Weekly Global Climate Highlights Map for June 9, 2001

1. Southwestern United States and Northern Mexico:

WARM ANOMALY WEAKENS
Temperatures were 2°C to 3°C above normal, with isolated locations reporting weekly temperature departures of up to 4°C. Highs of 40°C to 44°C dominated southeastern California, southern Nevada, and the southern and western portions of Arizona. In addition, the mercury soared above 40°C in western Texas. Elsewhere, readings were in the thirties (°C) [WARM - Up to 6 weeks].

2. Southeastern Texas and Southern Louisiana:

REMNANTS OF TROPICAL STORM ALLISON INUNDATE GULF COAST
Torrential rains (200 to 500 mm, locally up to 750 mm) resulted in serious wide-spread flooding, loss of several lives, and approximately one billion dollars in damage, according to press reports. As Tropical Storm Allison weakened, the circulation pattern persisted across southeastern Texas for several days, allowing excessive rains to pummel the area. Subsequently, the circulation, accompanied by heavy rains, began drifting slowly northeastward into Louisiana [Episodic Event].

3. Western Great Lakes:

UNUSUALLY WET CONDITIONS PERSIST IN ILLINOIS AND INDIANA
Between 50 and 150 mm of rain soaked central Illinois and southwestern Indiana while 25 to 50 mm fell on southwestern Ohio and the remainders of Illinois and Indiana. Elsewhere, fewer than 25 mm were reported. Since the middle of April, 175 to 350 mm of rain has fallen on the eastern Corn Belt, allowing short-term moisture excesses of 50 to 150 mm to accumulate [WET - Up to 12 weeks].

4. East-Central United States:

UNSEASONABLY COOL WEATHER STARTS TO EASE
Weekly departures of -2°C to -5°C dominated the region; however, warmer weather began displacing the very cool conditions as the week ended. Lows dropped below 10°C across most of the region, but readings of 30°C or higher were restricted to the southern sections of Illinois, Indiana, and Virginia [COLD - Up to 4 weeks].

5. Central South America:

POSITIVE TEMPERATURE DEPARTURES DOMINATE REGION
Temperatures averaged 2°C to 6°C above normal across South America from central Brazil southward through central Argentina, with weekly departures of +6°C to +7°C reported in southern Paraguay, east-central Argentina, and western Uruguay. Readings in the thirties (°C) prevailed across Paraguay and occurred at scattered locations in southern Brazil while highs in the twenties (°C) covered Uruguay and Argentina. Subfreezing lows retreated to central Buenos Aires province [WARM - Up to 3 weeks].

6. Uruguay and Adjacent Parts of East-Central Argentina:

WET WEATHER RETURNS
For the second consecutive week, moderate to heavy rains (50 to 100 mm) drenched Entre Rios and southeastern Santa Fe Provinces of Argentina and all of Uruguay, with 100 to 200 mm reported in central Uruguay. Despite an interlude of relatively dry weather during the middle of May, the region has received 200 to 550 mm of rain during the last 8 weeks, resulting in short-term moisture surpluses ranging from 50 to 400 mm [WET - Up to 9 weeks].

7. Northern and Eastern Europe:

COLD WEATHER CONTINUES
Temperatures averaged 2°C to 4°C below normal from southern Sweden eastward to southern Finland and southeastward into European Russia. The mercury remained above freezing over almost all the region [COLD - Up to 5 weeks].

8. Southern Europe:

RAINS EASE DRYNESS
Light to moderate rains (25 to 40 mm) were scattered across Europe in the lower elevations from France and northeastern Spain eastward to the Black Sea. Meanwhile, heavy precipitation (up to 150 mm) doused much of the higher elevations. Since April 15th, less than 100 mm (except in the higher elevations) has fallen on much of the region, yielding moisture deficits of 50 to 170 mm [DRY - Up to 8 weeks].

9. Southwestern Europe and Northwestern Africa:

 WARM ANOMALY REMAINS
Temperature departures of +3°C to +6°C again covered western Spain, Morocco, northern Algeria, and Tunisia.  Readings climbed as high as 38°C at Malaga, Spain (37°N) and 41°C at Tozeur, Tunisia (34°N) [WARM - Up to 4 weeks].

10. Eastern Asia:

HOT WEATHER CONTINUES
High temperatures (weekly departures of +2°C to +7°C) covered a large region from central Siberia southward across Mongolia and southeastward into Japan. The mercury reached as high as 37°C at Hamhung, Korea (40°N) [WARM - Up to 9 weeks].

11. East-Central Asia:

DRYNESS CONTINUES OVER MOST OF REGION
Moderate rains of 15 to 30 mm were limited to widely scattered locations in Korea and Jilin Province of China. Meanwhile, little or no rain fell on the remainder of the region. During the last 8 weeks, moisture deficits of 50 to 160 mm have accumulated in much of the area [DRY - Up to 15 weeks].

12. Southwestern Australia:

COLD ANOMALY DEVELOPS
Unusually cold weather, characterized by temperatures averaging 2°C to 3°C below normal prevailed across southwestern Australia. The mercury failed to reach 20°C across the region while lows of 1°C to 9°C dominated the southwestern quadrant of Western Australia [COLD - Up to 2 weeks].