WEEKLY WEATHER & CLIMATE NEWS

WEEKLY WEATHER AND CLIMATE NEWS

19-23 July 2010

Eye on the Tropics -- During the last week, several tropical cyclones were reported.

In the western North Pacific Basin,Typhoon Conson continued to move westward during the last week. After forming east of the Philippines as a tropical storm on the previous weekend, Conson became a category-1 typhoon (on the Saffir-Simpson Scale) before reaching Luzon and the other northern Philippine islands by early last week. This system brought torrential rains, flooding and death to the Philippines. After crossing the Philippines and weakening, Tropical Storm Conson re-intensified to a category-1 typhoon as it traveled to the west-northwest across the South China Sea. Conson passed near China's Hainan Island and then across the Gulf of Tonkin before making landfall in the northern provinces of Viet Nam at the end of the week. The [NASA Hurricane Page]has satellite images and additional information on Typhoon Conson.
A tropical storm identified as Tropical Storm 3-W formed over the western Pacific southeast of the Philippines, but weakened quickly as it traveled to the northwest and essentially dissipating after two days.
At the beginning of this week (local time), a new tropical depression, identified as Tropical Depression 4W, formed east of the Philippines. Current projections are that this system would reach the Philippines within several days.
In the eastern North Pacific basin, a tropical depression formed at midweek off the coast of southwestern Mexico and was given the designation Tropical Depression 6-E. After two days, this depression weakened into a remnant low pressure system as it moved toward the northwest, remaining well off the Mexican coast. For more information about this depression, along with satellite images, consult the [NASA Hurricane Page]

Tracking hurricanes on the Web, iPad or iPhone --Text Scientists with NASA's Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES) Project at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, have developed a technology that continually provides updated satellite imagery from NOAA's geosynchronous satellites to produce an animation of tropical cyclones in the Atlantic and eastern North Pacific basins. The public can access these animations or "movies" on-line from the Web, or from iPhone and iPad. [NASA GSFC]
State and city weather extremes for June 2010 -- The National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) has posted a listing of some of the notable extremes in temperature, precipitation and other weather elements across the nation for the recently completed month of June in "Selected U.S. City and State Extremes for June 2010." Note that this site may be updated during the following several weeks as more data are received and analyzed.
Review of US weather and climate for June 2010 -- Scientists with the NOAA National Climatic Data Center recently released their preliminary monthly climate statistics for June 2010, which indicates that the nationwide average temperature was well above (2.2 Fahrenheit degrees) the 20th-century average temperature for June. In fact, this past June was the eight warmest June since relatively dense and reliable climate records began in 1895. Above average to much above statewide temperatures were reported from the Southwest to the Southeast and into sections of the Midwest and the Northeast. North Carolina had its warmest June in 116 years. On the other hand, the Oregon and Washington in the Northwest experienced below much below average temperatures. The nationwide average June precipitation was 0.44 inches above the 20th-century value, with above to much above average precipitation found in the Northwest, the northern Rockies, the northern Plains, the Midwest and the Northeast. Michigan had its wettest June on record. Below to much below average precipitation was found across areas of the Southwest, the Southeast and Middle Atlantic States. [NOAA News]
June drought report -- The National Climate Data Center has posted its June 2010 drought report online. Using the Palmer Drought Severity Index, approximately one percent of the coterminous United States experienced severe to extreme drought conditions at the end of June, while 18 percent of the area had severely to extremely wet conditions.
Seasonal outlooks for the nation released -- This past week, forecasters with NOAA's Climate Prediction Center recently released their new three-month Seasonal Outlook running through October 2010. Much of the nation was expected to have a better than equal chance of having above average temperatures through the end of meteorological summer and the first two months of meteorological autumn. The signal for above average temperature appears strongest over the Southwest. However, the Rockies and the high Plains were thought to have equal chances of above or below average temperatures. Much of the Great Basin could experience an above average chance of below average precipitation for the next three months. On the other hand, sections of the northern and central Plains along with the Gulf Coast and the Atlantic Coast in the Southeastern States were expected to stand a good chance of receiving above average rainfall. Elsewhere, no clear cut signal appears, meaning equal chances of below and above average precipitation. [NOAA Climate Prediction Center]

NOAA News

La Nina watch is posted --Forecasters and other scientists with NOAA's Climate Prediction Center have issued a La Nina watch as they are expecting a cold-phase La Nina event to develop by August and continue through early 2011. They base their prediction upon the observance of a large reservoir of colder-than-average subsurface water in the equatorial Pacific Ocean and several other signs of coupling of the ocean circulation with the atmospheric circulation that would suggest the development of a La Nina. [NOAA CPC]
The solar eclipse from space and Easter Island--A composite image was recently constructed showing the 11 July 2010 solar eclipse from a photograph made by the Williams College Expedition to Easter Island that was superimposed upon an image of the outer solar corona made from data collected by Large Angle Spectrometric Coronagraph (LASCO) on NASA's SOHO spacecraft. [NASA]
Violent storm killed half a billion trees in Amazon forest --Scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Tulane University and Brazil's National Institute for Amazon Research report that their research indicates a major storm containing a squall line, or linearly arranged strong to severe thunderstorm cells, was responsible for killing approximately 500,000 trees in the Amazon forest in 2005. Previously, the trees were assumed to have been killed by drought. [NASA JPL]
Major collaboration on weather and climate research by US and UK centers -- Officials with the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in the US and the United Kingdom's UK Met Office recently signed a memorandum of agreement that launched a major collaboration on weather and climate research between these two leading research centers. [UCAR/NCAR]
"Footloose" glaciers behave erratically --A glaciologist with Scripps Institution of Oceanography and his colleagues who studied several glaciers in Alaska report that those "footloose" glaciers that become detached from the seafloor appear to be more erratic in behavior, with bigger icebergs than those that remain grounded and attached. [USGS Newsroom]
An All-Hazards Monitor -- This Web portal provides the user information from NOAA on current environmental events that may pose as hazards such as tropical weather, fire weather, marine weather, severe weather, drought and floods. [NOAAWatch]
Global and US Hazards/Climate Extremes -- A review and analysis of the global impacts of various weather-related events, to include drought, floods and storms during the current month. [NCDC]
Earthweek -- Diary of the Planet [earthweek.com] Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Return to AMS Weather Studies website