Weekly Global Climate Highlights Map for August 12, 2000

1. Western Montana:

VERY DRY WEATHER EXACERBATES WILDFIRES
Little or no rain fell on western Montana for the 5th consecutive week, aggravating wildfire conditions in the state [DRY - 4 weeks].

2. Western and Central United States:

HIGH TEMPERATURES ABET WILDFIRE CONDITIONS ACROSS THE REGION
Weekly departures of +2°C to +6°C dominated the region from the Sierra Nevada and Cascades eastward through the central Great Plains, with highs exceeding 40°C in the desert Southwest and at a few locations in the Great Plains from North Dakota southward to Texas. Low relative humidities combined with high temperatures to exacerbate the serious wildfire situation in many areas throughout the West [WARM - Up to 4 weeks].

3. Mexico and Southern United States:

STILL VERY DRY
Fewer than 30 mm of rain fell on the region, except for locally moderate to heavy (30 to 200 mm) showers along the Gulf Coast, particularly southeastern Louisiana, southern Mississippi, and southwestern Alabama. Short-term (8-week) precipitation shortfalls ranged from 50 to 185 mm. Please see the U. S. Drought Monitor for more details [DRY - Up to 18 weeks].

4. Northeastern United States:

TORRENTIAL RAINS CAUSE SIGNIFICANT FLOODING
Locally heavy showers and thunderstorms dumped as much as 350 mm of rain on parts of New Jersey at the end of the week. The torrential rains caused serious flooding in some areas and resulted in the rupture of at least one dam, according to press reports. Meanwhile, up to 200 mm of rain drenched parts of southern New England [Episodic Events].

5. Western Europe:

DRYNESS DEVELOPS
Little or no rain again fell across most of the British Isles and northern France, and fewer than 50 mm have fallen in the region during the last 8 weeks. Moisture deficits of up to 160 mm have accumulated during this period [DRY - Up to 7 weeks].

6. Southeastern Europe, Northwestern Asia, and Northeastern Africa:

WARM ANOMALY ABATES
Temperatures were 1°C to 4°C above normal across the region, but weekly departures reached +6°C at Oman. Highs exceeded 40°C in southeastern Egypt, northeastern Sudan, the Arabian Peninsula, southeastern Turkey, and western Iran, and weekly lows remained above 30°C at some locations in Saudi Arabia and south-central Iran [WARM - Up to 7 weeks].

7. Central and Eastern Asia:

WARM ANOMALY SPREADS NORTHWESTWARD
Temperatures averaged 3°C to 6°C above normal across much of western and southern Siberia, with locally higher departures (+7°C to +10°C) in northwestern Siberia and just north of Lake Baykal. Weekly departures of +3°C to +6°C also covered northern Mongolia and northeastern China while temperatures were within 3°C of normal elsewhere. Highs reached 30°C as far north as 63°N in central Siberia, and dominated most of the region south of 60°N, except for Hokkaido Island of Japan. The mercury remained above 20°C throughout eastern China, the Korean Peninsula, and the central and southern portions of Japan [WARM - Up to 10 weeks].

8. East-Central China:

RAINS EASE DRYNESS
Moderate to heavy rain (20 to 180 mm) eased dryness from China's Provinces of Sichuan and Gansu eastward to the Yellow Sea.  Despite the rains, short-term moisture deficits of 50 to 200 mm still prevailed in parts of the region [DRY - Up to 15 weeks].

9. Southern China:

SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS BRING HEAVY RAIN
Thunderstorms soaked parts of the area from Guangxi eastward to Fujian with heavy rain (50 to 100 mm). During the past 8 weeks, 500 to 1000 mm of precipitation have fallen on the region, yielding moisture surpluses of 70 to 300 mm [WET  - Up to 6 weeks].

10. Western Indonesia and Southern Malaysia:

WETNESS DEVELOPS
Thunderstorms doused much of Sumatra, southern Malaysia, and western Borneo with moderate to heavy rain (25 to 200 mm). Since the middle of June, the region has received 290 to 450 mm of rain, resulting in precipitation excesses of 60 to 190 mm [WET - Up to 7 weeks].