Mother's Day 2015 was a strange one, meteorologically.
First, Tropical Storm Ana became the record earliest tropical or subtropical storm to make landfall on the U.S. Atlantic seaboard (neglecting a weird Groundhog Day 1952 Florida tropical storm), according to Stu Ostro, senior meteorologist at The Weather Channel.
Since
it was still only early May, High Plains snowstorms were still within
the realm of climatological possibility, and 2015 delivered with Winter Storm Venus dumping up to 2 feet of snow.
A landfalling tropical storm and a major winter storm simultaneously hitting on one early May weekend. Amazingly, this wasn't the first time this has happened -- but it's still rare enough to make our list.
https://weather.com/science/weather-explainers/news/tropical-storm-hurricane-landfall-winter-storm-same-time
Thursday, June 29, 2017
Brutal Winter to Record-Warm May
Syracuse, New York - 2015 Temperatures Through Late June
Daily high and low temperatures (dark blue trace) in
2015 through June 24. Blue arrows highlight period of persistent winter
cold. Red arrows highlight period of persistent spring warmth. The
average daily temperature range is shown by the brown-shaded area.
(NWS-Binghamton)
February 2015 wasn't just the record coldest February in Syracuse, New York. It was also their coldest single month dating to 1903. Their average temperature during the month, taking into account actual highs and lows, was 9 degrees.
By May, the pattern shifted, making record warmth the talk of the Northeast. New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island each sweat through their record warmest May. Cities such as Concord, New Hampshire, and Rochester, New York, set record warm Mays. Syracuse just missed out on that lofty pedestal marking their third warmest May.
https://weather.com/news/news/top-five-coldest-february-midwest-northeast
Strange Severe Slump
Map of all severe thunderstorm and tornado watches
issued by the Storm Prediction Center from March 1-23, 2015. That's
right, there were none.
(Storm Prediction Center)
"This has never happened in the record of SPC watches dating back to 1970," said Greg Carbin, Storm Prediction Center warning coordination meteorologist in a SPC. "We are in uncharted territory with respect to lack of severe weather."
March 2015 ended with only 10 tornadoes nationwide, the fewest in any March since 1969. Over the previous 20 years, 78 tornadoes have touched down in March. This followed a February with only three tornadoes.
A jet-stream pattern suppressing warm, moist Gulf of Mexico air from making it into the central and eastern U.S. helped to put a lid on severe weather from January 5 through March 23. The virtual absence of any severe thunderstorms deep into March was odd, to say the least.
https://weather.com/storms/tornado/news/lack-severe-tornado-watches-march-2015
2017 hurricane season follows year of extremes
The 2016 Hurricane Season is the longest
hurricane season since 1951, making the 2016 season the 2nd longest on
record. That's the conclusion drawn in a paper just published in Geophysical Research Letters.
Lead author Jennifer Collins, PhD, associate professor in the School
of Geosciences at the University of South Florida in Tampa, FL, writes
"Overall 2016 was notable for a series of extremes, some rarely and a
few never before observed in the Atlantic basin, a potential harbinger
of seasons to come in the face of ongoing global climate change."
"The 2016 North Atlantic Hurricane Season: A season of Extremes" examines 15 tropical storms, seven hurricanes and three intense hurricanes. The season was slightly above average when considering Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE), which the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) uses to measure cyclonic activity.
Hurricane Alex started the 2016 season in January, causing minor damage in the Azores. The season ended 318 days later in late November when Otto made landfall over southern Central America. Otto was record-breaking in location and intensity being a high-end Category 2 storm.
In October, Hurricane Matthew became a Category 5 at the southernmost latitude on record for the North Atlantic Ocean. It was the first Category 5 in almost a decade and ended the longest stretch without one since 1950. Matthew claimed more than 600 lives, mainly in Haiti, and caused $15 billion in damage.
