Weekly Global Climate Highlights

1. Alaska and Northwestern Canada:

MORE CHILLY WEATHER Temperatures were 2°C to 5°C below normal, with weekly departures reaching -7°C at some locations in the Northwest Territories. Lows plummeted to -3°C at a few locations while the mercury failed to reach 20°C except in the extreme southeastern fringes of the region [COLD - Up to 3 weeks].

2. Western Montana:

DRYNESS EXACERBATES WILDFIRES Thunderstorms with dry lightning (where the rain fails to reach the ground) aggravated the wildfire situation in much of the West, particularly in western Montana (area depicted on map). Little or no rain was reported again last week, but 8-week precipitation shortfalls remained below 100 mm [DRY - Up to 6 weeks].

3. Central United States:

HIGH TEMPERATURES PERSIST Weekly departures of +3°C to +6°C dominated the central and southern Great Plains, with weekly departures reaching 7°C in Kansas. Highs reached 40°C in central and eastern Kansas, western Oklahoma, and southern Texas while lows remained above 20°C as far north as northeastern Kansas. The unusually high temperatures aggravated very dry conditions across the southern Plains [WARM - Up to 6 weeks].

4. Southern and Central United States:

ABNORMALLY DRY CONDITIONS SPREAD NORTHWARD Little or no rain fell on the central and southern Great Plains during the past week, allowing 8-week moisture deficits of 50 to 150 mm to dominate the region. In addition, some locations have not received measurable precipitation during the last 2 months. Meanwhile, scattered showers delivered up to 50 mm of rain to the Southeast, but 8-week precipitation shortfalls reached as high as 200 mm. See the U.S. Drought Monitor for additional details [DRY - Up to 20 weeks].

5. Northeastern United States:

ANOTHER UNSEASONABLY COOL SPELL Cool weather, characterized by weekly departures of -2°C to -4°C, returned to the mid-Atlantic and southern New England. Lows reached 6°C at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, PA (41°N) and 3°C at Berlin, NH (45°N) [COLD - Up to 2 weeks].

6. Eastern Canada:

STILL VERY WARM Temperatures averaging 2°C to locally 4°C above normal persisted across the Maritime Provinces of Canada, with highs ranging from 20°C to 25°C [WARM - Up to 7 weeks].

7. Central South America:

UNSEASONABLY WARM CONDITIONS REPORTED Temperatures were 6°C to 8°C above normal in Paraguay and extreme southern Brazil while weekly departures of +2°C to +6°C covered the remainder of the region. The mercury soared above 30°C as far south as central Uruguay while lows remained above freezing across the entire region [WARM - Up to 3 weeks].

8. Central Europe:

DRY WEATHER CONTINUES Little or no rain was reported from the eastern Alps and Italy eastward to the Black Sea and Ukraine. Meanwhile, fewer than 30 mm of rain fell on England, but up to 50 mm brought some relief to parts of France. Short-term precipitation shortfalls of 100 to 180 mm dominated southeastern Europe, but 8-week moisture deficits were less than 100 mm elsewhere [DRY - Up to 9 weeks].

9. Central and Southern Europe, Northern Sections of Algeria and Tunisia:

HIGH TEMPERATURES PREVAIL Weekly departures of +2°C to +5°C dominated Europe from eastern Spain and western France eastward to the Black Sea, with temperatures as much as 6°C above normal in southeastern Europe. Highs ranged from 30°C to 39°C across the region and reached 40°C in Hungary, Yugoslavia, Romania, Italy, and Malta. Farther south, weekly departures of +3°C to +6°C covered northern Algeria and northern Tunisia, with the mercury soaring above 40°C [WARM - Up to 9 weeks].

10. South Africa:

UNUSUALLY WARM WEATHER DEVELOPS Temperatures averaged 2°C to 4°C above normal across much of South Africa, with highs reaching 31°C as far south as East London (33°S). Subfreezing lows were limited to the higher elevations of the interior of South Africa [WARM - Up to 4 weeks].

11. Coastal South Africa:

DRY WEATHER RETURNS Little or no rain fell on the coast of southern South Africa for the 5th consecutive week, with short-term moisture deficits of 50 to 100 mm [DRY - Up to 5 weeks].

12. Central Siberia:

WARMTH CONTINUES Temperature departures of +2°C to +8°C again prevailed over much of central Siberia as the mercury soared to 25°C as far north as Hatanga, Russia (72°N) [WARM - Up to 4 weeks].

13. Japan:

HEAT PERSISTS Hot weather continued to prevail across Japan as temperatures averaged 2°C to 4°C above normal and reached into the mid to upper thirties (°C) over much of the archipelago [WARM - Up to 12 weeks].

14. Southeastern China and Indochina Peninsula:

TYPHOON BILIS STRIKES TAIWAN AND CHINA; TROPICAL STORM KAEMI DRENCHES INDOCHINA PENINSULA Typhoon Bilis pummeled Taiwan with winds up to 260 kph and torrential rains of up to 450 mm, causing widespread flooding, mud slides, and several deaths (according to press reports). The storm weakened as it moved into the Chinese mainland, but brought more heavy rain (100 to 300 mm) to Fujian and northern Guangdong Provinces. Further south, Tropical Storm Kaemi dumped torrential rains (up to 320 mm) on central and southern Vietnam, southern Laos, Cambodia, and eastern Thailand (Episodic Events). Since early July, 300 to 1200 mm of rain has inundated much of southeastern China and the eastern Indochina Peninsula, yielding short-term moisture surpluses of 50 to 450 mm [WET - Up to 8 weeks].

15. Myanmar, Northwestern Thailand, and Adjacent South-Central China:

RAINS EASE DRYNESS Thunderstorms brought moderate to heavy rain (25 to 60 mm) to northern Thailand and China's Yunnan Province relieving dryness. Little or no rain, however, was reported across the remainder of the region. During the last 8 weeks, moisture deficits of 60 to 180 mm have prevailed across the area [DRY - Up to 7 weeks].

16. Northern Sumatra and Southern Peninsular Malaysia:

WETNESS CONTINUES Scattered thunderstorms again soaked northern Sumatra and southern Malaysia with moderate to heavy rain (25 to 150 mm). Since early July, 350 to 700 mm has fallen on the region, generating moisture excesses of 60 to 200 mm [WET - Up to 9 weeks].