Weekly Global Climate Highlights

1. Utah:

KILLER TORNADO STRIKES SALT LAKE CITY According to the Storm Prediction Center, a tornado, reaching F2 intensity (winds of up to 250 kph), tore through downtown Salt Lake City on August 11. In addition, press reports indicated that the twister claimed the first fatality in Utah history and did considerable damage to the Delta Center Sports Arena, toppled a construction crane, and battered residential areas [Episodic Event].

2. California:

STILL UNSEASONABLY COOL Temperatures averaged 3°C to 6°C below normal across the state, with the mercury dropping to 5°C as far south as Bishop (37°N) [COLD - 2 to 4 weeks].

3. Western Great Lakes Region:

UNUSUALLY COOL CONDITIONS DEVELOP Weekly departures of -1°C to -4°C spread across southern Ontario, Wisconsin, Michigan, and adjacent parts of Minnesota, Iowa, and Illinois, with lows reaching 4°C as far south as International Falls, MN (49°N) [COLD - 2 weeks].

4. South-Central United States:

DRY WEATHER SPREADS ACROSS THE SOUTH Less than 20 mm of rain fell on most of the South from the High Plains of Texas eastward to the lower Mississippi River Valley, except for 20 to 75 mm from a few scattered showers in northern and southeastern Arkansas, eastern Louisiana, and Mississippi. Since July 1, moisture shortages of 50 to 150 mm accumulated across Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi, but deficits were less than 100 mm in Texas [DRY - 4 to 10 weeks].

5. Eastern United States:

LONG-TERM DEFICITS REMAIN Moderate to heavy rains (50 to 200 mm) fell on southeastern New York, New Jersey, and much of central and eastern Pennsylvania, with the largest totals reported in central New Jersey. Although scattered showers dropped 30 to 100 mm of rain on central and southwestern West Virginia, east-central Maryland, central and southern Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia, most of the East received fewer than 30 mm. Short-term (July 1 - August 14) moisture deficits reached as high as 150 mm while longer deficits persisted [DRY - 4 to 21 weeks].

6. Central South America:

ABNORMAL DRYNESS SPREADS ACROSS REGION Little or no rain fell on Bolivia, Paraguay, and north-central Argentina for the fourth consecutive week, but short-term (July 1 - August 14) moisture deficits remained below 75 mm at most locations [DRY - 4 to 5 weeks].

7. Europe:

MOISTURE DEFICITS REMAIN Fewer than 30 mm of rain fell on Scotland, the northern Netherlands, northwestern and eastern portions of Germany, western Poland, and the Czech Republic. Since July 1, precipitation shortfalls of up to 100 mm have accumulated in eastern Scotland and the northern sections of Germany and the Netherlands [DRY - 4 to 6 weeks].

8. Northern Scandinavia:

SUBNORMAL TEMPERATURES REPORTED Temperatures were as much as 4°C below normal across the northern sections of Norway and Sweden, with subfreezing lows widespread across the region [COLD - 2 weeks].

9. Gulf of Guinea Coast:

RAINFALL TOTALS ARE BELOW NORMAL Little or no rain fell along the Gulf of Guinea Coast for the third week in a row [DRY - 3 to 4 weeks].

10. Southeastern Europe, Northern Africa, and Southwestern Asia:

WARMTH SHIFTS SOUTHWESTWARD The warm anomaly over east-central Asia the previous week spread southwestward across the Middle East, southeastern Europe, and northern Africa. Temperatures averaged 2°C to 7°C above normal across the entire area, with the mercury reaching as high as 36°C at Yerevan, Armenia (40°N) and 44°C at Luqa, Malta (36°N) [WARM - 2 to 11 weeks].

11. Central Siberia:

COLD ANOMALY DEVELOPS Weekly departures of -3°C to -6°C again covered most of central Siberia, with lows plummeting below freezing at a number of locations [COLD - 2 weeks].

12. East-Central Asia:

HEAT REMAINS Temperatures averaged 4°C to 7°C above normal across Japan's Hokkaido and northern Honshu Islands, extreme southeastern Russia, and China's eastern Heilongiang Province, and weekly departures of +2°C to +4°C prevailed over the Korean Peninsula and the remainder of Japan. Highs generally reached into the mid to upper 30's and soared as high as 36°C at Niigata, Japan (43°N) and 36°C at Mudanjiang, China (45°N) [WARM - 2 to 8 weeks].

13. East-Central China:

SCATTERED RAINS EASE DRYNESS Moderate to heavy rain (20 to 120 mm) eased dryness in parts of China from Sichuan eastward to Jiangsu and northeastward to Hebei and central Nei Mongol. Since July 1, between 20 and 200 mm of rain has fallen on east-central China,, yielding moisture deficits of 110 to 250 mm [DRY - 4 to 8 weeks].

14. Southeastern China:

THUNDERSTORMS BRING MORE HEAVY RAIN Thunderstorms drenched much of southeastern China from Yunnan eastward to Jiangxi and Fujian with heavy to torrential rain (40 to 350 mm). Since the beginning of July, 400 to 700 mm of rain has fallen on much of the region, resulting in moisture excesses of 100 to 460 mm [WET - 4 to 6 weeks].