Up until that point, conditions had been extremely dry. A dramatic change in relative humidity lead to the month generating more than 50% of the season's ACE. It's also the first October to have two Category 4 or stronger storms.
"The 2016 North Atlantic Hurricane Season: A season of Extremes" examines 15 tropical storms, seven hurricanes and three intense hurricanes. The season was slightly above average when considering Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE), which the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) uses to measure cyclonic activity.
Hurricane Alex started the 2016 season in January, causing minor damage in the Azores. The season ended 318 days later in late November when Otto made landfall over southern Central America. Otto was record-breaking in location and intensity being a high-end Category 2 storm.
In October, Hurricane Matthew became a Category 5 at the southernmost latitude on record for the North Atlantic Ocean. It was the first Category 5 in almost a decade and ended the longest stretch without one since 1950. Matthew claimed more than 600 lives, mainly in Haiti, and caused $15 billion in damage.
Up until that point, conditions had been extremely dry. A dramatic change in relative humidity lead to the month generating more than 50% of the season's ACE. It's also the first October to have two Category 4 or stronger storms.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/06/170601124426.htm
Increased risk of ozone loss over the United States in summer
A new study out of Harvard University reveals
that the protective stratospheric ozone layer above the central United
States is vulnerable to erosion during the summer months from
ozone-depleting chemical reactions, exposing people, livestock and crops
to the harmful effects of UV radiation.
Powerful storm systems common to the Great Plains inject water vapor
that, with observed temperature variations, can trigger the same
chemical reactions over the central United States that are the cause of
ozone loss over the polar regions, according to a new paper published in
the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.The paper, led by James G. Anderson, the Philip S. Weld Professor of Atmospheric Chemistry at the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS), found that stratospheric ozone concentrations over the United States in summer are vulnerable to both increases in water vapor and observed variations in temperature from storm systems over the Great Plains. Increased frequency and intensity of these storm systems, as well as longer-term decreases in stratospheric temperatures, are expected to accompany climate change.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/06/170605155935.htm
The dust storm microbiome
Israel is subjected to sand and dust storms
from several directions: northeast from the Sahara, northwest from Saudi
Arabia and southwest from the desert regions of Syria. The airborne
dust carried in these storms affects the health of people and ecosystems
alike. New research at the Weizmann Institute of Science suggests that
part of the effect might not be in the particles of dust but rather in
bacteria that cling to them, traveling many kilometers in the air with
the storms.
Some of these bacteria might be pathogenic -- harmful to us or the
environment -- and a few of them also carry genes for antibiotic
resistance. Others may induce ecosystem functions such as nitrogen
fixation. Prof. Yinon Rudich and his research group, including
postdoctoral fellow Dr. Daniela Gat and former research student Yinon
Mazar, in Weizmann's Earth and Planetary Sciences Department
investigated the genetics of the windborne bacteria arriving along with
the dust.https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/06/170627105407.htm
Widespread snowmelt in West Antarctica during unusually warm summer
An area of West Antarctica more than twice
the size of California partially melted in 2016 when warm winds forced
by an especially strong El Nino blew over the continent, an
international group of researchers has determined.
In the June 15 issue of the journal Nature Communications,
they report that the warm spell persisted for more than two weeks in
January 2016. Satellite data revealed a mix of melted snow and ice over
most of the Ross Ice Shelf -- a thick platform of floating ice that
channels about a third of the ice flowing from the West Antarctic Ice
Sheet into the ocean.https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/06/170615084601.htm
Extreme weather events linked to climate change impact on the jet stream
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Unprecedented summer warmth and flooding, forest fires, drought and torrential rain — extreme weather events are occurring more and more often, but now an international team of climate scientists has found a connection between many extreme weather events and the impact climate change is having on the jet stream.
The unusual weather events that piqued the researchers' interest are things such as the 2003 European heat wave, the 2010 Pakistan flood and Russian heatwave, the 2011 Texas and Oklahoma heat wave and drought and the 2015 California wildfires.
