Weekly Global Climate Highlights Map for November 24, 2001

1. North America:

UNSEASONABLY WARM CONDITIONS EXPAND
Temperatures were 6°C to 11°C above normal across south-central Canada and the north-central United States while weekly departures of +2°C to +6°C prevailed across the remainder of the region. The mercury climbed above freezing throughout southern Canada and the United States, and highs exceeded 20°C across the desert Southwest. Lows below -10°C were limited to the Rockies, northern High Plains, and southern Canadian Prairies [WARM - Up to 6 weeks].

2. Eastern North America:

MODERATE RAINS IN DEEP SOUTH; STILL VERY DRY ELSEWHERE
Light to moderate rains (25 to 100 mm) provided some relief to the central Gulf Coast, southern Appalachians, Ozarks, and lower Ohio Valley, but little or no precipitation was reported elsewhere. During the last 8 weeks, generally less than 200 mm of precipitation accumulated from the Appalachians eastward to the Atlantic Seaboard, allowing short-term moisture deficits of 100 to 170 mm to dominate the aforementioned region. Please see the United States Drought Monitor for more details [DRY - Up to 9 weeks].

3. East-Central South America:

MORE WET WEATHER
Abundant rains (50 to 100 mm) drenched Uruguay and east-central Argentina, with locally heavier amounts (up to 200 mm) in south-central Uruguay and central Buenos Aires Province of Argentina. Since the end of August, 300 to 730 mm of rain have fallen on the region, yielding 13-week moisture surpluses of 100 to 420 mm [WET - Up to 13 weeks].

4. Western and Southern Europe:

VERY DRY CONDITIONS OVERSPREAD REGION
Most of the region received little or no precipitation, with light to moderate amounts (10 to 50 mm) limited to parts of Scotland, most of Switzerland, western Austria, and former Yugoslavia. Most locations received fewer than 100 mm of precipitation during the last 8 weeks, yielding short-term moisture deficits of up to 170 mm [DRY - Up to 10 weeks].

5. Southwestern Europe:

SUBNORMAL TEMPERATURES PERSIST
Weekly departures of -2°C to -5°C dominated southern Europe from Portugal and northwestern Spain eastward to the Czech Republic. Subfreezing lows affected southwestern Europe except at immediate coastal locations, and the mercury failed to reach 20°C throughout the region [COLD - Up to 3 weeks].

6. Southern Africa:

PRECIPITATION SURPLUSES PERSIST
Heavy rains (100 to 200 mm) were restricted to Eastern Cape Province of South Africa while light to moderate precipitation (25 to 100 mm) dominated most of the remainder of southern Africa. During October and November, rainfall totaled 100 to 350 mm, allowing 8-week moisture excesses of 50 to 220 mm to accumulate [WET - Up to 8 weeks].

7. Central Asia:

MILD CONDITIONS DOMINATE
Temperatures averaged 6°C to 15°C above normal across extensive areas of central Asia from central Kazakhstan eastward to southeastern Siberia and northeastern China while weekly departures of +3°C to +6°C covered the remainder of the region. The mercury climbed above freezing throughout central Asia, but lows dipped below -20°C in central China and southern Siberia [WARM - Up to 6 weeks].

8. Southeastern Asia:

UNUSUALLY COOL WEATHER REPORTED
Weekly departures of -2°C to -5°C prevailed across the Indochina Peninsula and Hainan Island. Highs above 30°C were restricted to Thailand and southern Vietnam while readings dropped below 20°C across the entire region, except for coastal areas of Thailand and southern Vietnam [COLD - 2 weeks].

9. Central Australia:

COLD ANOMALY SHIFTS EASTWARD
Temperatures were generally 1°C to 4°C below normal across central Australia during the past week, with weekly means among the lowest 10% of the climatological distribution. Lows dipped below 10°C as far north as Roma (26°S). Despite generally below-normal temperatures, the mercury climbed above 40°C across interior portions of Queensland and the Northern Territory during the week [COLD - Up to 8 weeks].

SPECIAL NOTICE

At the end of the Atlantic Tropical Storm season the author of this product plans to discontinue depicting tropical storm tracks. Please check websites of the Tropical Prediction Center and the University of Hawaii for these data. Comments are appreciated. Thank you.