Weekly Global Climate Highlights

1. Alaska:

WARM ANOMALY ABATES Temperatures were within 3°C of normal except for a small portion of south-central Alaska, where the mercury climbed above 30°C [WARM - Ending at 2 to 5 weeks].

2. Northwestern United States and Southwestern Canada:

STILL UNUSUALLY COOL Weekly departures ranged from -1°C to -4°C, with the largest departures reported in southern Saskatchewan and central Montana. Subfreezing temperatures were reported at scattered locations in the northern Rockies while the mercury dipped below 10°C throughout the region [COLD - 2 to 3 weeks].

3. Southwestern United States:

SEASONABLE CONDITIONS PREVAIL Although the mercury climbed above 40°C in southeastern California, extreme southern Nevada, and southwestern Arizona, near-normal temperatures returned to the desert Southwest during the past week. [WARM - Ending at 2 to 4 weeks].

4. Southeastern California, Southern Nevada, and Western Arizona:

UNSEASONABLY HEAVY DOWNPOURS Scattered heavy showers inundated a few locations. On Thursday, July 8, about 34 mm of rain drenched Las Vegas, NV in one hour. According to press reports, the heavy rain resulted in loss of life and briefly closed the Las Vegas airport. Three days later, the media reported that heavy showers stranded hikers and caused property damage near San Bernadino, CA [Episodic Events].

5. Mid-Atlantic and Southern New England:

MORE VERY DRY WEATHER Little or no rain fell on the mid-Atlantic while up to 50 mm dampened southern New England. Unfortunately, high temperatures early in the week exacerbated the very dry conditions (see item 6 below). Precipitation shortfalls since the beginning of May ranged from 100 to 200 mm [DRY - 5 to 16 weeks].

6. Northeastern United States and Southeastern Canada:

HEAT WAVE MODERATES, BUT TEMPERATURES REMAIN ABOVE NORMAL Temperatures averaged 3°C to 6°C above normal from eastern Kentucky and southern North Carolina northeastward through the central Appalachians and mid-Atlantic to southern New England. Meanwhile, weekly departures of +1°C to +3°C prevailed across the remainder of the region. Highs ranged from 30°C to 39°C. Many daily record highs were established on July 4-6, and the high temperatures resulted in sharply increased demands for electrical power, according to press reports. Slightly cooler air spread across the region during the second half of the week, providing limited relief from the heat [WARM - 2 to 13 weeks].

7. Europe, Northwestern Africa, and Turkey:

WARM ANOMALY EXPANDS The warm anomaly covering eastern Europe spread across the remainder of Europe, northwestern Africa, and western Turkey. Temperatures averaged 5°C to 9°C above normal over eastern Europe and 2°C to 7°C above normal over western Europe, Morocco, northern Algeria, Tunisia, and western Turkey. Temperatures reached as high as 34°C at Brjansk, Russia (53°N) and 41°C at Sanliurfa, Turkey (37°N). In addition, highs were above 40°C across much of Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia [WARM - 2 to 8 weeks].

8. Southeastern Europe:

WETNESS DEVELOPS Strong thunderstorms drenched parts of Hungary, Slovakia, and Yugoslavia with heavy rain (70 to 110 mm). Since the start of May, 200 to 600 mm has fallen in the region, yielding moisture surpluses of 100 to 220 mm [WET - 2 to 7 weeks].

9. Sahel Region:

SEASONAL RAINS ADVANCE Scattered showers brought 25 to 100 mm of rain to Senegal, the Gambia, southern Mali, Burkina Faso, and southwestern Chad, with up to 200 mm reported in south-central Mali. Fewer than 30 mm fell on the remainder of the region. Moisture deficits since May 1 dropped below 100 mm at most locations, but ranged from 100 mm to 300 mm at a few locations in southern Mali and northern Nigeria [DRY - 4 to 12 weeks].

10. Southeastern South Africa:

DRY WEATHER CONTINUES Little or no rain fell on the region again last week; however, short-term (May 1 - July 10) deficits remained less than 100 mm [DRY - 6 to 11 weeks].

11. Southwestern Asia:

WARMTH CONTINUES Temperatures remained 2°C to 4°C above normal over Afghanistan, eastern Iran, northern Pakistan, and southeastern Turkmenistan [WARM - 2 to 16 weeks].

12. East Central China:

THUNDERSTORMS BRING MORE HEAVY RAIN Thunderstorms again soaked much of east central China from Sichuan eastward to Jiangsu with moderate to heavy rains (30 to 125 mm). According to press reports, the recent weeks of heavy rain have resulted in severe flooding and the deaths of several hundred people. Between 100 and 1100 mm of rain have fallen since early May, resulting in precipitation excesses of 100 to 630 mm [WET - 4 to 8 weeks].