Weekly Global Climate Highlights Map for October 19, 2002

1. Southern Alaska:

UNUSUALLY MILD WEATHER OVERSPREADS REGION
Temperatures were 2°C to 7°C above normal across the southern half of Alaska, with weekly highs generally ranging from 5°C to 15°C. The mercury remained above -10°C across the southern third of Alaska [WARM - Up to 3 weeks].

2. South-Central Alaska:

VERY WET CONDITIONS PREVAIL
Weekly precipitation totaled 25 to 100 mm. During the last 4 weeks, precipitation generally totaled 60 to 170 mm while almost 340 mm accumulated at Kodiak. The 28-day totals were among the highest 10% of the climatological distribution for the most recent 4-week period [WET - Up to 6 weeks].

3. Central Portions of Canada and the United States:

COLD AIR PUSHES SOUTHWARD
Unusually cold weather, characterized by weekly temperature departures of -3°C to -7°C, dominated the central United States and the Prairie Provinces of Canada. Subfreezing lows pushed as far south as northern Oklahoma while lows of -10°C to -22°C prevailed across south-central Canada. The mercury failed to reach the freezing mark in the northern portions of Manitoba and Saskatchewan, but highs were in the twenties (°C) in the central and southern United States [COLD - Up to 4 weeks].

4. South America:

ABOVE-NORMAL TEMPERATURES DOMINATE SOUTH AMERICA
Temperatures averaged 3°C to 6°C above normal from central Argentina northward to central Brazil, but weekly departures ranged from +2°C to +3°C further north. Highs soared above 40°C in northwestern Argentina and western Paraguay while readings were in the thirties (°C) across the remainder of the region. The mercury remained above freezing north of 40°S, and did not fall below 20°C across much of northern and central Brazil [WARM - Up to 5 weeks].

5. East-Central South America:

HEAVY RAINS PERSIST
Between 25 and 100 mm of rain fell on Uruguay and extreme southern Brazil last week. Heavy rains since September 29th have dropped over 250 mm of rain across western sections of Rio Grande Do Sul, the southern most state of Brazil. This has resulted in 30-day totals of more than twice the climatological average [WET - Up to 8 weeks].

6. Central Chile:

MORE VERY WET WEATHER
Moderate to heavy precipitation (50 to 200 mm) soaked central Chile. During the 28 days, rainfall totals of 100 to 425 mm were among the highest 10% of the climatological distribution for the given 4-week period [WET - Up to 6 weeks].

7. Central Europe:

UNUSUALLY WET CONDITIONS DEVELOP
Weekly precipitation totals ranged from 25 to 100 mm, with locally higher amounts approaching 200 mm at higher elevations in the Alps. Since late August, 200 to 500 mm of precipitation has accumulated, yielding short-term moisture surpluses of 50 to 260 mm [WET - Up to 7 weeks].

8. Northern and Central Europe:

COLD AIR DOMINATES EUROPE
Temperatures were 2°C to 4°C below normal across central Europe while weekly departures of -3°C to -7°C dominated northern Europe. Lows ranged from -10°C to -20°C across most of Scandinavia while subfreezing lows dominated much of central Europe. The mercury failed to reach 20°C throughout the region [COLD - Up to 3 weeks].

9. Southern Asia:

EXTENSIVE WARM ANOMALY REMAINS
Temperatures averaged 2°C to 4°C above normal across Asia from eastern Turkey and central Saudi Arabia eastward to the Pacific Coast of China. Locally higher departures (+5°C to +7°C) were reported in central China and central Iran. Highs of 40°C to 44°C were reported on parts of the Arabian Peninsula, southern Pakistan, and western India while readings in the thirties (°C) dominated all of southern Asia. The mercury reached 20°C as far north as southern Kazakhstan, northern China, and southern Mongolia. Subfreezing lows were restricted to Kazakhstan and the western and northern sections of China [WARM - Up to 7 weeks].