July 2012: Hottest Month on Record for Continental U.S.

Disaster Calendar – 9 August 2012

SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,315 Days Left

[August 9, 2012] Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.  SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,315 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History…

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Hi temps and low precipitation intensified drought 2012, covering  about 2/3 of the U.S., as deadly wildfires burned millions of acres

July average temperature for contiguous U.S. climbed to 77.6°F, 3.3°F above the 20th century average, making it the hottest July and the hottest month on record for the country, reported NOAA. “The warm July temperatures contributed to a record-warm first seven months of the year and the warmest 12-month period the nation has experienced since recordkeeping began in 1895.”

“The August 2011-July 2012 period was the warmest 12-month period of any 12-months on record for the contiguous U.S., narrowly surpassing the record broken last month for the July 2011-June 2012 period by 0.07°F. The nationally averaged temperature of 56.1°F was 3.3°F above the long term average. Except Washington, which was near average, every state across the contiguous U.S. had warmer than average temperatures for the period.”

• The previous warmest July was Dust Bowl summer of 1936 when the average U.S. temperature was 77.4°F.
• Precipitation in continental U.S. averaged 2.57, 0.19 inches below average.
• Virginia experienced its warmest July, with a statewide temperature 4.0°F above average.
• Record heat also contributed to the warmest ever January-to-July period.
• U.S. temperatures have now broken the hottest-12-months record 4 times in as many months (see chart below).
• The U.S. Climate Extremes Index (USCEI) soared to a record-large 46 percent (more than twice the average value) during the January-July period, beating the previous record large CEI of 42 percent which occurred in 1934.

Year-to-date temperature Chart, by month, for 2012 (red), compared to the other 117 years on record for the contiguous U.S., with the five ultimately warmest years (orange) and five ultimately coolest years (blue) noted. Source: NCDC

The ten warmest 12-month periods recorded in the U.S. Temperatures have now broken the hottest-12-months record 4 times in as many months.  Source: NCDC

Other Global Disasters/ Significant Events

U.S. Drought Disaster 2012

About a quarter (24.14%) of the Continental U.S. is now in ‘Extreme’ or ‘Exceptional’ drought (D3 – D4), a rise of about 2 percent since July 31, and nearly a half (46.01%) of the country is experiencing ‘Severe’ to ‘Exceptional’ drought levels (D2 – D4), according to data released by the US Drought Monitor.

U.S. Drought Map. Comparison maps for July 31 and August 7, 2012. Source: US Drought Monitor

• New Mexico. USDA has designated eight counties in New Mexico as agricultural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by the ongoing drought.

• Nebraska. USDA has designated 38 counties in Nebraska as agricultural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by the ongoing drought. The disaster declaration extends to the following counties in bordering states
  • Iowa: 3 counties
  • Kansas: 2 counties
  • South Dakota: 3 counties

• Mississippi. USDA has designated 6 counties in Mississippi as agricultural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by the ongoing drought. The disaster declaration extends to the following counties in bordering states
  • Arkansas: 2 counties

• Oklahoma. USDA has designated 20 counties in Oklahoma as  agricultural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by the ongoing drought. The disaster declaration extends to the following counties in bordering states
  • Kansas:  Cherokee County.
  • Missouri: 2 counties.

Oklahoma Drought Map

Oklahoma Drought Maps for July 31 and August 7, 2012. Source: US Drought Monitor.

• South Dakota. USDA has designated 6 counties in South Dakota as agricultural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by the ongoing drought. The disaster declaration extends to the following counties in bordering states
  • Iowa: Lyon County.
  • Minnesota: 2 counties.

• Ohio. USDA has designated 4 counties in Ohio as agricultural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by the ongoing drought. The disaster declaration extends to the following counties in bordering states
  • Michigan: Hillsdale County.
  • Indiana: 2 counties.

•  Arkansas. USDA has designated 6 counties in Arkansas as agricultural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by the ongoing drought.

• Illinois. USDA has designated six  counties in Illinois as agricultural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by the ongoing drought. The disaster declaration extends to the following counties in bordering states
  • Wisconsin: 2 counties.

• Iowa. USDA has designated ten counties in Iowa as agricultural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by the ongoing drought. The disaster declaration extends to the following counties in bordering states
  • Minnesota: 2 counties.
  • Nebraska: 2 counties.
  • S. Dakota: 3 counties.

Iowa Drought Maps for July 31 and August 7, 2012. Source: US Drought Monitor. The areas covered by extreme or exceptional drought levels in Iowa have more than doubled from 30.74 percent last week to 69.14 percent on August 7.  Iowa is the country’s top corn and soybean producer.

• Minnesota. USDA has designated 4 counties in Minnesota as agricultural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by the ongoing drought. The disaster declaration extends to the following counties in bordering states
  • Iowa: Lyon County
  • South Dakota: Two counties

• Kentucky. USDA has designated 9 counties in Kentucky as agricultural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by the ongoing drought. The disaster declaration extends to the following counties in bordering states
  • Indiana: Perry County.

