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2012 U.S. Drought Hits New Highs; Southwest Gets Relief
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on September 13th, 2012
Climate Central: The severe drought across much of the U.S. proved stubborn once again during the past week as nearly four-fifths of the country was in some form of drought. And the area of the lower 48 states affected by moderate to exceptional drought expanded slightly, hitting a high for the year, according to data released Thursday morning.
The new U.S. Drought Monitor map shows that drought conditions have stayed the same or intensified in much of the southern Plains, with extreme to exceptional drought conditions...
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Comments Off on 2012 U.S. Drought Hits New Highs; Southwest Gets Relief2012 Has Had Most Extreme Weather On Record for U.S
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on September 11th, 2012
Climate Central: The first eight months of 2012 had the most extreme weather in U.S. since such record-keeping began in 1910, according to the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC). The Climate Extremes Index, or CEI, is used to track the highest and lowest 10 percent of extremes in temperature, precipitation, drought, and tropical storms and hurricanes across the lower 48 states. That the year-to-date was the most extreme on record should not come as much of a surprise, since the year to date was the hottest on record,...
2012 Drought Inches Up In U.S. Historical Rankings
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on August 15th, 2012
Climate Central: The costly and ongoing drought that stretches across a majority of the lower 48 states worsened during the past month, and by one measure it now ranks fifth on the top 10 list of the largest droughts ever recorded in the U.S., according to a new report released Wednesday from the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC). The drought is affecting the broadest swath of land and has the greatest intensity of any drought since 1956, and is comparable to the Dust Bowl era droughts of the 1930s as well, NCDC...
Hansen Study: Extreme Weather Tied to Climate Change
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on August 6th, 2012
Climate Central: Extreme weather events, such as the heat waves that have broiled the High Plains and Midwest this summer, smashing thousands of temperature records, are a direct consequence of global warming, according to a new study led by prominent climate scientist, James Hansen of NASA. The study seeks to reframe how people view the links between manmade global warming and extreme weather events, going farther than ever before in making direct ties between the two.
The study by Hansen, who first warned of...
Oklahoma Is OK if You Like Sizzling Temperatures
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on August 3rd, 2012
Climate Central: Oklahoma has one more day of record heat to endure before temperatures are forecast to cool to more comfortable levels. Well, that is if you consider the upper-90s to low-100s to be "comfortable,' anyway.
Oklahoma City, Tulsa, and all points in between have seen record-breaking or near-record-breaking heat during the past week or more. The high temperature in Oklahoma City on Wednesday and Thursday reached 112°F, the hottest it's been there since Aug. 10, 1936, and just 1°F shy of the city's all-time...
Drought Intensifies and May Last Through October
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on August 2nd, 2012
Climate Central: Drought conditions intensified in parts of the Midwest and Great Plains during the week ending on July 31, and a new forecast calls for the drought to persist straight on through until October. Beneficial rainfall did trim the edges of the drought area slightly during the past week, and may alleviate the drought in some spots during the next several months, according to the new edition of the U.S. Drought Monitor and Seasonal Drought Outlook, both of which were released Thursday morning.
As of...
USDA Expands Drought Disaster Zones Across U.S
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on August 1st, 2012
Climate Central: In response to the widespread and intense drought that is expected to cost billions in agricultural losses and other impacts, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has designated 50.3 percent of all U.S. counties as agricultural disaster areas, making federal assistance available to farmers in those areas.
On Wednesday, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack added 218 more counties in 12 states to the list of primary natural disaster areas "due to damage and losses caused by drought and excessive heat,"...
Cities Across U.S. Bore Brunt of Record-Setting July Heat
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on August 1st, 2012
Climate Central: Preliminary climate data for July shows that many cities across the U.S. experienced record-setting months, with temperatures propelled upwards by a massive area of High Pressure, more popularly known as a Heat Dome, that kept cooling rains at bay.
For example, in St. Louis, Mo., where the year-to-date has been the warmest such period on record, the city has already exceeded its all-time record for the greatest number of days with high temperatures of 105°F or above, beating the 10 such days that...
Posted in Water Conservation Comments Off on Cities Across U.S. Bore Brunt of Record-Setting July HeatDrought Helps Dry Up Tornadoes as July Sees Record Low
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on August 1st, 2012
Climate Central: Thanks, in part, to the record-setting drought that is gripping much of the U.S., the country had a record low number of tornadoes for the month of July, and the lowest number of tornadoes for any May-through-July period since high quality recordkeeping began in 1954, according to the U.S. Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla. With just 24 tornado reports in July, the U.S. saw fewer tornadoes this month than Canada did, which is unusual.
With about 231 tornadoes during the May-to-July period,...
Extreme Heat Continues to Plague South Central States
Posted by Climate Central: Andrew Freedman on July 31st, 2012
Climate Central: Dangerous heat is once again roasting South Central states, with heat advisories and warnings in effect through the end of the week in eight states -- including nearly all of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Oklahoma. So far this month, numerous heat records have been shattered across the U.S., and for some locations in the lower 48 states, July 2012 may go down in history as the warmest of any month on record.
According to the National Weather Service, Tulsa, Okla., likely set a record on Monday for...