Weekly Global Climate Highlights

1. Western United States and Southwestern Canada:

UNSEASONABLY COLD CONDITIONS DEVELOP Temperatures averaged 3°C to 7°C below normal across the region, with subfreezing lows reported as far south as northern Arizona. In Nevada, the mercury dipped to -10°C at Ely (39°N) and Winnemucca (41°N). Heavy snow (up to 50 cm) blanketed parts of Montana [COLD - 2 to 4 weeks].

2. Central United States and South-Central Canada:

WETNESS PERSISTS Between 40 and 100 mm of precipitation soaked the Prairie Provinces, Great Plains and upper Midwest, with locally heavier amounts of up to 150 mm. Lesser amounts (10 to 40 mm) were recorded across the Rockies, Ozarks, and lower Ohio Valley. Since the beginning of April, 100 to 500 mm of precipitation fell on the central Great Plains, Ozarks, Corn Belt, and central Rockies, resulting in moisture excesses of 50 to 270 mm. In addition, Bismarck, ND has reported almost 150 mm during the first 15 days of May. Short-term (April 1 - May 15) surpluses were within 50 mm elsewhere [WET - 4 to 9 weeks].

3. Central Gulf Coast:

HEAVY RAINS BRING SUBSTANTIAL RELIEF Moderate to heavy rains (50 to 150 mm) drenched eastern Texas and southern Louisiana while 10 to 50 mm were reported from southern Mississippi eastward to western Florida. Despite the abundant rains, moisture shortages since April 1 ranged from 100 to 170 mm [DRY - Ending at 4 to 6 weeks].

4. Northeastern United States and Southeastern Canada:

STILL VERY DRY Fewer than 20 mm of rain fell on the region during the past week. Since the beginning of April, only 25 to 100 mm of precipitation were recorded, resulting in moisture shortages of 50 to 130 mm [DRY - 4 to 8 weeks].

5. Western Europe and Northwestern Africa:

UNUSUAL WARMTH CONTINUES Temperatures again averaged well above normal over western Europe from the British Isles south and southeastward to the Mediterranean Sea (departures of +2°C to +7°C) and over northwestern Africa from Morocco eastward to Tunisia (departures of +5°C to +11°C). Temperatures reached as high as 38°C at Cordoba, Spain (38°N) and 45°C at El Oued, Algeria (34°N) [WARM - 2 to 3 weeks].

6. Morocco and Northwestern Algeria:

DRYNESS REMAINS No rain fell over Morocco and northwestern Algeria as the region experiences an early onset to the dry season [DRY - 7 to 8 weeks].

7. Central Gulf of Guinea Coast:

WARM WEATHER ABATES Weekly temperatures were within 3°C of normal, but the mercury exceeded 40°C across most of Burkina Faso [WARM - 2 to 9 weeks].

8. Southwestern Asia and Northeastern Africa:

WARMTH PERSISTS Temperatures continued to average 2°C to 6°C above normal over an area extending from Pakistan westward to the eastern Mediterranean, eastern Egypt, and northeastern Sudan. Temperatures reached as high as 46°C at Sharjah, UAR (25°N) and 44°C at Iranshahr, Iran (27°N) [WARM - 3 to 8 weeks].

9. Northern Europe:

UNSEASONABLY COLD FOR SECOND WEEK Temperatures averaged 3°C to 9°C below normal over an area extending from Scandinavia, Poland, and northwestern Romania westward to the Urals. Temperatures dropped below freezing as far south as Bialystok, Poland (53°N) and Voroshilovgrag, Russia (49°N) [COLD - 2 weeks].

10. Thailand:

COLD ANOMALY DEVELOPS Relatively cool conditions (3°C to 4°C below normal) again prevailed over Thailand. Temperatures dipped to 18°C at Chiang Rai (20°N) [COLD - 2 weeks].

11. The Philippines and Southeastern Asia:

WETNESS CONTINUES Thunderstorms brought scattered moderate to heavy rain (30 to 290 mm) to the Philippines and the Indochina Peninsula. Since the first of April, precipitation totals (moisture excesses) reached as much as 800 mm (+350 mm) in Thailand, 930 mm (+770 mm) in Vietnam, and 1665 mm (+1470 mm) in the Philippines [WET - 4 to 17 weeks].

12. Northern Australia:

TEMPERATURES RETURN TO NORMAL Near-normal temperatures prevailed across the region, although scattered locations reported weekly departures as large as -5°C while lows reached 11°C [COLD - Ending at 3 to 8 weeks].

13. Southeastern Australia:

SCATTERED MODERATE RAINS REPORTED Between 30 and 80 mm of rain brought some relief to western Tasmania and coastal Victoria, but weekly totals were less than 30 mm elsewhere. Since April 1, most precipitation totals were only 50 to 100 mm, which is as much as 50 mm below normal. Only the western coast of Tasmania received more than 100 mm in the past 45 days [DRY - 4 to 6 weeks].