Tag Archives: Weather History

August 2012 Weather Extremes

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August 2012 Global Weather Extremes Summary
Published: 5:52 AM GMT on September 04, 2012

August 2012 Global Weather Extremes Summary

There is never a dull month when it comes to extreme weather and August 2012 was no exception. The month began with a massive flood in Manila, Philippines and an intense heat wave in the south-central U.S. Two very sharp heat waves affected much of Europe during the 2nd and 3rd weeks of the month smashing records from Spain to Poland and the Ukraine. Typhoons walloped coastal sections of China and Hurricane Isaac thrashed the U.S. Gulf Coast.

Below is a summary some of the month’s highlights.

NORTH AMERICA

An intense heat wave in the southern plains exacerbated the on-going drought conditions and the temperature at Oklahoma City reached 113°F (45°C), the warmest temperature ever measured in the city. By mid-August, however, a very cool air mass invaded most of the central portion of the country and temperatures even fell to freezing at a few locations in Minnesota and Wisconsin. In spite, of the mid-month cool down some sites have ended up enduring their hottest summer on record. Denver, Colorado has averaged 76.3° for its climatological summer (June-August) beating its former warmest summer of 1954 by a full 2°F (old record was 74.3°F). The warmest temperature in the world during August was 126°F (52.2°C) measured at Death Valley, California on August 9th.

Sub-tropical moisture brought intense rainfall to portions of the desert southwest on August 22nd. Las Vegas, Nevada recorded its 2nd wettest calendar day on record with 1.68” that caused flash flooding resulting in one drowning death in the city. (Mesquite, near Las Vegas, picked up 2.04”, its greatest 24-hour rainfall on record/since 1992). Some other desert locations measured over 4” of rain in just a few hours (4.03” at Mid Hills RAWS in San Bernardino County, California—about what this site might expect in an entire year). One site in Nevada’s Mohave County, Wikieup, received 1.42” of rain in just 30 minutes. Ironically, Seattle, Washington (normally perceived as wetter than Las Vegas!) received no measureable precipitation during the entire month of August, and of this writing, is approaching its record of 51 rain-free days set in 1951 (last rainfall this summer was on July 22nd).

Hurricane Isaac made landfall in Louisiana on August 27 as a CAT 1 storm although its large size, strong storm surge (as high as 13’,) and central pressure (as low as 966mb) was more indicative of a strong CAT 2 cyclone. Seven storm-related deaths were reported mostly associated with the 15-20” rainfalls that fell along the path of the slow moving storm. The damage (at least US$2 billion) caused by Isaac is still under review as of this writing.

Flooding reminiscent of Hurricane Katrina ravaged some New Orleans-area neighborhoods like Plaquemines Parish southeast of the city. Ironically, Isaac struck virtually on the 7th anniversary of Katrina. Photo by Carolyn Cole, Los Angeles Times).

Hurricane Ernesto struck the western coast of Mexico on August 9th resulting in the deaths of two.

The Arctic measured its lowest sea ice extent since observations began in 1975. By August 26th the ice extent had shrunk to 1.58 million square miles, about 277,000 square miles less than the previous record low set in September 2007.

The coldest temperature measured in the northern hemisphere during August was -36.1°C (-33.0°F) at Summit AWS, Greenland on August 30th.

SOUTH AMERICA and CENTRAL AMERICA

Tartagal, Argentina recorded a temperature of 38.8°C (101.8°F) on August 22nd a record for the month at that location.

EUROPE

Europe experienced its most intense heat wave since the famous heat wave of 2003 and, in fact, many locations measured even higher temperatures than that occasion. All-time national heat records were set in the Czech Republic (40.4°C/104.7°F at Dobrichovice on August 20th), Moldova (42.4°C/108.3°F at Falesti on August 7th), and Montenegro (44.8°C/112.6°F at Danilovgrad on August 8th). In the Pyrenees along the French and Spanish border virtually every site recorded its warmest temperature on record. For more details on the European heat waves of August see my previous blog on the subject. Wild fires have raged out of control in both Spain and Greece with several fatalities reported from the Spanish resort area around Marbella.