This constrained configuration of the jet stream is like a rollercoaster with high peaks and valleys, but only forms when there are six, seven or eight pairs of peaks and valleys surrounding the globe. The jet stream can then behave as if there is a waveguide — uncrossable barriers in the north and south — and a wave with large peaks and valleys can occur.
http://news.psu.edu/story/458049/2017/03/27/research/extreme-weather-events-linked-climate-change-impact-jet-stream
The unusual weather events that piqued the researchers' interest are things such as the 2003 European heat wave, the 2010 Pakistan flood and Russian heatwave, the 2011 Texas and Oklahoma heat wave and drought and the 2015 California wildfires.
This constrained configuration of the jet stream is like a rollercoaster with high peaks and valleys, but only forms when there are six, seven or eight pairs of peaks and valleys surrounding the globe. The jet stream can then behave as if there is a waveguide — uncrossable barriers in the north and south — and a wave with large peaks and valleys can occur.
http://news.psu.edu/story/458049/2017/03/27/research/extreme-weather-events-linked-climate-change-impact-jet-stream
Unusual weather: Fall of 2016 was the warmest on record in Iceland
The autumn of 2016 was by far the warmest on record in Iceland. The
fall temperatures in Akureyri, in North Iceland, were significantly
higher than any on record, and those in Reykjavík the second highest, the local newspaper reported.
Trausti Jónsson, Iceland‘s most trusted meteorologist, explains the unusually high temperatures by the prevalence of southerly winds during the fall, and the unusually warm temperature of northerly winds. "Freezing temperatures have not accompanies northern winds in the same degree as usually, which is connected to the unusually low quantity of sea ice in Arctic waters."
According to the Icelandic Meteorological Office, the average temperature in Reykjavík during November was 3.5°C (°F) which is 0.9°C ( °F) higher than the average of the past 10 years, and 2.4°C (°F) above the average temperature in 1961-1990, while the heat in Akureyri was 3°C (°F) which was 3.4°C (°F) and 2.3°C (°F) above the average of the past 10 years.
http://icelandmag.visir.is/article/another-freak-weather-event-a-heatwave-eiceland-middle-night
Trausti Jónsson, Iceland‘s most trusted meteorologist, explains the unusually high temperatures by the prevalence of southerly winds during the fall, and the unusually warm temperature of northerly winds. "Freezing temperatures have not accompanies northern winds in the same degree as usually, which is connected to the unusually low quantity of sea ice in Arctic waters."
According to the Icelandic Meteorological Office, the average temperature in Reykjavík during November was 3.5°C (°F) which is 0.9°C ( °F) higher than the average of the past 10 years, and 2.4°C (°F) above the average temperature in 1961-1990, while the heat in Akureyri was 3°C (°F) which was 3.4°C (°F) and 2.3°C (°F) above the average of the past 10 years.
http://icelandmag.visir.is/article/another-freak-weather-event-a-heatwave-eiceland-middle-night
Seattle's Space Needle Struck by Lightning in Snowstorm
On the opposite side of the country, instead of springlike weather,
winter remained entrenched in the Pacific Northwest. Seattle saw snow
Monday afternoon and evening.
Around 3:45 p.m. Monday afternoon, thunder and lightning accompanied the snow, and the Space Needle was hit by lightning. Seattle-Tacoma International Airport measured 0.1 inches of snow on Monday.
Jon Erdaman, weather.com meteorologist, said there is only a 0.04 percent chance of thundersnow in Seattle on any given day.
Seattle usually receives measurable snowfall – at least 0.1 inches of snow – four days each season. This season has been above average in terms of snowfall, with six days of measurable snow through Tuesday. Seattle also picked up 11.2 inches of snow since Oct. 1, twice the average snowfall received in a season (5.6 inches).
https://weather.com/news/news/seattle-space-needle-lightning
Around 3:45 p.m. Monday afternoon, thunder and lightning accompanied the snow, and the Space Needle was hit by lightning. Seattle-Tacoma International Airport measured 0.1 inches of snow on Monday.
