Asia/European Snow Cover

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This season brought tropical moisture northward across the mountains and high deserts of central Asia. This moisture was deposited as snow cover across the region. The snow cover was above the long term (1992-1998) mean. The largest positive anomalies in snow cover were evident across the mountains and plateau areas of Tibet in China, parts of Mongolia, and the former Soviet Union. Snow cover was also above the long term average in central Europe. In contrast, snow cover was much below normal across portions of central and northern Scandanavia. This region had warm fall temperatures and most of the precipitation fell as rain with little snow cover across the region.

Wetness Chart for Africa/Middle East

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The region across the Sahel of Africa was quite wet during the June-August period and this wet pattern continued through most of the September-November period. The wettest regions were prevalent across western and central Africa, from the Equator to about 10 degrees North. Just north of this region, however, conditions were quite dry. Dryness was prevalent across the southern third of the African continent as well with drought conditions reported in parts of Rwanda.

North America Temperature Anomalies

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A generally westerly flow of mild Pacific air this season kept a large portion of the region average to above average in terms of seasonal temperatures. The warmest seasonal anomalies were located over eastern Canada. In contrast, cooler anomalies were located off the west coast of the U.S. in association with the La Nina-induced cool sea surface temperatures in the eastern equatorial Pacific.

European/Asia/Middle East Wetness Image

This region had significant variability in surface wetness. The below average wetness values across most of Europe corresponded to the lack of liquid water on the surface. Much of the area in central and eastern Europe received snow during November; snow cover is not captured in the liquid water signal. In contrast, negative wetness anomalies across northcentral Russia are due to below average snow cover. Below average wetness values are also noted across portions of Turkey and the Middle East; this area was quite dry during this period. Positive wetness values were observed over portions of Scandinavia, where most of the precipitation fell as rain, and across parts of Spain and in Russia just west of the Caspian Sea.

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References:

Basist, A., N.C. Grody, T.C. Peterson and C.N. Williams, 1998: Using the Special Sensor Microwave/Imager to Monitor Land Surface Temperatures, Wetness, and Snow Cover. Journal of Applied Meteorology, 37, 888-911.

For all climate questions other than questions concerning this report, please contact the National Climatic Data Center's Climate Services Division:

Climate Services Division
NOAA/National Climatic Data Center
151 Patton Avenue, Room 120
Asheville, NC 28801-5001
fax: 828-271-4876
phone: 828-271-4800
email: ncdc.orders@noaa.gov

For more information, refer also to ...
SSMI Derived Products
Global Historical Climatology Network (GHCN)
The Blended GHCN - SSM/I Product
The Global Temperature Anomalies

Alan Basist
NOAA/National Climatic Data Center
151 Patton Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801-5001
fax: 828-271-4107
email: alan.basist@noaa.gov

Tom Ross
NOAA/National Climatic Data Center
151 Patton Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801-5001
fax: 828-271-4499
email: tom.ross@noaa.gov

Mike Changery
NOAA/National Climatic Data Center
151 Patton Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801-5001
fax: 828-271-4750
email: mchangry@ncdc.noaa.gov

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