December 2009: 4th or 8th warmest December on record
The globe recorded its eighth warmest December since record keeping began in 1880, and 2009 tied with 2006 as the fifth warmest year on record, according to NOAA's National Climatic Data Center. NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies rated December 2009 as the 4th warmest December on record, and the year 2009 tied with 2007 as the second warmest year on record. NOAA rated December 2009 ocean temperatures as the 2nd warmest on record, next to 1997, and land temperatures as the 31st warmest on record. The anomalously cool conditions over much of northern Asian and North American land areas may be associated with the near record December snow cover extent over Northern Hemisphere land areas--2nd most on record, behind 1985. Snow cover records go back to 1967. The December global satellite-measured temperatures for the lowest 8 km of the atmosphere were the 7th warmest on record, according to the University of Alabama Huntsville and RSS data sets.
Figure 1. Departure of temperature from average for December, 2009. Image credit: National Climatic Data Center.
One interesting note: the NASA global average temperature for 2009 was .57°C above average. NOAA's was .56°C above average. These temperatures were just .06°C below the all-time hottest year on record, 2005. The 11-year global sunspot cycle causes a variation of 0.1°C between the maximum and minimum of the solar cycle. We are currently at a deep minimum of the solar cycle, so we would have set a new global temperature record had we been at the maximum of the solar cycle. The other global temperature data set, the UK HadCRUT3 data, is not yet available for 2009. This data set is the one most often quoted by global warming skeptics, since it says that 1998 was the warmest year on record. However, HadCRUT3 fills in a huge area of missing data in the Arctic with the average temperature from the rest of the globe. This is bound to cause an underestimate of the global temperature, since the Arctic has warmed much more than the rest of the globe. The NASA and NOAA data sets fill in the missing data in the Arctic with data interpolated from the nearest stations in the Arctic, a procedure which is less likely to underestimate the global temperature.
December 2009: 14th coolest December on record for the U.S.
For the contiguous U.S., the average December temperature was 3.2°F below average, making it the 14th coolest December in the 115-year record, according to the National Climatic Data Center. The U.S. has been on quite a roller coaster of temperatures over the past three months--the nation recorded its third coldest October on record, followed by its third warmest November, followed by its 14th coolest December. The coolest December weather was in the Central U.S., where Nebraska had its eighth coolest December; Texas, Nevada, and Wyoming their ninth; and Montana and Utah their tenth coolest.
December 2009 was the 11th wettest December in U.S. history. It was a record wet month for Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia, and Maryland; 2nd wettest month on record for New Jersey; and the third wettest month on record for South Dakota, North Carolina, and Alabama. The Northwest U.S. was dry, with Washington experiencing its 11th driest December on record.
The year 2009: 35th warmest for the U.S.
For the entire year of 2009, it was the 35th warmest year in the contiguous U.S during the 115-year record. The coolest state was Nebraska, which had its 19th coolest year on record, and the warmest state was California, with its 16th warmest year on record. The driest state was Arizona, where 2009 ranked as the 4th driest year on record, while the wettest states were Illinois, Alabama, and Arkansas, who all had their 2nd wettest year on record.
U.S. tornado deaths: 2nd lowest on record
The year 2009 was below average for number of tornadoes, with a final tally around 1120 expected, compared to the 3-year average of 1297, according to the Storm Prediction Center. The 21 tornado deaths in 2009 was the 2nd lowest death toll in the 60-year record. Only 1986, with its 15 tornado deaths, saw fewer fatalities. The 60-year average annual death toll is 84.
U.S. drought
At the end of December, 6% of the contiguous United States was in severe-to-exceptional drought, which is well below average. The U.S. Drought Monitor shows no areas in the highest classification of drought--exceptional drought, and U.S. drought extent is close to its lowest value for the past ten years. The second highest category of drought, extreme drought, covers only a small region of northeast Arizona, and this will shrink over the remainder of January as much-needed rain falls across Arizona. About 43 percent of the contiguous United States had moderately-to-extremely wet conditions at the end of December, according to the Palmer Index (a well-known index that measures both drought intensity and wet spell intensity). This footprint is significantly larger than the long-term average.
