the first half of 2015, Earth is on pace for its lowest number of such disasters since 2004, when sixteen occurred.
Disaster 1. Severe thunderstorms and torrential seasonal Mei-Yu rains rains inundated northern and southern sections of China on June 7 - 11, killing 16 people and doing at least $2 billion in damage. The provincial regions of Hunan, Guizhou, Hubei, and Gansu were the most severely impacted, with more than 20,000 homes damaged. In this picture, we see houses along a river submerged in floodwaters in Kaili in Qiandongnan, southwest China's Guizhou province on June 8, 2015. Image credit: STR/AFP/Getty Images.
Arctic sea ice falls to 3rd lowest June extent on record
Arctic sea ice extent during June 2015 was the 3rd lowest in the 36-year satellite record, and June snow cover was the 2nd lowest, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC). A large area of high pressure that has set up shop north of Alaska is expected to persist for the remainder of July, and is likely to bring sunny skies and a warm flow of air into the Arctic that will lead to rapid ice loss in the coming weeks. Later this month, low pressure is expected to develop over Northeastern Eurasia, which could lead to the establishment of theArctic Dipole pattern. This pattern of airflow develops in response to high pressure north of Alaska and low pressure over Northeastern Eurasia, and brings large amounts of warm air into the Arctic. The Arctic Dipole pattern occurred in all the summer months of 2007, and helped support the record 2007 summer reduction in sea ice extent (that record was beaten in 2012, a year that did not feature an Arctic Dipole pattern.)
Notable global heat and cold marks set for June 2015
Hottest temperature in the Northern Hemisphere: 51.7°C (125.1°F) at Death Valley, California, U.S., June 30
Coldest temperature in the Northern Hemisphere: -30.0°C (-22.0°F) at Summit, Greenland, June 1
Hottest temperature in the Southern Hemisphere: 38.1°C (100.6°F) at Bacabal, Brazil, June 15
Coldest temperature in the Southern Hemisphere: -81.3°C (-114.3°F) at Concordia, Antarctica, June 21
Major stations that set (not tied) new all-time heat or cold records in June 2015
Mercedes, Uruguay, min, -8.2°C, June 19
Durazno, Uruguay, min, -6.8°C, June 19
Pukaki Aerodrome, New Zealand, min, -19.8°C, June 23
Omarama, New Zealand, min, -21.0°C, June 24
Cartagena, Colombia, max. 40.4°C, June 24
Santa Marta, Colombia, max, 38.6°C, June 24
Arjona, Colombia, max, 40°C, June 24
Urumitia, Colombia, max, 42.0°C, June 27
Riohacha, Colombia, max, 40.0°C, June 29
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, max., 47.2°C, June 29
New all-time national and territorial heat records set or tied in 2015
As of July 20, 2015, nine nations or territories have tied or set all-time records for their hottest temperature in recorded history thus far in 2015, and one (Israel) has set an all-time cold temperature record. For comparison, only two nations or territories set all-time heat records in 2014, and nine did in 2013. The most all-time national heat records held by any year is nineteen in 2010. Most nations do not maintain official databases of extreme temperature records, so the national temperature records reported here are in many cases not official. I use as my source for international weather records researcher Maximiliano Herrera, one of the world's top climatologists, who maintains a comprehensive list of extreme temperature records for every nation in the world on his website. If you reproduce this list of extremes, please cite Maximiliano Herrera as the primary source of the weather records. Wunderground's weather historian Christopher C. Burt maintains a database of these national heat and cold records for 235 nations and territories on wunderground.com's extremes page. Here are the all-time national or territorial heat and cold records set so far in 2015:
Germany set its national heat record on July 5, when the mercury soared to 40.3°C (104.5°F) at the Kitzingen station in Bavaria.
Vietnam tied its national heat record of 42.7°C (108.9.0°F) at Con Cuong on June 30.
Palau tied its national heat record of 34.4°C (94.0°F) at Koror Airport on June 14.
Venezuela set a new national heat record of 43.6°C (109.9°F) at Coro on June 29. Previous record: 42.0°C (107.6°F) at Machiques, Zulia State in February 1983.
Laos tied its national heat record of 42.0°C (107.6°F) at Thakhek on June 20.
Ghana set a new national heat record of 43.3°C (109.9°F) at Navrongo on June 10. This is the third time this year Ghana has tied or set a new all-time heat record. Previous records: 43.1°C (109.6°F), set the previous day, on June 9, and 43.0°C (109.4°F) on February 12.
Cocos Islands (Australian territory) tied their all-time heat record with 32.8°C (91.0°F) on June 8.
Equatorial Guinea set a new national heat record of 35.5°C (95.9°F) at Bata on March 17. Previous record: 35.3°C (95.5°F) at Malabo in February 1957.
Wallis and Futuna Territory (France) set a new territorial heat record with 35.5°C (95.9°F) on January 19 at Futuna Airport.
Israel set a new national cold record of -14.2°C (6.4°F) at Merom Golan on January 10.
Special Mentions:
Antarctica set a new heat record for its mainland of 17.5°C (63.5°F) at Esperanza Base on March 24. Previous record: 17.4°C (63.3°F) at Marambio Base, set the previous day. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has appointed a committee to study this event and determine if this represents an official record for the continent. Note that this is a record for mainland Antarctica, not a territorial or continental record. The all-time maximum record for the continent and territory of Antarctica is 19.8°C (67.6°F) on January 30, 1982, in Signy Island, South Orkney, an island group located about 450 miles northeast of the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, the northernmost portion of mainland Antarctica. Geologically, the South Orkney are on the Antarctic plate, and politically, they are part of Antarctica. This record was improperly listed as a territorial record for Antarctica in last month's global summary.
Switzerland had its highest reliably measured temperature on record in Geneva on July 7, when the mercury hit 103.5°F (39.7°C). The only higher temperature ever measured in the country was a 106.7°F (41.5°C) reading on August 11, 2003 at Grono. As reported at the Swiss news site swissinfo.ch, this old record was achieved "using an old measurement technique of weather huts, which generally recorded temperatures a few degrees higher than modern instruments." Weather records researcher Maximiliano Herrera agrees that this year's 39.7°C reading in Geneva is the highest reliably measured temperature ever in Switzerland, though the August 11, 2003 temperature at Grono was probably warmer (near 40°C), after correcting for the known problems with the site.
Mr. Herrera originally listed Samoa as tying its national heat record with 36.5°C (97.7°F) on January 20 at Asau, but a subsequent review of the record revealed possible issues with the measurement equipment, so this record is dubious.
Kudos also to Mr. Herrera for supplying the data for the "Notable global heat and cold marks set for June 2015" and "Major stations that set (not tied) new all-time heat or cold records in June 2015" sections.
Jeff Masters
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)