Weekly Global Climate Highlights Map for July 1, 2000

1. Alaska and Northwestern Canada:

DRY ANOMALY OBSERVED
Little or no rain fell on much of Alaska and the Yukon from the Bering Sea eastward to the northern Rockies. Short-term moisture deficits were generally less than 100 mm across the region, except for precipitation shortfalls approaching 150 mm in southeastern Alaska [DRY - Up to 8 weeks].

2. Southwestern United States:

WARM ANOMALY ABATES
Temperatures were generally with 2°C of normal, except for western Nevada, southwestern Arizona, and the northern and extreme southeastern sections of California, where weekly departures ranged from +2°C to +4°C. Highs soared above 40°C in the desert sections of southeastern California and western Arizona, and approached 42°C at Redding (41°N), in California. Elsewhere, highs were generally in the thirties. Temperatures remained above 20°C in extreme southern Nevada, extreme southeastern California, and extreme western Arizona [WARM - Up to 7 weeks].

3. Great Lakes Region:

A RELATIVELY DRY WEEK
Fewer than 30 mm of rain fell on the Great Lakes Region of the United States from north-central Illinois eastward to central Lake Ontario while 25 to 50 mm dampened much of Ontario and central upstate New York. Widely scattered showers dropped up to 100 mm of rain on isolated parts of east-central Michigan and the Allegheny Mountains of western Pennsylvania. Precipitation totaled 100 to 510 mm during the past 8 weeks, yielding moisture surpluses of 100 to 200 mm across most of the region, and locally higher excesses (up to 340 mm in the southern portions of Wisconsin and Minnesota [WET - Ending at 17 weeks].

4. Southeastern United States:

SCATTERED SHOWERS BRING RELIEF, LONG-TERM DRYNESS REMAINS
Moderate to heavy showers and thundershowers dropped 50 to 150 mm of rain on much of Florida and the Gulf Coast while 25 to 50 mm dampened Mississippi, and extreme northern sections of Alabama and Georgia. Unfortunately, fewer than 25 mm of rain occurred across the remainder of the region. Preliminary calculations at the Climate Prediction Center showed that only Florida received significantly below normal precipitation during June; however, 3-month precipitation totals in South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida were among the 10 lowest such values in 106 years of record. For more complete and detailed information, please consult the U. S. Drought Assessment [DRY - Easing at 12 weeks].

5. Central Chile and Adjacent Argentina:

MODERATE TO HEAVY PRECIPITATION REPORTED
Moderate to heavy precipitation (50 to 200 mm) soaked much of central Chile from 33°S to 40°S while up to 100 mm fell on adjacent parts of west-central Argentina. During the last 8 weeks, 100 to 535 mm of precipitation has fallen on the region, generating moisture surpluses of 50 to 200 mm at most locations, with excesses of 300 to 400 mm between 26°S and 35°S [WET - Up to 7 weeks].

6. Europe and the Black Sea Region:

MORE DRY WEATHER
Except for moderate to heavy showers (25 to 80 mm) in the higher elevations in the Alps and the Baltic Sea region, dry weather prevailed over a large area from England northeastward to southern Finland and southeastward to Turkey. Since May 7th, less than 125 mm has accumulated in much of the area (except for the higher elevations), yielding moisture deficits of up to 200 mm [DRY - Up to 13 weeks].

7. Southwestern Europe and Northwestern Africa:

HEAT CONTINUES
Hot weather persisted over Morocco, northwestern Algeria, and the Iberian Peninsula. Temperatures averaged 2°C to 5°C above normal over Spain, Portugal, and northwestern Africa, with temperatures reaching 40°C as far north as Murica, Spain (38°N) [WARM - Up to 13 weeks].

8. Western Asia:

WARMTH CONTINUES
Temperatures again averaged above normal (2°C to 4°C) across a large part of eastern Siberia and western Kazakhstan. Highs were in the low thirties across much of eastern Siberia, and reached the mid-thirties in Kazakhstan [WARM - Up to 4 weeks].

9. Northeastern China:

SCATTERED RAINS AGAIN BRING SOME RELIEF
Widely scattered thunderstorms brought moderate rain (up to 30 mm) and eased dryness in parts of northeastern China. Less than 85 mm of rain has fallen over much the area during the last 8 weeks, yielding moisture shortages of up to 115 mm [DRY - Up to 9 weeks].

10. East-Central Asia:

ANOTHER WARM WEEK
Temperatures averaged 2°C to 4°C above normal from Lake Baykal and eastern Mongolia southeastward to Japan and the East China Sea.  The mercury climbed as high as 37°C at Sainshand, Mongolia (45°N) [WARM - Up to 4 weeks].

11. Tasmania, Australia:

MORE DRY WEATHER
Little or no rain fell on most of Tasmania, but 10 to 25 mm dampened the northwestern corner of the island. Eddystone Point Light House, in northeastern Tasmania, reported less than 35 mm of rain during the past 8 weeks, resulting in a shortfall of 93 mm; however, moisture shortages elsewhere were generally under 50 mm [DRY - Up to 13 weeks].