Average U.S. fire activity in 2009
Significant fire activity occurred early in 2009, but wetter conditions across many parts of the nation as the year progressed, coupled with effective fire management, helped to restrain fire activity by mid-year. Despite the largest fire in Los Angeles County's (California) recorded history (Station fire), by the end of August the nationwide acreage burned by wildfire was very near the 2000 - 2009 average, and thereafter declined below average. Based upon data provided by the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC), fire activity in 2009 ranked fifth highest (sixth lowest) out of the past decade in terms of number of fires, about 1 percent below the 2000 - 2008 average. Acres burned in 2009 were 14.5 percent below the 2000 - 2008 average, ranking seventh highest (fourth lowest) since 2000. Average fire size also ranked seventh highest out of the 2000 - 2009 period, at about 14 percent below average.
Strong El Niño conditions continue
Strong El Niño conditions continue over the tropical Eastern Pacific. Ocean temperatures in the area 5°N - 5°S, 120°W - 170°W, also called the "Niña 3.4 region", were at 1.6°C above average on January 10, just above the 1.5°C threshold for a strong El Niño, according to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. The strength of El Niño has been roughly constant for the 9 weeks ending January 10. NOAA's Climate Prediction Center is maintaining an El Niño Advisory. Most of the El Niño models forecast that El Niño has peaked and will gradually weaken. Most of the models predict that El Niño conditions will last into early summer, but cross the threshold into neutral territory by the height of hurricane season.
December sea ice extent in the Arctic 4th lowest on record
December 2009 Northern Hemisphere sea ice extent was the 4th lowest since satellite measurements began in 1979 and slightly below December 2008 levels, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC). Only 2005, 2006, and 2007 saw lower December arctic sea ice extent. The weather pattern over the Arctic in December 2009 featured a strongly negative Arctic Oscillation (AO). This pattern tends to slow the winds that typically flush large amounts of sea ice out of the Arctic between Greenland and Iceland. In this way, a negative AO could help retain some the second- and third-year ice through the winter, and potentially rebuild some of the older, multi-year ice that has been lost over the past few years. However, the AO has increased significantly in January, and it is unclear what the net effect of the AO on sea ice transported out of the Arctic this winter will be.
Next post
I'm at the 90th Annual Meeting of the American Meteorological Society in Atlanta, Georgia, and will be making my next post from Atlanta on Tuesday.
Jeff Masters
Reader Comments
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Godspeed.
it's the 10-20% who scare the snot outta me...and keep me up at night...
HOTEL SEARCH
Fairfax County Urban Search and Rescue members from Virginia conduct a rescue operation at the Montana Hotel in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Jan. 14, 2010. The rescue service partnered with the U.S. Agency for International Development and multinational relief agencies to support the massive efforts needed in the aftermath of Haiti's earthquake. U.S. Navy Photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Joshua Lee Kelsey
TROPICAL CYCLONE ADVICE NUMBER 9
Issued by the BUREAU OF METEOROLOGY, DARWIN
at 11:00 am CST [11:30 am EST] Monday 18 January 2010
The Cyclone WATCH from Pormpuraaw to Thursday Island in Queensland has been
cancelled.
At 9:30 am CST [10:00 am EST] a Tropical Low was estimated to be
225 kilometres west of Weipa and
325 kilometres east of Nhulunbuy and
moving southeast at 14 kilometres per hour.
The low is no longer expected to develop into a tropical cyclone before it
reaches the Cape York Peninsula coast. However, monsoon gales are expected to
develop to the north of the tropical low.
Details of Tropical Low at 9:30 am CST [10:00 am EST]:
.Centre located near...... 12.4 degrees South 139.8 degrees East
.Location accuracy........ within 85 kilometres
.Recent movement.......... towards the southeast at 14 kilometres per hour
.Wind gusts near centre... 85 kilometres per hour
.Severity category........ below cyclone intensity
.Central pressure......... 1003 hectoPascals
No further advices will be issued for this system unless it reintensifies. Refer
to Severe Weather Warning issued by Queensland at 10:50am EST
RADAR is showing the TL is currently going over the Cape York Peninsular and is forecast to continue in an easterly direction for the next 3 days.
