Weekly Global Climate Highlights Map for July 8, 2000

1. Alaska and Yukon Territory:

STILL VERY DRY
Little or no rain fell on Alaska and the Yukon Territory again last week; however, short-term mositure deficits remained below 100 mm [DRY - Up to 9 weeks].

2. Northern United States and Southern Canada:

MODERATE TO HEAVY RAINS REPORTED
Between 50 and 150 mm of rain drenched northeastern Montana, northwestern and eastern North Dakota, eastern Minnesota, western and eastern Wisconsin, and much of the Corn Belt, with totals of 25 to 50 mm prevailing across the remainder of the region. During the last 8 weeks, 100 to 500 mm of rain has accumulated across the northern United States and adjacent parts of southern Canada, yielding moisture surpluses of 50 to 150 mm in most areas, and excesses of 150 to 350 mm in parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin [WET - Up to 18 weeks].

3. Southeastern United States:

ABNORMALLY DRY CONDITIONS RETURN
Except for Florida, where scattered showers dropped up to 100 mm of precipitation, little or no rain fell on the Southeast, exacerbating dry conditions there. Although many locations received over 200 mm of rain during the last 8 weeks, large precipitation shortfalls (100 to 250 mm) dominated the region. Please consult the U. S. Drought Assessment for more complete coverage of this situation. [DRY - Up to 13 weeks].

4. Central Chile and West-Central Argentina:

HEAVY PRECIPITATION DOMINATES REGION
Strong Pacific storms delivered 100 to 200 mm of precipitation to central Chile and adjacent extreme western Rio Negro, Argentina while 50 to 100 mm drenched the remainder of Chile from 35°S to 45°S. Weekly totals dropped off rapidly to the north, south, and east. Since the middle of May, 400 to 1010 mm of precipitation has fallen on central Chile and west-central Argentina, resulting in moisture excesses of 100 to 450 mm [WET - Up to 8 weeks].

5. Mediterranean Region:

RECORD HEAT REPORTED
Hot weather persisted over Southern Europe, northwestern Africa, and the eastern Mediterranean. A number of daily record highs were set in the southeastern Balkans as temperatures soared into the mid 40's and averaged 5°C to 7°C above normal.  According to press accounts, the heat caused a number of human and livestock deaths. Temperatures averaged from 2°C to 5°C over normal in the remainder of the region [WARM - Up to 14 weeks].

6. Southeastern Europe and the Black Sea Region:

DROUGHT CONTINUES
No rain was reported in the Balkans and across northern Turkey, and less than than 100 mm has accumulated in much of the area since mid May, resulting in shortfalls of up to 230 mm. Extreme heat aggravated the drought conditions (see item 5 above) [DRY - Up to 14 weeks].

7. African Sahel:

DRYNESS DEVELOPS
Dryness has prevailed for the last month and a half across the Sahel from southeastern Mauritania and southern Mali eastward to the central Sudan. Little or no rain was reported except for isolated moderate to heavy rain showers (25 to 80 mm) [DRY - Up to 6 weeks].

8. Southern Africa:

NO RAIN REPORTED
No rain fell across extreme southern South Africa, and moisture deficits of 50 to 120 mm have accumulated since May 15th [DRY - Up to 5 weeks].

9. Northeastern China and Adjacent Siberia:

DRYNESS PREVAILS
Although widely scattered thunderstorms brought moderate rain (up to 30 mm) to parts of northeastern China and North Korea, little or no rain fell over most of the region. Less than 125 mm of rain has fallen during the last 8 weeks, yielding moisture shortages of up to 155 mm [DRY - Up to 10 weeks].

10. East-Central Asia:

ANOTHER WARM WEEK
Temperature departures of +2°C to +5°C again prevailed from southeastern Siberia and eastern Mongolia southeastward to Japan and the East China Sea.  The mercury climbed as high as 36°C at Pyongyang, North Korea (45°N) [WARM - Up to 5 weeks].

11. New South Wales and Southern Queensland, Australia:

UNSEASONABLY MILD WEATHER DEVELOPS
Temperatures averaged 2°C to 4°C above normal across the region, with the largest weekly departures prevailing in southwestern Queensland and the western and northeastern portions of New South Wales. The mercury approached 26°C as far south as Windorah (25°S), and reached 20°C in central New South Wales. Subfreezing lows were limited to the higher elevations of the Great Dividing Range and interior portions of New South Wales and Victoria [WARM - Up to 4 weeks].

12. Tasmania and Victoria, Australia:

ABNORMAL DRYNESS PERSISTS
Fewer than 25 mm of precipitation was reported in most of Victoria and Tasmania, except for totals of 25 to 50 mm in north-central Victoria and at a few coastal locations on Tasmania. During the last 8 weeks, most of the region received less than 200 mm of rain, allowing short-term moisture deficits of 50 to 160 mm to accumulate [DRY - Up to 14 weeks].