Weekly Global Climate Highlights

1. Western United States:

UNUSUALLY COOL WEATHER DOMINATES Temperatures averaged 5°C to 9°C below normal this past week, with several daily record lows reported. The mercury dropped below freezing across most of the region [COLD - 2 weeks].

2. Western Great Lakes:

HEAVY PRECIPITATION EASES DEFICITS; SEVERE WEATHER REPORTED Moderate to heavy precipitation (20 to 80 mm) brought relief from the unusually dry conditions of the past two months, but the abundant rains were accompanied by strong thunderstorms and several tornadoes. According to the media, loss of life and significant damage was reported in the vicinity of Cincinnati, OH [Episodic Events]. Short-term (March 1 - April 10) moisture deficits were generally less than 50 mm [DRY - 5 to 9 weeks].

3. Southeastern United States:

MOISTURE SHORTAGES CONTINUE Although moderate to severe thunderstorms brought 10 to 80 mm of rain to eastern Mississippi and northwestern Alabama, the remainder of the region received little or none. Precipitation shortfalls since March 1 ranged from 100 to 170 mm in southeastern Alabama, southwestern Georgia, and western Florida while deficits of 50 to 100 mm prevailed across the rest of the Southeast [DRY - 4 to 11 weeks].

4. Southern Brazil:

WARM ANOMALY PERSISTS Weekly departures of +3°C to +5°C prevailed across southern Brazil and adjacent parts of eastern Paraguay and northeastern Argentina. Highs reached 33°C as far south as Irai, Brazil (27°S) [WARM - 2 to 9 weeks].

5. Western and Central Europe:

WARMTH EXPANDS Temperatures averaged 3°C to 8°C above normal across most of western and central Europe. Temperatures climbed to as high as 31°C at Talavera, Spain (39°N) and 25°C at Iasi, Romania (47°N) [WARM - 2 to 6 weeks].

6. East-Central Europe:

DRYNESS DEVELOPS Light to moderate scattered rain (up to 25 mm) dampened parts of east central Europe. Since the start of March, most of the region has received less than 95 mm, allowing deficits of 55 to 190 mm to accumulate [DRY - 2 to 5 weeks].

7. Southern Africa:

STILL VERY WARM Temperatures averaged 3°C to 6°C above normal across most of South Africa, and weekly departures reached +7°C at a few locations in southern Namibia. Highs reached 41°C as far south as Gobabeb, Namibia (24°S) while the mercury topped 35°C at Calvinia, South Africa (31°S) [WARM - 2 to 9 weeks].

8. Southwestern Asia:

ABOVE NORMAL TEMPERATURES PERSIST Weekly departures of +3°C to +9°C again prevailed over the area surrounding the Persian Gulf and the northern Arabian Sea. The mercury soared to 45°C at Chhor, Pakistan (26°N) and 44°C at Sharjah, U.A.R. (25°N) [WARM - 2 to 3 weeks].

9. South-Central China:

RAINS EASE DRYNESS Light to moderate rain (5 to 45 mm) fell across Guizhou, Yunnan, Guangxi, Guangdong, and adjacent parts of northern Vietnam providing limited relief. Since March 1, most of the region has received less than 100 mm of rain, allowing deficits of up to 125 mm to accumulate [DRY - 4 to 9 weeks].

10. Eastern Siberia:

COLD ANOMALY SHIFTS EASTWARD Abnormally cold air, with temperatures 3°C to 8°C below normal, covered most of far eastern Siberia and the island of Hokkaido in northern Japan. Temperatures dropped to as low as -41°C at Ojmjakon, Russia (63°N) [COLD - 2 to 6 weeks].

11. East-Central Asia:

WETNESS PERSISTS Thunderstorms again brought moderate to heavy rain to much of the southern Korean Peninsula, the Ryukyu Islands, and the main Japanese islands of Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu. As much as 140 mm doused South Korea, while as much as 170 mm soaked Honshu. In sharp contrast, light to moderate rain (10 to 25) mm dampened China's Shandong, Jiangsu, and Zhejiang Provinces, allowing moisture excesses to decrease. Since the start of March, 125 to 405 mm of rain have fallen in South Korea, 145 to 650 mm in Japan, and 130 to 330 mm in east central China, yielding short-term moisture surpluses of 55 to 320 mm [WET - 4 to 8 weeks].

12. The Philippines and Southeastern Asia:

TROPICAL STORM BUFFETS THE PHILIPPINES WHILE HEAVY SHOWERS SOAK INDOCHINA PENINSULA Tropical Storm Jacob delivered 80 to locally 400 mm of rain to the Philippines, but relatively little damage was reported. Meanwhile, up to 70 mm of rain soaked Vietnam, with locally higher totals (150 to 350 mm) reported in the southern portion of the country. Further west, up to 50 mm of rain fell on central and eastern Thailand. Since the beginning of March up to 530 mm have fallen on the Indochina Peninsula while as much as 940 mm have deluged the Philippines, yielding precipitation excesses as high as 410 mm [WET - 4 to 12 weeks].

13. Western Australia and Southern Indonesia:

TROPICAL STORM GWENDA BRINGS ADDITIONAL HEAVY RAIN Between 90 and 250 mm of rain drenched the coast of northwestern Western Australia as Tropical Storm Gwenda made landfall, and up to 100 mm of rain fell on the interior as the remnants of the storm dissipated. In addition, the storm contributed to excessive cloudiness, resulting in subnormal temperatures (see Item 14 below) [Episodic Event].

14. Australia:

UNSEASONABLY COOL CONDITIONS PREVAIL Temperatures were 3°C to 6°C below normal in west-central Western Australia and 1°C to 3°C below normal elsewhere. Lows approached 7°C as far north as Walgett, New South Wales (30°S) [COLD - 2 to 4 weeks].