Weekly Global Climate Highlights Map for January 22, 2000

1. Northeastern United States:

WINTER WEATHER SNARLS REGION, BUT PRECIPITATION TOTALS REMAIN LOW
Wintry weather, characterized by 8 to 15 cm of snow, resulted in considerable delays in air and highway travel, according to press reports [Episodic Events]. Precipitation amounts (water equivalent) were generally less than 50 mm for the week, allowing 8-week deficits of up to 180 mm to accumulate [DRY - Up to 10 weeks].

2. Southeastern United States:

STILL ABNORMALLY DRY
Between 10 and 25 mm of precipitation fell on southern Alabama while little or none was reported elsewhere. Precipitation totals during the last 8 weeks were generally less than 100 mm, resulting in moisture shortages of 50 to 200 mm [DRY - Up to 7 weeks].

3. Northern Colombia and Northwestern Venezuela:

FAVORABLY DRY WEATHER REPORTED
Little or no rain, except for isolated amounts of 10 to 50 mm, were observed during the past week. In spite of the dry week, short-term (8-week) surpluses of 50 to more than 200 mm prevailed [WET - Up to 11 weeks].

4. Northern Argentina:

UNUSUALLY WET CONDITIONS DEVELOP
Moderate to heavy rains (50 to 200 mm) drenched northwestern Argentina while lesser amounts (25 to 50 mm) fell on the remainder of the region. Between 100 and 450 mm of rain has fallen on north-central Argentina during the last 8 weeks, allowing moisture surpluses of 50 to 200 mm to accumulate [WET - Up to 6 weeks].

5. Central South America:

ABOVE-NORMAL TEMPERATURES PERSIST
Weekly departures ranged from +2°C to +4°C from central Brazil southward to eastern Buenos Aires province of Argentina, with locally higher departures approaching +8°C in southern Brazil. Highs generally ranged from 30°C to 39°C, but the mercury soared above 40°C across the northwestern half of Paraguay and in adjacent parts of north-central Argentina [WARM - Up to 4 weeks].

6. Northeastern Mediterranean:

UNUSUALLY COLD CONDITIONS REPORTED
Temperatures were 2°C to 6°C below normal across Greece and much of western Turkey, with the mercury dropping to -10°C at Bursa, Turkey (25°N) [COLD - Up to 3 weeks].

7. Southeastern Africa:

COLD ANOMALY DEVELOPS
Temperatures averaged 3°C to 6°C below normal in southern Zimbabwe, eastern and southern Botswana, and much of northeastern and central South Africa. Lows dipped below 10°C as far north as Johannesburg International Airport (26°S), and the mercury failed to reach 30°C at scattered locations throughout the region [COLD - Up to 2 weeks].

8. Southern Africa:

RAINS ABATE IN  CENTRAL SOUTH AFRICA, PERSIST ELSEWHERE
Moderate to heavy rains (50 to 200 mm) soaked southern Zimbabwe, extreme eastern Botswana, and extreme northeastern South Africa. Light to moderate precipitation (10 to 50 mm) dampened extreme eastern South Africa while little or none fell on central and southern sections of the country. During the last 8 weeks, more than 200 mm of precipitation has fallen on Zimbabwe, eastern Botswana, and the eastern third of South Africa, yielding moisture excesses of 100 to almost 500 mm. Farther west, 8-week totals diminished from about 200 mm in central South Africa to 50 mm further west, with moisture surpluses generally less than 100 mm [WET - Up to 11 weeks].

9. South-Central Siberia, Eastern Mongolia, and Northeastern China:

COLD ANOMALY SHIFTS SOUTHWARD
Weekly departures of -3°C to -7°C prevailed over southeastern Siberia east of Lake Baykal while departures of -1°C to -3°C dominated eastern Mongolia. Temperatures were also 1°C to 3°C below normal across the Chinese provinces of Liaoning and central Nei Mongol. Lows plummeted to -40°C as far south as Hilok, Russia (51°N)  [COLD - Up to 4 weeks].

10. Japan:

WARMTH REMAINS
Temperatures averaged 2°C to 3°C above normal over most of the Japanese archipelago as the abnormally mild weather continued. Temperatures reached as high as 13°C at Kumgaya (36°N) and at Nagoya (35°N) [WARM - Up to 4 weeks].

11. Western Australia:

UNSEASONABLY COOL WEATHER CONTINUES
Temperatures were as much as 3°C below normal across the western half of Western Australia, with lows dropping below 20°C as far north as 23°S. In addition, highs failed to reach 30°C at some locations in southwestern Western Australia [COLD - Up to 13 weeks].