August weather extremes for the United Kingdom are not yet available.

An intense wild fire threatens a beach resort on the island of Chios in the Greek archipelago on August 18th. Photo from EPA archives.

AFRICA

Monsoonal rains resulted in deadly floods in Nigeria and Cameroon during the month. At least 14 flood-related deaths were reported in Cameroon’s north region and at least 15 in Nigeria’s central provinces.

On August 25th and 26th the temperature peaked at 42.5°C (108.5°F) at Mtunzini, South Africa. This was not only a winter record for South Africa but also close to the warmest temperature ever measured in the southern hemisphere during the winter months (44°C has been recorded at Villamontes, Bolivia during previous Augusts). Needless to say, this was the warmest temperature measured in the southern hemisphere during this past August.

ASIA

Although this years summer monsoons have failed to materialize in much of South Asia, heavy rains in the mountains of northern Pakistan on August 20-23 resulted in flash floods that drowned at least 26.

It was a very active month typhoon-wise in the Western Pacific. Notable typhoons struck Macao and Hong Kong including Typhoon Kai-tak that caused winds to gust to 87 mph at Hong Kong’s International Airport on August 23 and 27 lives were lost in China’s Guangdong and Guangxi Provinces. It was the strongest typhoon to hit Hong Kong since 1999. Typhoon Bolaven was the strongest typhoon to hit the Korean Peninsula since 2002 when it roared ashore on August 28th. At least 18 deaths (mostly fisherman) were reported as a result of the storm with at least a further 48 fatalities reported just recently from North Korea.

The biggest weather story of the month in Asia, however, was the tremendous flood that engulfed Manila in the Philippines between July 31-August 8th. Up to 1000 mm (40”) of rain was reported to have fallen in Quezon City during the week of rains and there were some 60 fatalities reported. For details about the flood see Angela Fritz’s August blog on the subject.

Manila’s streets turned into lakes during the phenomenal flood that affected the city the first week of August. Photo by Jof Cubol.

AUSTRALIA

Australia had a warmer and drier August than normal, reversing (temperature-wise) the cold weather endured over much of the country the previous July. It was Western Australia’s driest August since 1995 and 2nd warmest August on record.

A very warm month virtually nation-wide for Australia this past August (top map). Precipitation was also below normal in most of the country, especially in portions of Western Australia where it was the driest August on record (bottom map). Maps courtesy of the Australian Bureau of Meteorology.

The warmest temperature recorded in Australia during this past August was 38.5°C (101.3°F) at Fitzroy Crossing, Western Australia on August 27th and the coldest -4.9°C (23.2°F) at Thredbo Top Station, New South Wales on August 6th. The greatest calendar day precipitation was 73.0mm (2.87”) at Mount Sabine, Victoria on August 18th.

NEW ZEALAND/SOUTH PACIFIC

It was generally a mild and wet August in New Zealand although there was a sharp contrast in precipitation totals on the South Island where anomalies ran the gamut from 10% to 400% of normal!

The extreme anomaly between very dry and very wet weather that affected the South Island in August can be seen in this map above. Map courtesy of NIWA.

The highest temperature recorded was 22.7°C (72.9°F) at Christchurch, South Island on August 26th and the lowest -5.3°C (22.5°F) at Ranfurly on August 23rd. The greatest calendar day rainfall was 198 mm (7.80”) at Akaroa on August 25th.

ANTARCTICA

The coldest temperature in the southern hemisphere and the world during August was -80.0°C (-112.0°F) recorded at Vostok on August 7th.

KUDOS Thanks to Maximiliano Herrera for global temperature extremes data, Stephen Burt for the U.K. extremes, and Jeremy Budd and NIWA for New Zealand weather extremes.

from:    http://www.wunderground.com/blog/weatherhistorian/article.html

October Weather Extremes

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October 2011 Global Weather Extremes Summary
Published: 8:16 PM GMT on November 05, 2011
October 2011 Global Weather Extremes Summary

October was a relatively calm month so far as global weather extremes were concerned. The biggest story for the United States was the unprecedented snowstorm that struck the mid-Atlantic and Northeast on October 29-30th. Unusual warmth occurred in Europe at the beginning of the month and in southern Africa towards the end of the month. Extreme flooding affected Central America, Italy, and Southeast Asia.