Seattle usually receives measurable snowfall – at least 0.1 inches of snow – four days each season. This season has been above average in terms of snowfall, with six days of measurable snow through Tuesday. Seattle also picked up 11.2 inches of snow since Oct. 1, twice the average snowfall received in a season (5.6 inches).
https://weather.com/news/news/seattle-space-needle-lightning
NORTH POLE SEA ICE DISAPPEARING VERY RAPIDLY 4.7.2016
Arctic sea ice volume has been in decline for decades. While this may look like a steady decline, chances are that the sea ice will abruptly collapse over the next two months.
Sea ice decline reflects the extra energy added to the Arctic, as global warming and feedbacks are hitting the Arctic particularly strongly. Three of these feedbacks are depicted in the image on the right.
As the sea ice melts, sea surface temperatures will remain at around zero degree Celsius (32°F) for as long as there is ice in the water, since the extra energy will first go into melting the ice. Only after the ice has melted will the extra energy start raising the temperature of the water.
Once the sea ice has disappeared, a lot more energy will get absorbed by the Arctic Ocean, i.e. energy that was previously reflected back into space and energy that previously went into changing ice into water.
Furthermore, as the sea ice disappears, chances increase that storms will develop that come with rain and winds that can batter and push the remaining sea ice out of the Arctic Ocean, while storms can also increase the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere and the occurrence of cirrus clouds that can trap heat.
http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2016/07/extreme-weather-events.html
Sea ice decline reflects the extra energy added to the Arctic, as global warming and feedbacks are hitting the Arctic particularly strongly. Three of these feedbacks are depicted in the image on the right.
As the sea ice melts, sea surface temperatures will remain at around zero degree Celsius (32°F) for as long as there is ice in the water, since the extra energy will first go into melting the ice. Only after the ice has melted will the extra energy start raising the temperature of the water.
Once the sea ice has disappeared, a lot more energy will get absorbed by the Arctic Ocean, i.e. energy that was previously reflected back into space and energy that previously went into changing ice into water.
Furthermore, as the sea ice disappears, chances increase that storms will develop that come with rain and winds that can batter and push the remaining sea ice out of the Arctic Ocean, while storms can also increase the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere and the occurrence of cirrus clouds that can trap heat.
http://arctic-news.blogspot.com/2016/07/extreme-weather-events.html
Unusual Records Broken in Chicago, Northern Illinois
The last day of February marked two notable events in northern Illinois.
First, multiple tornadoes were reported in northern Illinois Tuesday, with one fatality reported due to an uprooted tree, in Ottawa, Illinois. In addition, hailstones as big as golf balls fell in the far southern Chicago metro area.
These February tornadoes are rare in northern Illinois. The National Weather Service said prior to this event, only one tornado had occurred in that region in February since 1950.
Tuesday also marked a record for Chicago's lack of snow cover. This was the first time in recorded history that the Windy City experienced an entire January and February without an inch or more of snow on the ground.
https://weather.com/news/news/chicago-no-snow-january-february-2017
First, multiple tornadoes were reported in northern Illinois Tuesday, with one fatality reported due to an uprooted tree, in Ottawa, Illinois. In addition, hailstones as big as golf balls fell in the far southern Chicago metro area.
These February tornadoes are rare in northern Illinois. The National Weather Service said prior to this event, only one tornado had occurred in that region in February since 1950.
Tuesday also marked a record for Chicago's lack of snow cover. This was the first time in recorded history that the Windy City experienced an entire January and February without an inch or more of snow on the ground.
https://weather.com/news/news/chicago-no-snow-january-february-2017
Tuesday, June 27, 2017
Winter Storm Jonas: A Record Northeast Snowstorm
Winter Storm Jonas was the biggest winter storm of the year, hammering the Northeast, Appalachians and mid-Atlantic with feet of snow.
