U.S. Warmer, Drier in March

Despite the appearances ‘U.S. Averaged Warmer-than-Normal, Drier-than-Normal in March’

According to NOAA’s State of the Climate report the March 2010 average temperature for the contiguous United States was warmer than average.

Thirteen states recorded an average temperature that was among their 10 warmest ever for March:

• Rhode Island experienced its warmest March on record;
• Maine its second warmest for the month
• New Hampshire its third warmest

Again, despite the appearances, average precipitation for the U.S. was below normal, but heavy rainfall in parts of the Northeast set March records.

NOAA’s monthly temperature analysis are based on data recorded since 1895.

U.S. Temperature Highlights

Source: National Climatic Data Center/ NESDIS/NOAA. Click image to enlarge.

Temperature Highlights for March 2010

• March temperature average across the contiguous United States was 44.4 degrees F, some 1.9 degrees F above the long-term average. “However, several storms developed along the Atlantic Coast, bringing below-normal temperatures to the South and Southeast, while bringing warm and wet weather to the Northeast and Midwest regions (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin).”
• Thirteen states averaged temperature among their 10 warmest for March.
• Gulf Coast states, New Mexico, Georgia and South Carolina experienced cooler-than-normal temperatures. Florida recorded its fourth coolest March.
• January-March period
  • Maine, Vermont and New Hampshire: Warmest ever
  • Florida: Coldest ever
  • Louisiana: Second coldest
  • Mississippi and Alabama : Third coldest

U.S. Precipitation Highlights

Source: National Climatic Data Center/ NESDIS/NOAA. Click image to enlarge.

Precipitation Highlights for March 2010

• Average March precipitation  across the contiguous United States fell below the long-term mean (LTM). The month’s national average fell 0.24 inches below the LTM of 2.16 inches. “The Northeast was above-normal, while much of the interior United States was below-normal. All other regions were near normal.”
• January – March period
  • Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Jersey:  Wettest on record
  • Delaware: Second wettest on record
  • Vermont:  Fifth wettest
  • Twenty other states:  Precipitation ranked among the top 10 wettest.
  • Michigan:  Driest ever January-March period
  • Wisconsin: Fourth driest
  • Montana and Wyoming: Sixth driest.

Other Highlights

• The preliminary tornado count for March was 36 – joint  4th quietest March since reliable records began in 1950,  NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center said.
• Mid-March ice coverage over the Great Lakes was at a record low, covering only 3.5 percent of the Lakes’ surface, the Canadian Ice Service said.The average ice extent for the period was estimated at 31 percent of the Lakes’ surface. The records started in 1973.
• Drought on March 30 covered about 9.0 percent of the United States, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor.

Click image to enlarge.

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Alaska temperature changed by 88 degs in 3 days

A “spectacular chinook” warms Fairbanks, Alaska

The temperature at Fairbanks International Airport dropped  to -44 degrees (44 below zero) on Sunday, the last day of  a  continuous 16-day freeze-up,  the coldest spell in the last 50 years. By Wednesday, the temperature reached a record high  of 44 degrees,  dramatically reversing the trend from one extreme to another. The temperature difference of 88 degrees was reached in just three days.

“Incredible,” said meteorologist Rick Thoman at the National Weather Service in Fairbanks. “Is there any other place in the country that can do that?

Adiabatic warming of downward moving air produces the warm Chinook wind. Chinook is a Pacific Northwest Indian word meaning ‘snow-eater,’ as a strong Chinook can make foot deep snow almost vanish in one day. The snow partly melts and partly evaporates in the dry wind. Chinook winds have been observed to raise winter temperature, often from below −20°C (−4°F) to as high as 10°C to 20°C (50°F to 68°F) for a few hours or days, then temperatures plummet to their base levels. The greatest recorded temperature change in 24 hours was caused by Chinook winds on January 15, 1972, in Loma, Montana; the temperature rose from -48°C (-56°F) to 9°C (49°F), a difference of 105 degrees (source: wikipedia).

“It’s just a spectacular Chinook,” he said.

This spectacular Chinook Arch appeared over Calgary in the late afternoon of January 6, 2003 – during a warm spell when the temperature in the city reached an all-time January record high of 18°C (64°F). Image Credit: CalgaryWikifan. Wikipedia.  GNU Free Documentation License, Version 1.2 or later versions.

In Nenana, the temperature rose to 54 degrees Thursday morning, another all-time high, Thoman said.

The previous record high at the airport was 43 degrees set in 1981. Also, the temperature at Birch Lake reached a daily record  high of 54 ºF.

“There’s July days when it’s not that warm at Birch Lake,” Thoman said.

Hotter and Drier

U.S. West Hotter and Drier than Rest of World

The following is an excerpt from a newly published NRDC report Hotter and Drier: The West’s Changed Climate

Human activities are already changing the climate of the American West. This report by the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization (RMCO) and the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), drawn from 50 scientific studies, 125 other government and scientific sources, and our own new analyses, documents that the West is being affected more by a changed climate than any other part of the United States outside of Alaska. When compared to the 20th century average, the West has experienced an increase in average temperature during the last five years that is 70 percent greater than the world as a whole. Responding quickly at all levels of government by embracing the solutions that are available is critical to minimizing further disruption of this region’s climate and economy. Report

Photo Credit: NRDC [image may be subject to copyright.] See FEWW Fair Use Notice

There’s a fundamental systemic problem. It’s called exponential growth economy and it’s degrading, polluting, tearing apart, destroying and otherwise killing off everything in its domain. In the absence of a ‘radical’ change to the economic system our world is rapidly falling apart.

Related Links:

• What’s a Hydrokong?

• Root Cause Matrix
• Giga Trends
• Nuking Earth for Lifestyle
• Collapsing Cities