Below are some of the month’s highlights.

NORTH AMERICA

The most intense October snowstorm on record left between 22 and 27 dead and 2.5 million without electricity from Virginia to Maine when a classic northeaster cyclone moved up the Atlantic Coast on October 29th and 30th. As of this writing, a week later, some 800,000 are still without power in Connecticut and Massachusetts. Amazing snow totals of over two feet affected the hardest hit portions of Massachusetts and New Hampshire (see Jeff Masters and my blog of Oct. 30). At the peak of the storm on Saturday evening, Windsor, Massachusetts received 26.0” of snow in just a six-hour period.

Unisys surface analysis map for 8 p.m. EST October 29th, around the time when the snow was falling at its heaviest in southern New England.

Concord, New Hampshire had 22.2” in a 15-hour period between 4pm Oct. 29 and 7am October 30. This was the 2nd greatest 24-hour snowfall on record for this city that has experienced many formidable snowstorms since records began there in 1871 (the record 24-hour snowfall was 25” during the famous blizzard of December 26-27, 1969).

Heavy wet snow toppled trees onto parked cars in Worcester, Massachusetts. The storm has become the 14th billion-dollar natural disaster in the U.S.A. so far this year. Photo by Adam Hunger/AP.

In spite of some significant rainfall during the month, portions of western Texas and the Texas Panhandle experienced several intense dust storms reminiscent of the 1930s ‘Dust Bowl’ era. Amarillo, and Lubbock, Texas as well as Dodge City, Kansas remained on track for their driest calendar year on record. In contrast, much of Ohio and Pennsylvania have already achieved their wettest year on record. As of Nov. 1st Williamsport, Pennsylvania has recorded 63.18” (old record 61.27” in 1972), Scranton 54.02” (old record 53.71” in 1945), Harrisburg has recorded 67.59” (old record 59.67” in 1863), Cleveland, Ohio has measured 55.81”(old record 53.83” in 1990), and Binghamton, New York 61.86” (old record 49.33” in 2006).

Hurricane Jova roared ashore on Mexico’s west coast between Manzanillo and Puerto Vallarta on October 12th with 100mph wind gusts and killing five.

An amazing nighttime video capture of Hurricane Jova’s winds as the storm came ashore north of Manzanillo, Mexico on October 12th. Photo/video taken by wunderground blogger Mike Theiss at Tenacatita, Mexico.

The coldest temperature measured in the northern hemisphere during October was -61.4°F (-51.9°C) at Summit, Greenland.

SOUTH AMERICA and CENTRAL AMERICA

Extreme flooding in El Salvador and Guatemala resulted in the deaths of at least 105 people the week of October 13-20. It was one of the worst natural disasters in recent history for El Salvador. One location, Huizucar, in El Salvador recorded an astonishing 59.57” (1513mm) of precipitation in the ten-day period of October 10-20.

Map of precipitation totals across El Salvador the period of October 10-20. El Salvadoran National Hydrological Service.

Winds of 75mph in mid-October whipped up fallen volcanic ash (that had accumulated as the result of the eruption of Chile’s Puyehue volcano) closing airports in Argentina and Uruguay.

EUROPE

The United Kingdom recorded its warmest October temperature on record when a reading of 85.8°F (29.9°C) was observed at Gravesend, Kent on October 1st. This surpassed the previous warmest October temperature of 84.9°F (29.4°C) set at Cambridgeshire on October 1, 1985. Wales also broke its warmest October day on record with an 82.8°F (28.2°C) reading at Hawarden, Flintshire on October 1st (previous record was 79.5°F (26.4°C) at Ruthin, Denbighshire on October 1, 1985). Stephen Burt writes me, “At least as noteworthy was the fact that 1 October became the hottest day of the year quite widely in central southern England and in western and northern England. In central southern England, within the last 100 years, the hottest day of the year has never occurred later than 8 September.” The month was the 8th warmest October on record for the U.K. since 1910.

