Weekly Global Climate Highlights Map for November 23, 2002

1. Alaska and Adjacent Canada:

UNSEASONABLY MILD WEATHER DOMINATES
Temperatures averaged 6°C to 10°C above normal, with the mercury climbing above the freezing mark as far north as central Alaska. Subfreezing lows covered the entire region, with readings dropping below -20°C across most of the interior of Alaska and adjacent western Canada [WARM - Up to 8 weeks].

2. South-Central Alaska:

LOCALLY HEAVY PRECIPITATION CONTINUES
Locally heavy precipitation (100 to 500 mm) inundated isolated parts of coastal south-central Alaska while highly variable weekly totals (10 to 100 mm) prevailed across most of south-central Alaska. Between August 25 and November 23, precipitation totaled 200 to 1400 mm, allowing 13-week moisture surpluses of 50 to 300 mm to dominate the region [WET - Up to 11 weeks].

3. East-Central South America:

MORE VERY WET WEATHER
Torrential rains (100 to 200 mm) soaked extreme southern Brazil, scattered parts of northeastern Argentina, and extreme northern Uruguay. Highly variable precipitation totals (10 to 100 mm) were reported elsewhere. Rainfall accumulations since late August ranged from 100 to 1100 mm, with the largest totals along the border of Uruguay and Brazil. The 13-week precipitation excesses reached as high as 800 mm [WET - Up to 13 weeks].

4. Iberian Peninsula and Morocco:

HEAVY RAINS BATTER REGION
Heavy downpours of 100 to 200 mm drenched northern Portugal, northwestern and extreme southern Spain, and extreme northern Morocco while 25 to 100 mm fell elsewhere [Episodic Events].

5. Northern Scandinavia:

COLD AIR REMAINS ENTRENCHED
Bitterly cold air, characterized by temperatures averaging 2°C to 10°C below normal, dominated Norway, Sweden, and Finland, with the largest negative departures prevailing across the northern portions of the three countries. Lows ranged from -28°C across the northern interior to just below freezing along the southern and western coasts [COLD - Up to 8 weeks].

6. Southern Africa:

DRY ANOMALY DEVELOPS
Rainfall estimates from satellite data indicate that unusually dry conditions developed across parts of South Africa. Fewer than 25 mm of rain fell on northeastern South Africa during the past week, and 4-week totals below 40 mm were among the lowest 10% of the climatological distribution [DRY - 4 weeks].

7. East-Central Africa:

PRECIPITATION SURPLUSES REMAIN
Locally heavy rains (100 to 200 mm) soaked southern Kenya while scattered showers dropped 50 to 100 mm of rain on the remainder of southern Kenya. Precipitation totaled 100 to 600 mm during October and November, resulting in short-term moisture excesses of 50 to 325 mm [WET - Up to 7 weeks].

8. Korea and Japan:

COLD WEATHER PERSISTS
Temperatures were 2°C to 3°C below normal in Japan while weekly temperature departures of -2°C to -6°C prevailed across the Korean Peninsula. Subfreezing lows dominated both North and South Korea as well as the northern half of Japan while highs above 20°C were restricted to the Ryukyus [COLD - Up to 6 weeks].

9. Eastern Australia:

STILL VERY DRY
Little or no rain fell on eastern Australia, except for a few isolated showers of 10 to 25 mm along the eastern coastal regions. With fewer than 120 mm of rain accumulating during the past 8 weeks, precipitation shortfalls ranged from 50 to 200 mm [DRY - Up to 9 weeks].

10. Southeastern Australia:

HIGH TEMPERATURES PREVAIL
Weekly departures of +2°C to +5°C prevailed across New South Wales, Victoria, and eastern South Australia, with highs ranging from 31°C to 41°C [WARM - Up to 6 weeks].