Weekly Global Climate Highlights Map for September 8, 2001

1. Southern Canada and North-Central United States:

UNUSUALLY DRY CONDITIONS DEVELOP
For the 5th consecutive week, little or no rain has fallen on Alberta, southern Manitoba, northeastern Montana, and western North Dakota [DRY - Up to 6 weeks].

2. Northeastern United States and Adjacent Canada:

LITTLE OR NO RAIN REPORTED
Except for 25 to 100 mm of rain in parts of south-central Maine, the lack of precipitation dominated the mid-Atlantic and New England. Fewer than 150 mm of rain has fallen on the region during the last 8 weeks, allowing short-term moisture deficits of 50 to 200 mm to accumulate [DRY - Up to 12 weeks].

3. Southern United States:

A SECOND WEEK OF HEAVY RAINS
Torrential downpours (100 to 200 mm) soaked eastern Texas, southern Mississippi, and much of Alabama while 25 to 100 mm fell on the South from central Texas eastward through eastern Alabama. Between 200 and 525 mm of rain has accumulated across the South, allowing short-term moisture excesses to range from 50 to 250 mm [WET - Up to 5 weeks].

4. Mexico and the Caribbean:

PRECIPITATION DEFICITS PERSIST; ERIN REACHES HURRICANE STRENGTH
Although moderate to heavy rain (25 to 200 mm) fell on a few locations in central Mexico, most of the region received little or none. Precipitation shortfalls for the last 8 weeks generally ranged from 50 to 250 mm [DRY - Up to 18 weeks]. On September 8, Erin became the season's first Atlantic Hurricane, but the storm just grazed Bermuda in the North Atlantic [Episodic Event].

5. Uruguay, Eastern Paraguay, and Southern Brazil:

WARM WEATHER DOMINATES
Weekly departures of +2°C to +6°C prevailed across Uruguay, eastern Paraguay, and southern Brazil, with locally larger departures (+6°C to +10°C) reported in east-central and southern Paraguay and in southeastern Brazil. The mercury soared above 30°C across the region north of 30°N, but readings rapidly decreased to the south. Temperatures remained above freezing throughout the week [WARM - Up to 6 weeks].

6. East-Central South America:

TORRENTIAL RAINS DRENCH URUGUAY AND SOUTHERN BRAZIL
Excessive rains (more than 200 mm) inundated northern and eastern Uruguay and extreme southern Brazil while moderate to heavy precipitation (50 to 200 mm) fell on Rio Grande do Sul state of southern Brazil and the remainder of Uruguay. Weekly totals diminished rapidly beyond the aforementioned areas. Between 100 and 400 mm of precipitation has fallen on the region since the middle of July, resulting in short-term excesses of 50 to 200 mm [WET - Up to 8 weeks].

7. Southern Africa:

 WARM ANOMALY PREVAILS
Temperatures averaged 2°C to 4°C more than normal over much of Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and northeastern South Africa. The mercury climbed to as high as 39°C at Tete, Mozambique (16°S) [WARM - Up to 5 weeks].

8. Central Asia:

WARMTH REMAINS
Weekly temperature departures of +2°C to +5°C again prevailed over south central Siberia and much of Mongolia. The mercury reached as high as 32°C at Choibalsan, Mongolia (48°N) [WARM - Up to 21 weeks].

9. East-Central Asia:

DRYNESS DEVELOPS
Scattered showers (10 to 60 mm) brought some relief to dry conditions in a large area reaching from Guizhou Province of China northeastward to eastern Manchuria. During the past 8 weeks, moisture deficits of 50 to 150 mm have accumulated in much of the region [DRY - Up to 12 weeks].

10. Southeastern China:

MORE TORRENTIAL RAINS
Between 200 and 500 mm of rain drenched coastal southeastern China for the second consecutive week while moderate to heavy showers dumped 50 to 200 mm across the remainder of the region, with some of the rains fueled by the remnants of Typhoon Nari. Since the middle of July, 300 to over 1000 mm of rain generated short-term moisture excesses of 200 to 600 mm [WET - 6 weeks].

11. Australia:

COLD ANOMALY ABATES
Temperatures were within 3°C of normal at most locations. Highs reached the thirties (°C) across the northern half of the region, but remained in the twenties (°C) elsewhere. Lows reached 1°C as far north as Mount Isa (21°S) [COLD - Ending at 4 weeks].