You talking about people or Politicians?
INJURED CARE
U.S. airmen from the Air Force Special Operations Command, Hurlburt Field, Fla., offload injured people from a C-130 Hercules aircraft Jan. 15, 2010, after the earthquake in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The command is providing immediate rapid response capability to Haiti through U.S. Southern Command. DoD photo by U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Russell E. Cooley IV
WATER DELIVERY
Haitian citizens receive water from air crewmen from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 9 assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson. Carl Vinson and Carrier Air Wing 17 are conducting relief operations after a 7.0 magnitude earthquake caused severe damage near Port-au-Prince on Jan. 12, 2010. U.S. Navy photo by Seaman Aaron Shelley
?
Excellent recommendations, but can be a bit pricey. I have the dry skin problem all winter here. Curel is very good, as is Aveeno. CVS makes their own brand copy of Aveeno which is less expensive. I have a new favorite this week -- St. Ives, the one with oatmeal and shea butter -- very reasonably priced. Can you tell I go through a lot of this stuff?
Colonel Describes Orderly Traffic at Haiti Airport
By John J. Kruzel
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Jan. 17, 2010 – Six hundred flights carrying humanitarian personnel, relief provisions and evacuees have transited through the Port-au-Prince, Haiti, airport since the U.S. Air Force began operating there a day after a magnitude 7 earthquake rocked Haiti Jan. 12.
Air Force Col. Buck Elton, in an operational update with reporters today, added that no major security incidents have occurred at the airport since the Air Force personnel began overseeing the high volume of traffic.
“Since then, we’ve controlled approximately 600 takeoffs and landings from this 10,000-foot strip that normally operates three aircraft out of it on a daily basis,” said Elton, commander of the U.S. forces directing flights at Haiti's airport.
“Everything has been very orderly,” he added. “The Haitian police force is helping out tremendously with crowd control and with traffic control around the airfield, and we’ve had no major incidents.”
In an update with Tim Callaghan of the U.S. Agency for International Development's foreign disaster assistance office, Elton said 24 patients have been brought to the airfield for treatment, including 16 Americans with what Elton described as “crush injuries.”
While the rush of supplies and aid from other countries initially overwhelmed the airport's limited capacity, Elton said, the capacity for processing arriving and departing flights is improving steadily. He noted that about 60 percent of the flights coming in are civilian and 40 percent are military.
Haiti has been the focus of an expansive relief effort in the wake of what one official has called one of the greatest humanitarian emergencies in the history of the Americas. Original estimates by the Red Cross were that upwards of 50,000 people were killed in the quake, but other reports elevate the figure to between 100,000 to 200,000.
For its part, the Defense Department has authorized up to $20 million in immediate aid to Haiti, and the nation’s top military officer estimated that up to 10,000 U.S. troops would be in Haiti by tomorrow.
In his update, Elton underscored the speed with which Air Force personnel began operations after landing at the badly damaged airport around 7 p.m. on Jan. 13.
“Within 28 minutes of landing our first aircraft, we had special tactics combat control teams controlling the airspace around the airfield, and sequencing in the arriving aircraft that night,” he said.
Prospective parents grow more worried about Haiti's orphans
By N.C. Aizenman
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Adoption agencies and prospective parents across the United States are growing increasingly alarmed about the long-term fate of an estimated 50,000 children who were living in Haitian orphanages when the earthquake hit.
Between 800 and 900 of the children were in the process of being adopted by families in the United States. An additional 1,500 had been matched with European families, mostly in France and the Netherlands.
Presslord has been to the Atlanta warehouse,and a lotta other folks have been extremely busy thru the weekend to say the least.
O please say it isn't so! The last thing we need is the Polar Vortez in the Ohio Valley. That would likely mean alot of records will be falling. The other model run solution would mean that the Arctic Outbreak would be a bit less severe.
Doing good for me, just keeping up with relief in Hati.... Looks like Step-son will be sent there(Army)to help rebuild....
Thanks Patrap for the info too....