Dublin, Ireland, reported 82.2mm of rainfall in 24 hours on October 24th, its wettest October day since 1954. Two people died in flooding as a result. The coldest temperature measured in the U.K. during October was -3.3°C at Santon Downham, Suffolk on October 20th. The highest wind gust measured was 77mph at Killowen, County Down on October 17th.

Incredible flash flooding struck much of Italy on October 26th killing at least nine and devastating towns in the Liguria region near Genoa and also in central Tuscany. An amazing 450mm (17.72”) of rain fell in just four hours at Quezzi, Liguria. The torrential rains also affected extreme southeastern France where up to 600mm (23.62”) of rain in 12 hours were reported.

A flooded street in Genoa during the intense rainfall of October 26th. Photo by Luca Zennaro/EPA

AFRICA

An extreme heat wave affected Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Zambia during the last week of October. All-time absolute maximum temperatures were recorded in Harare (98.1°F/36.7°C) and Bulawayo (101.3°F/38.5°C), Zimbabwe; Livingston (106.3°F/41.3°C), Zambia; and Francistown, Botswana where the 107.8°F (42.1°C) was just shy of the national record for Botswana of 108.3°F (42.4°C) recorded at Gomo in January 1932.

The hottest temperature observed was 112.3°F (44.6°C) at Buffalo Range, Zimbabwe on October 25th. This was also the warmest temperature observed in the southern hemisphere during October.

ASIA

The big story in Asia during October was (and still is!) the flooding in Thailand where Bangkok remains submerged as of this writing and the situation seems to be getting worse as flood waters continue their march toward the heart of the city. For details on the Bangkok flood see my previous blog. Some 507 people have died in Thailand so far as a result of the floods.

In Burma (Myanmar), over 100 people died in the city of Pakokku, which rests on the banks of the Irrawaddy River in central Burma, on October 21-22 when a flash flood swept away 2000 homes in Pakokku and four other towns in the Magwe Division.

The main bridge of Pakokku, Burma (Myanmar) swept away by floodwaters on October 22nd. Photo taken by unidentified resident of Pakokku.

Heavy rains also pelted the South China island province of Hainan in early October as the result the passage of Tropical Storm Nalgae. The city of Haikou apparently recorded 13.13” (333.6mm) of rain in 24 hours and 20.35” (517mm) in 48 hours, the greatest accumulations on record for the site.

The warmest temperature in the northern hemisphere and the world during October was 113.7°F (45.4°C) measured at Mecca, Saudi Arabia on October 1st.

AUSTRALIA

Temperatures were close to normal in most of Australia during October and precipitation was considerably above normal (152% of normal nation-wide to be precise) making this the 17th wettest October in over 112 years of record.

The normally wet top station of Bellenden Ker, Queensland measured 58.82” (1494mm) of precipitation during the month, the highest such figure ever measured during October at any site in Australia. 17.32” (440mm) of this total fell on the singe day of Oct. 19th, the 2nd greatest calendar day measurement for October in Australian history (record is 21.70”/551.2mm at Pacific Heights, Queensland on Oct. 8, 1914).

Map of rainfall deciles for October, 2011. It was the 3rd wettest October on record for Western Australia. Map courtesy of the Australian Bureau of Meteorology.

The warmest temperature measured during the month was 111.2°F (44.0°C) at Wyndham Aero, Western Australia on October 12th. The coldest temperature was 18.0°F (-7.8°C) at Thredbo, New South Wales on October 3rd.

ANTARCTICA

The coldest temperature in the southern hemisphere and the world during October was -98.5°F (-72.5°C) recorded at Dome Fuji on Oct. 14th.

KUDOS Thanks to Maximiliano Herrera for global temperature extremes data and Stephen Burt for the U.K. extremes.

Christopher C. Burt
Weather Historian