Weekly Global Climate Highlights Map for June 15, 2002

1. North-Central United States and South-Central Canada:

COOL, WET CONDITIONS DOMINATE
Moderate to heavy rains (50 to 200 mm) drenched parts of Montana, the Dakotas, Minnesota, and adjacent parts of Canada. Significant flooding has affected parts of Minnesota, according to press reports [Episodic Events]. Temperatures were 2°C to 5°C below normal across north-central Montana, southern Alberta, and southwestern Saskatchewan during the past week. Lows generally ranged from -5°C to 5°C across the region while highs were generally in the twenties (°C) [COLD - 2 weeks].

2. Southeastern United States:

MOISTURE DEFICITS RETURN
Although 25 to 100 mm of rain fell on scattered locations of the south-central states, most of the region received fewer than 25 mm of precipitation. Rainfall totals for the last 13 weeks generally ranged from 100 to 325 mm, with precipitation shortfalls of 50 to 260 mm. Please see the United States Drought Monitor for more details [DRY - Up to 11 weeks].

3. Western Caribbean Basin:

HEAVY RAINS DRENCH BAHAMAS, FLORIDA, AND CUBA
Torrential rains (100 to 200 mm, with isolated higher amounts) soaked the Bahamas, southern Florida, and western Cuba during the past week. The remainder of the area received 25 to 100 mm of rain [Episodic Events].

4. Southern South America:

COLD AIR OVERSPREADS CHILE AND ARGENTINA
Cold air, characterized by weekly temperatures averaging 2°C to 5°C below normal, invaded most of Chile and Argentina, resulting in subfreezing lows across the two countries and readings approaching -11°C in west-central Argentina. The mercury failed to reach 20°C across the affected area [COLD - Up to 3 weeks].

5. Northern Europe and North Atlantic:

WARM ANOMALY PREVAILS ACROSS REGION
Weekly temperature departures of +2°C to +6°C covered much of Scandinavia, Iceland, and eastern Greenland, with larger positive departures in Norway (up to +8°C) and Sweden (up to +10°C). Highs generally ranged from 15°C to 28°C while the mercury generally remained above the freezing mark, except in Greenland [WARM - Up to 11 weeks].

6. British Isles:

UNUSUALLY WET CONDITIONS PERSIST
Weekly precipitation totaled 25 to 100 mm, with locally heavier amounts (up to 200 mm) reported in southern Scotland. Between April 21 and June 15, precipitation amounts ranged from 100 to 400 mm, resulting in short-term moisture excesses of 50 to 250 mm [WET - Up to 10 weeks].

7. Eastern Europe and Western Asia:

VERY DRY WEATHER CONTINUES
Little or no rain fell on western Russia and northern Europe, except for light to moderate amounts (10 to 50 mm) in the Baltic States. During the last 13 weeks, precipitation generally totaled less than 125 mm, allowing moisture deficits to range from 50 to 135 mm [DRY - Up to 12 weeks].

8. Western Sahel:

ABOVE-NORMAL TEMPERATURES REPORTED
Temperatures averaged 2°C to 3°C above normal across the western Sahel, with the mercury reaching 38°C to 47°C [WARM - 6 weeks].

9. Kazakhstan:

COOL AIR REMAINS ENTRENCHED
Weekly departures of -2°C to -5°C prevailed across Kazakhstan, with lows ranging from 5°C to 15°C. The mercury generally remained below 30°C throughout the week [COLD - Up to 8 weeks].

10. Eastern Asia:

DRY ANOMALY SPREADS INTO CHINA, WEAKENS IN JAPAN AND KOREA
Moderate rains (25 to 100 mm) brought limited relief to Japan and the Korean Peninsula. Meanwhile,  fewer than 50 mm of rain fell on east-central China, and little or none was reported in southeastern Siberia. During the last 8 weeks, fewer than 100 mm of precipitation accumulated in southeastern Siberia and the Korean Peninsula, but short-term moisture deficits were generally less than 150 mm. Further south and east, as much as 400 mm of precipitation fell on Japan and east-central China, yielding moisture shortages of 50 to 300 mm [DRY - Up to 8 weeks].

11. Indonesia:

PRECIPITATION DEFICITS REMAIN
Light to moderate rains (25 to 100 mm) dampened southern Sumatra and western Java during the past week. Although as much as 715 mm of rain fell on the archipelago since April 21, short-term moisture deficits reached as high as 340 mm [DRY Up to 9 weeks].