Taco :0)
That's awesome, I pray and hope all works out well for your step-son and the people in Haiti. The press releases seem to show that things are moving along fairly well with the Haiti relief effort
Quoting ElConando:
...I can sleep well at night knowing that 80-90% of Americans or so believe its a bunch of horse manure (what Robertson said about the Haitians).
I said rest in peace.
Goonight wunderpeeps.
The rest of the modals are between those two(I believe).
Thanks, Sweetie. Am celebrating Martin Luther King's Birthday tomorrow. :)
Thanks! I've been following these stories. Unfortunately, it does sound like too many orphans who survived the quake around the Port au Prince area will not survive much longer unless things change quickly. Many orphanages are reporting a serious lack of food and water and the buildings that survived the quake are unsafe. Also, I'm sure things haven't changed much since I was there but many of those orphans will also be HIV positive. That doesn't help their outlook much at all. Breaks my heart.
I know. There are small glimmers of hope. Nice story on one of the networks tonight about Haitian orphans that arrived in Kansas City today, for seven families I think. Everyone was so relieved and happy. Stay strong.
That is terrific! I don't watch televised news and completely missed that. Really warms my heart.
News 2 talks to FEMA rescue workers on way to Haiti
Members of the Virginia Task Force 2 Urban Search and Rescue leave for Haiti
Cleve Bryan
Published: January 17, 2010
Updated: January 17, 2010
As the 16th Airlift Squadron made their way from Charleston to Haiti they were diverted to Norfolk, Virginia to pick up a high priority FEMA search and rescue team.
News 2’s Cleve Bryan and Larry Collins were on the flight and spent Friday afternoon talking to members of the Virginia Task Force 2 Urban Search and Rescue team.
The story will be aired at News 2 at 6:00 and 11:00 on Sunday. You can also learn about the work of the C-17 crew that left Charleston on Friday morning here:
http://www2.counton2.com/cbd/news/local/article/news_2_goes_inside_a_c-17_mission_to_haiti/103715/
Thankfully, it occured in the middle of nowhere.
Going up to the sleep chamber. Good night all, and thanks to all who've done good works today.
ADD ON: To be fair, FEMA deals with domestic disasters. The State Dep't. is the appropriate liaison with Haiti. I'm assuming this team was specially requested to work internationally.
Good evening! Next week poor California is going to have several El Nino Style storms roll through and The S Plains and SE US need to warch out for Severe Weather. The Storm Prediction Center is already made mention for this Wed and Thurs.
Not the "sleep chamber". Have a good night AIM :0)
You're welcome, next week will not be boring in the weather department. I am very happy to see things going a bit better in Haiti. I had a knot in my stomach and was at the verge of tears for the last few days!
I believe with time, Haiti will be alright! In the meanwhile, we need to keep them in our prayers, and keep helping out until until our brothers and sisters in Haiti are back on their feet.
Good night all, have a early day tomorrow. Peace everyone and be blessed.
us river northern california, all green.
6.3
Date-Time
Sunday, January 17, 2010 at 12:00:02 UTC
Sunday, January 17, 2010 at 08:00:02 AM at epicenter
Time of Earthquake in other Time Zones
Location
57.671°S, 65.910°W
Depth
10 km (6.2 miles) set by location program
Region
DRAKE PASSAGE
Distances
355 km (220 miles) SSE of Ushuaia, Argentina
595 km (370 miles) SSE of Punta Arenas, Chile
705 km (440 miles) SSE of Rio Gallegos, Argentina
2625 km (1630 miles) S of BUENOS AIRES, Argentina
Location Uncertainty
horizontal +/- 12.7 km (7.9 miles); depth fixed by location program
Parameters
NST= 85, Nph= 85, Dmin=799.3 km, Rmss=0.75 sec, Gp= 65°,
M-type=teleseismic moment magnitude (Mw), Version=6
Source
USGS NEIC (WDCS-D)
Event ID
us2010rpav
CARACAS, Venezuela — A moderate earthquake shook eastern Venezuela on Friday, but officials said there were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
VenezuelaQuake
I perfer Fox News instead!
Many thanks to everyone who has contributed money or time to the effort in Haiti; we've barely scratched the surface folks and we will be working on this thing for a long time to come
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