For New York City, Jonas was the heaviest snowstorm on record dating to 1869. The Big Apple picked up 27.5 inches of snow Jan. 22-23. Jonas was also a record snowstorm for Baltimore, Maryland (29.2 inches), and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (30.2 inches).
Snowfall totals from the storm topped out near 42 inches in West Virginia, and at least 14 states in total received more than a foot of snow from the storm.
One of the most interesting aspects of the storm was how well in advance it was forecast. Computer forecast models repeatedly forecast a major winter storm for the East Coast at least five days in advance of its arrival, though with uncertainty in the details.
https://weather.com/storms/winter/news/winter-storm-jonas-record-snowstorm-new-york-city
For New York City, Jonas was the heaviest snowstorm on record dating to 1869. The Big Apple picked up 27.5 inches of snow Jan. 22-23. Jonas was also a record snowstorm for Baltimore, Maryland (29.2 inches), and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania (30.2 inches).
Snowfall totals from the storm topped out near 42 inches in West Virginia, and at least 14 states in total received more than a foot of snow from the storm.
One of the most interesting aspects of the storm was how well in advance it was forecast. Computer forecast models repeatedly forecast a major winter storm for the East Coast at least five days in advance of its arrival, though with uncertainty in the details.
https://weather.com/storms/winter/news/winter-storm-jonas-record-snowstorm-new-york-city
Car Encased in Ice as Winter's Cold Finally Arrives
After a mild end of 2015, winter finally showed up in the Great Lakes in early January.
This viral photo shows a car that became encrusted in ice after it was parked for several hours outside a restaurant in Hamburg, New York, on Jan. 10 while the driver was watching NFL postseason games.
Strong winds and much colder temperatures swept in with an arctic cold front during that time, allowing water from Lake Erie to spray locations along the lakeshore, leading to the build up of ice on the car and other surfaces
This viral photo shows a car that became encrusted in ice after it was parked for several hours outside a restaurant in Hamburg, New York, on Jan. 10 while the driver was watching NFL postseason games.
Strong winds and much colder temperatures swept in with an arctic cold front during that time, allowing water from Lake Erie to spray locations along the lakeshore, leading to the build up of ice on the car and other surfaces
Unprecedented Warmth During First Five Months of 2016
(NOAA)
Monthly heat records for the globe have fallen by the wayside in each of the first five months this year. There is no better way to illustrate this than with the eye-popping graph above.
The black line is the departure from average temperature for the entire surface of the earth January-May 2016. Also shown is the departure from average for the seven warmest years on record. As you can see, it's not even close, as the period from January-May 2016 has been far and away warmer than those years to date.
In January, February, March and April, the previous monthly record was crushed by the new record in 2016.
A record strong El Niño likely played a role in fueling the incredibly mild temperatures we saw to start the year.
https://weather.com/news/climate/news/record-warmest-may-earth-2016
Record Low Snowfall, Even in the Great Lakes
It was one thing to have a brown Christmas, but as we go deeper into January, the lack of snow in parts of the Northeast and Great Lakes becomes more odd.
Snow depth analysis as of 1 a.m. EST, January 8, 2016. Note the lack of snow on the ground in the Northeast, as far north as southern New England.(National Water Center)
Neither Philadelphia, nor Washington, D.C., had seen even a trace of snow yet in the season through January 7, the latest on record either city has gone without seeing at least a few flurries in any season.
Through January 7, Buffalo (4.1 inches) and Cleveland (1.4 inches) had seen their least snowy start to a season on record.
A Nor'easter Is Possible For Mother's Day Weekend
The Northeast remains stuck in a cool, wet pattern and this will continue through Mother's Day. In fact, there are indications that a late-season nor'easter may be in store for the region this weekend.
Possible nor'easter setup.