• Kansas. USDA has designated 21 counties in Kansas, a key farm state,  as agricultural disaster areas due to damages and losses caused by the ongoing drought. The disaster declaration extends to the following counties in bordering states
  • Missouri: 2 counties.
  • Nebraska: 5  counties.
  • Oklahoma: 2 counties.

Kansas Drought Map

Kansas Drought Maps for July 31 and August 7, 2012. Source: US Drought Monitor.

U.S. Corn Condition

Map of the Agricultural Weather Assessments for U.S. Corn Conditions for the week ending August 4, 2012. Source: USDA

Europe. Watch this space!

• Manila, Philippines.  Authorities in the Philippines have appealed for “more medicines, blankets, mats and, more importantly, dry clothes” to help more than two million people displaced or severely affected by floods in and around Manila, as the death toll mounted.
  • many evacuation centers are  unable to provide warm meals for the growing numbers displaced, AFP reported Social Welfare Secretary Corazon Soliman as saying. “Most local government units do a community kitchen, but the volume of evacuees is so big they have been overwhelmed,” she said.

Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background

• The First Wave of World’s Collapsing Cities
• Back to the Primordial Future
• The Fate of Energy Dinosaurs
• Mass Die-offs

• 2010 Disasters [Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
• Mega Disasters
• 2011 Disaster Calendar
• 2012 Disaster Calendar

Deadly Drought Worsens Corn, Soybean, Pasture and Range Conditions

Corn in v. poor or poor condition increases to 45 percent: USDA

The amount of corn considered to be in very poor to poor condition has increased by 7 percent since last week due to ongoing drought and lingering heat wave, according to the USDA Crop Progress report.

• The amount of corn regarded as being in good or excellent condition was 26 percent for the week ending July 22, a drop of 5 percent since previous week. It was 62 percent last year.
• The USDA statistics are based on 18 States which planted 92% of the 2011 corn acreage: Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin.

U.S. Corn Condition by State Map as of July 22, 2012. Source: USDA/AWA

Soybean Condition

The amount of soybeans considered to be in very poor to poor condition was 35 percent, an increase of 5 percent since last week.

• The amount of soybean regarded as being in good or excellent condition was 31 percent, a drop of 3 percent since last week. It was 62 percent last year.
• The statistics are based on 18 States that planted 95% of the 2011 soybean acreage: Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, North Carolina,
  North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Tennessee and Wisconsin.

Pasture and Range Condition

Pasture and Range Condition for the lower 48 States which are weighted based on pasture acreage and/or livestock inventories, further deteriorated by 1 percent.

• V. poor to poor category rose to 55 percent. It was 33 percent last year.

[Source: Crop Progress (July 2012) USDA, National Agricultural Statistics Service. Report released July 23, 2012.]

Drought and Deluge Double Whammy

The historic drought could finally end in an epic deluge, in which case what is already extreme stress on the topsoil would be incalculable.

Corn in Drought Map. Latest available map of drought superimposed on the corn production areas. This map depicts drought-affected areas of the U.S. corn producing farmland as of July 17, 2012. Approximately 88% of the corn grown in the U.S. is within an area-experiencing drought, based on historical U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) crop production data.

Other Global Disasters/ Significant Events

• China. Typhoon VICENTE has grown into a monstrous category 4A stormwith sustained winds of more than 215kmph.  The storm has landed  in southern China.
  • The Hong Kong Observatory has raised its storm warning signal to the highest level 10, while local media reported at least 70 people  injured, as of posting.

Typhoon VICENTE – NHC Enhanced IR Sat Image. Source: CIMSS

• China.  Extreme Rain Events have buffeted 17 provinces in China since July 20, leaving hundreds dead or missing.
  • Rainstorm related disasters have affected up to 10 million people in thousands of towns and villages across 264 counties in 17 provinces, forcing about a million residents to flee their homes.
  • Rainstorms also destroyed or damaged about 100,000 homes.
  • “In Sichuan province, water levels in several rivers have exceeded the warning levels and the Luzhou section in the upper reach of the Yangtze River has witnessed the biggest flooding since 1949, according to the provincial flood control headquarters,” said a report.
    
  • Dozens of cities and villages are submerged under about 2m of water.
  • The influx of floodwater into the Three Gorges Reservoir, upstream of the gigantic Three Gorges hydropower project in Yichang, Hubei province, is expected to reach 70,000 cubic meters per second, the report said.
    

Original Caption: The pivot of Three Gorges releases flood water in seven spillways in Yichang, central China’s Hubei Province, July 23, 2012. The Three Gorges Dam will experience its largest flood peak this year on Tuesday, the Yangtze River flood control and drought relief headquarters said Monday. (Xinhua/Zheng Jiayu)

Related Links

• Watching Events Unfold, Frame by Frame, Exactly as Forecast Posted July 20, 2012
• Deadly Heat Continues to Devour U.S. Crops Posted July 19, 2012

• Drought Continues to Plague Two-Thirds of Continental U.S. Posted July 17, 2012
• Largest Ever U.S. Disaster Continues Unfolding July 14, 2012
• Drought 2012 Posted on January 8, 2012
• Drought and deluge