Global Climate Highlights for November 13, 1999

1. Alaska:

BITTERLY COLD WEATHER PREVAILS
Temperatures averaged 3°C to 9°C below normal across much of Alaska, with the mercury approaching -40°C at Bettles (67°N) and dropping below -20°C except along the southern and southwestern coasts [COLD - Up to 5 weeks].

2. Central United States:

MOISTURE DEFICITS PERSIST
Little or no fell on the region last week, allowing moisture shortages of 50 to 100 mm to remain entrenched across the Corn Belt. Larger deficits (100 to 200 mm) prevailed across western Iowa and eastern Nebraska [DRY - Up to 10 weeks].

3. Central South America:

UNUSUALLY COOL CONDITIONS DEVELOP
Weekly departures of -3°C to -7°C dominated South America from central Argentina northward through Bolivia and adjacent parts of western Brazil. Subfreezing lows were reported at a few locations in Chubut and Buenos Aires provinces of Argentina and the higher elevations of western Bolivia [COLD - Up to 3 weeks].

4. Argentina:

WET WEATHER ABATES
Little or no rain fell on Argentina during the past week, but 8-week moisture surpluses of 100 to 515 mm persisted in parts of La Rioja, Cordoba, and Mendoza provinces [WET - Up to 6 weeks].

5. Uruguay:

STILL ABNORMALLY DRY
Most of Uruguay has received little or no rain during the past 4 weeks, with some areas reporting significantly longer periods of dryness. Most locations reported less than 100 mm of rain during the past 8 weeks, resulting in precipitation shortfalls of 100 to 200 mm [DRY - Up to 10 weeks].

6. Northwestern Europe:

WARMTH CONTINUES
Temperatures averaged 4°C to 9°C above normal across Scandinavia from Iceland eastward to Finland. Readings climbed to 17°C at Akureyri, Iceland (66°N) and 14°C at Nesbyen, Norway (61°N) [WARM - Up to 3 weeks].

7. Asia:

WARM ANOMALY SPREADS EASTWARD
The warmth over northern India spread eastward to encompass a large area extending through Manchuria and Japan. Weekly departures of +3°C to +8°C dominated most of the region, with weekly highs reaching 21°C at Hamheung, Korea (40°N) and Yuncheng, China (35°N)  [WARM - Up to 9 weeks].

8. Southeastern Asia:

  HEAVY RAINS KEEP PARTS OF REGION WET
Between 50 and 125 mm of rain soaked extreme southern China while 25 to 100 mm were scattered over the remainder of Southeast Asia. During the last 4 weeks, 270 to 2050 mm has drenched much of the region which is 135 to 950 mm more than normal. According to press reports, the recent heavy rains have caused hundreds of deaths, destroyed thousands of homes, and damaged large areas of rice and other crops in Vietnam and Cambodia [WET - Up to 6 weeks].

9. North-Central Australia:

A RELATIVELY DRY WEEK
Moderate rains (25 to 100 mm) were restricted to extreme northeastern Western Australia and extreme northern Northern Territory. Little or no rain was observed elsewhere. Short-term (8-week) moisture surpluses were generally less than 100 mm [WET - Ending at 7 weeks].

10. Australia:

SUBNORMAL TEMPERATURES DOMINATE COUNTRY
Temperatures were 3°C to 7°C below normal from south-central and east-central Western Australia eastward through southeastern Queensland and eastern New South Wales. The mercury dropped below freezing on parts of Tasmania and at higher elevations in Victoria and New South Wales, and lows of 8°C were reported as far north as Charleville Airport (26.4°S)  [COLD - Up to 3 weeks].

11. Southern Australia:

VERY DRY CONDITIONS DEVELOP
Little or no rain has fallen on Tasmania for at least the past 7 weeks, resulting in 8-week moisture deficits of 50 to 200 mm. Much of southern coastal Australia has reported 4 consecutive weeks of scanty rains, but short-term moisture deficits remained below 50 mm, except for precipitation shortfalls of 50 to 100 mm in coastal Victoria [DRY - Up to 9 weeks].