Weekly Global Climate Highlights Map for July 15, 2000

1. Northern United States and Southern Canada:

SCATTERED MODERATE RAIN SHOWERS MAINTAIN MOISTURE SURPLUSES
Between 50 and 100 mm of rain fell on southern Minnesota, northern Iowa, western Indiana, southern Ontario, eastern Ohio, western Pennsylvania, and much of upstate New York while weekly totals of 10 to 50 mm prevailed elsewhere. During the last 8 weeks, precipitation totaled 200 to 400 mm, maintaining moisture excesses of 100 to 350 mm in the eastern Corn Belt. Elsewhere, 8 week surpluses were generally below 100 mm [WET - Up to 19 weeks].

2. Southeastern United States:

STILL VERY DRY
Fewer than 30 mm of rain fell on the Southeast, except for widely scattered showers and thundershowers along the central Gulf Coast (50 to 100 mm) and parts of Florida and extreme southern Georgia (up to 200 mm). Although 8 week totals exceeded 200 mm in southeastern Louisiana and across Florida and southeastern Georgia, and exceeded 100 mm elsewhere, short-term precipitation shortfalls of 100 to 250 mm dominated the region [DRY - Up to 14 weeks].

3. Central and Southern South America:

COLD WAVE BRINGS SUBFREEZING TEMPERATURES
Cold air overspread much of South America from the extreme southern tip northward into Bolivia and southwestern Brazil, yielding weekly departures of -5°C to -10°C. Subfreezing temperatures pushed as far north as southern Peru, central Bolivia, and southern Brazil. The mercury plummeted below -10°C as far north as high altitude stations in central Bolivia [Episodic Event].

4. Southern South America:

A RELATIVELY DRY WEEK
Little or no precipitation fell on the region as a result of cold air settling across much of South America. Since May 21, 100 to 1010 mm of precipitation has fallen on the region, yielding moisture surpluses of 100 to 445 mm across central Chile and adjacent northwestern Argentina [WET - Up to 9 weeks].

5. Southeastern Europe, Southwestern Asia, and Northeastern Africa:

WARM ANOMALY SHIFTS SOUTHEASTWARD
Temperatures averaging 2°C to 4°C above normal prevailed across the region, with locally higher departures (up to +6°C) reported in south-central Turkey, western Cyprus, northern Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Oman. The mercury soared above 40°C in parts of Greece, western and southeastern Turkey, the Arabian Peninsula, and most of Iran [WARM - Up to 15 weeks].

6. Western Sahel:

DRYNESS CONTINUES
Moderate to heavy showers (25 to 75 mm) relieved dryness in parts of Mali and Burkina Faso, but little or no rain fell on the remainder of the region. Eight-week moisture deficits of 50 to 150 mm were reported in much of the area [DRY - Up to 7 weeks].

7. Central Africa:

RAINS EASE DRYNESS
Light to moderate rain (10 to 35 mm) eased dryness across southern Chad and the western Central African Republic. Less than 280 mm of rain has accumulated since May 21, resulting in precipitation shortfalls of up to 160 mm [DRY - Up to 7 weeks].

8. Southern Africa:

NO RAIN REPORTED
Little or no rain fell across extreme southern South Africa last week, and short-term (8-week) moisture deficits approached 100 mm [DRY - Up to 6 weeks].

9. Eastern Asia:

HIGH TEMPERATURES PERSIST
Temperatures averaged 5°C to 8°C above normal across Mongolia, with highs reaching 42°C in the southeastern portion of the country, and exceeding 30°C elsewhere. The strength of the warm anomaly dropped sharply north of the border in southern Siberia, where departures were generally less than +4°C, and highs remained below 30°C. Farther south, weekly departures of +2°C to +6°C dominated most of northern China. The mercury soared above 40°C in Xinjiang (northwestern China), extreme western Nei Mongol (near the Mongolian border), and Liaoning (west of North Korea). The high temperatures aggravated dryness in Manchuria (see item 10 below). Meanwhile, temperatures were 3°C to 4°C above normal in North Korea and northern Japan, but weekly departures were less than +3°C to the south. Highs were generally in the 25°C to 36°C range [WARM - Up to 6 weeks].

10. Northeastern China:

DRYNESS PREVAILS
Although scattered thunderstorms brought moderate to heavy rain (25 to 80 mm) to Jilin and Liaoning Provinces, little or no rain fell on the remainder of the region. Less than 125 mm of rain has fallen during the last 8 weeks, yielding moisture shortages of up to 160 mm [DRY - Up to 11 weeks].

11. Victoria and Tasmania:

UNUSUALLY DRY WEATHER PERSISTS
Light to moderate precipitation (10 to 50 mm) was limited to parts of western and southeastern Tasmania and southern Victoria. Little or none was reported elsewhere. Eight-week moisture deficits, however, were generally less than 100 mm [DRY - Up to 15 weeks].