This possible nor'easter will bring rain and wind to the Northeast. While many think of snow with nor'easters, snow is not necessary as the term refers to stronger areas of low pressure along the East coast with winds typically from the northeast.
Nor'easters are most common September through April.
There are still uncertainties in the forecast, but rain is likely to develop in the mid-Atlantic Friday and then spread into the Northeast over the weekend. Some coastal flooding is also possible with this system.
https://weather.com/science/weather-explainers/news/noreaster-snow-rain-wind-northeast-explainer
Late-Season Rain in Southern California
The omega block also allowed a slow-moving area of low pressure to impact the West. This low-pressure system brought a late-season rain into southern California, possibly the last decent rain of the wet season.
On Sunday, downtown Los Angeles received 0.30 inches of rain, which is more than the average precipitation of 0.26 inches expected in May. Downtown Los Angeles has received more than 4.5 inches of rain above average for the wet season, which began on Oct. 1.
San Diego measured 0.89 inches over the weekend, more than 7 times the average of 0.12 inches for May.
Precipitation totals for Saturday May 6 and Sunday May 7 across SW CA. Highest amounts in San Diego County. #LArain#LAweather #CAwx
In addition, snow fell in some of the mountains of southern California.
Southern California is not the only area of the West to experience unusual weather. A supercell, or rotating thunderstorm, was noted in southern Oregon, southeast of Crater Lake on May 4.
A tornado warning was issued for this storm and for the first time, the National Weather Service in Medford performed an aerial survey for evidence of tornado damage, but none was found.
https://weather.com/science/weather-explainers/news/supercell-thunderstorms-tornadoes
Snow In The East In May
An omega block set up over the U.S. in early May, resulting in some noticeable changes, especially in the East.
A southward dip in the jet stream, or upper-level trough, took hold of the Eastern U.S. for the first weekend of May. A slow-moving low-pressure system remained over the Northeast during the weekend and into Monday resulting in a prolonged period of cool, showery weather.
The colder-than-average temperatures allowed some of the precipitation to fall as snow. On Saturday, May 6, snow was reported in the higher elevations of North Carolina and Tennessee.
Sunday into Monday morning this chilly and wet pattern persisted and snow was reported in parts of upstate New York and northwestern Connecticut.
https://weather.com/forecast/regional/news/atmospheric-clog-omega-block-cooler-east-midwest
Tropical Storm Formed in the Atlantic in April
The Atlantic hasn't been left out of the tropical oddities this spring. In April, Tropical Storm Arlene developed, becoming only the second tropical storm in the Atlantic in the satellite era.
The other April Atlantic tropical storm was Ana in 2003.
Arlene formed in the central Atlantic and did not impact land. Before satellites, both Ana and Arlene would have been nearly impossible to detect, so it's possible that others occurred prior to the satellite era.
This was also the third consecutive year that a tropical system formed in the Atlantic before the official June 1 start date of hurricane season.
This first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season was first designated Subtropical Depression One on April 19 and then enough convection developed near the center that it was named Tropical Storm Arlene on April 20.
New Record Set for Strongest May Southern Hemisphere Tropical Cyclone
Tropical Cyclone Donna became the strongest May Southern Hemisphere tropical cyclone on record May 7 when it rapidly intensified and reached the equivalent of a Category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, according to Colorado State University meteorologist and tropical scientist Dr. Phil Klotzbach.
Satellite image of Tropical Cyclone Donna on May 7.
Donna impacted areas of Vanuatu and New Caledonia in the South Pacific with gusty winds and locally heavy rain. Fortunately, the core of the strongest winds and heaviest rain stayed far enough away from land that the worst conditions remained over the ocean.
Tropical season runs from November to April in the Southern Hemisphere, technically making Donna an out-of-season system. However, tropical cyclones can form in any month of the year.
https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/news/tropical-cyclone-donna-vanuatu-may-2017
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