Weekly Global Climate Highlights

1. Alaska and Western Canada:

WARM ANOMALY ABATES Although temperatures averaged 3°C to 6°C above normal in north-central Alaska, weekly departures were within 3°C of normal elsewhere. The mercury climbed above 30°C at a few locations in northwestern Canada, but highs were generally 20°C to 29°C across the region [WARM - Ending at 2 to 6 weeks].

2. Montana, Saskatchewan, and Alberta:

UNSEASONABLY COOL CONDITIONS PREVAIL Temperatures were 3°C to 5°C below normal in most of Montana, southern Alberta, and southwestern Saskatchewan, with subfreezing lows across southwestern Alberta and north-central Montana [COLD - 2 to 4 weeks].

3. Northeastern United States and Southeastern Canada:

WARM WEATHER RETREATS Weekly departures of +1°C to +8°C covered the Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence River Valley, and the Maritime Provinces. Highs soared above 30°C across much of southern Quebec, southeastern Ontario, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. Farther south, below normal temperatures prevailed, but the mid-summer heat returned at the end of the week [WARM - 2 to 14 weeks].

4. Northeastern United States:

VERY DRY CONDITIONS PERSIST Although 25 to 50 mm of rain fell on isolated parts of southern West Virginia and southeastern New England, little or none was reported elsewhere. Since June 1, fewer than 50 mm of rain fell on southeastern Pennsylvania, northern New Jersey, southeastern New York, and southern New England while less than 100 mm accumulated across the mid-Atlantic from the Appalachians eastward to the Atlantic Seaboard. Similar amounts were also reported in central and eastern Ohio. Based on preliminary data, precipitation totals for the Northeast from July 1998 through June 1999 were the 8th lowest since records began in 1895, thus indicating that long-term dryness has prevailed across the region for approximately one year [DRY - 6 to 17 weeks].

5. East-Central South America:

HEAVY RAINS SOAK REGION Up to 200 mm of rain drenched southwestern and central Uruguay while 20 to 100 mm fell on Santa Fe and eastern Buenos Aires provinces of east-central Argentina. Since June 1, precipitation surpluses of 100 to 300 mm have accumulated across the region [WET - 4 to 8 weeks].

6. Europe and Southwestern Asia:

WARMTH REMAINS The warm anomaly over Europe the previous week continued and spread southeastward into the Middle East. Temperatures abated somewhat, however, averaging 2°C to 6°C above normal over the region. Temperatures reached as high as 34°C at St. Petersburg, Russia (60°N), 42°C at Sanliurfa, Turkey (37°N), and 45°C at Hassakah, Syria (36°N), [WARM - 2 to 9 weeks].

7. Southeastern Europe:

WETNESS CONTINUES Strong thunderstorms again spread moderate to heavy rain (70 to 90 mm) across southeastern Europe. According to media accounts, flooding early in the week in Romania destroyed residences, bridges, and crops and caused several dozen deaths [WET - 4 to 10 weeks].

8. Sahel Region:

SEASONAL RAINS CONTINUE Between 50 and 100 mm of rain brought relief to most of Burkina Faso while totals of 10 to 50 mm dampened southwestern Mali and southern Niger. Little or none was reported in the remainder of the region. Precipitation shortfalls since June 1 were as high as 130 mm in southern Mali, but short-term moisture deficits were generally less than 100 mm elsewhere [DRY - 4 to 13 weeks].

9. Southern Africa:

ABOVE-NORMAL TEMPERATURES OVERSPREAD REGION Temperatures were 3°C to 6°C above normal in southern Namibia and northern South Africa while weekly departures ranged from +1°C to +3°C further south. The mercury climbed above 30°C at many coastal locations, but readings remained below 30°C across the interior [WARM - 2 to 4 weeks].

10. Southern South Africa:

SMALL MOISTURE DEFICITS PERSIST Little or no rain fell on southern South Africa again last week, but short-term (June 1 - July 17) moisture shortages were less than 100 mm [DRY - 4 to 12 weeks].

11. Japan:

HEAVY RAINS INUNDATE HONSHU Torrential rains (from the remnants of Tropical Depression 07W) deluged much of northeastern and east central Honshu with 115 to 435 mm while moderate to heavy rain (50 to 100 mm) soaked the remainder of northern and central Honshu. Since the beginning of June, 500 to 1000 mm has fallen over much of the area, yielding moisture excesses of 200 to 500 mm [WET - 4 to 6 weeks].

12. East-Central China:

THUNDERSTORMS BRING HEAVY RAIN AGAIN Strong thunderstorms soaked most of southern China from Yunnan and Sichuan eastward to Jiangsu and Zhejiang with moderate to very heavy rains (30 to 350 mm). Since the start of June, 500 to 1100 mm has fallen in much of the region, resulting in short-term moisture surpluses of 175 to 630 mm [WET - 4 to 9 weeks].

13. Eastern Australia:

UNSEASONABLY WARM WEATHER DOMINATES Temperatures were 3°C to 6°C above normal across much of eastern New South Wales and southeastern Queensland, with weekly departures reaching as high as +10°C at a few locations, with highs mostly in the 20°C to 25°C range [WARM - 2 to 3 weeks].

14. East-Central Australia:

UNUSUALLY WET CONDITIONS DEVELOP Heavy rains (over 200 mm) drenched the coast of northeastern New South Wales while 50 to 200 mm fell along the remainder of the coast from the Queensland border southward to Sydney. Between 10 and 25 mm dampened the southeastern coast of Queensland. Since the beginning of June, 200 to 700 mm of rain has fallen, resulting in moisture excesses of 100 to 500 mm [WET - 4 to 7 weeks].