 Africa and Mideast Temperature
| Northwestern Africa had warmer than average temperatures, which corresponded to an upper level ridge over the region. Some of the excess warmth stretched into the Western Sahel region, where deficit rainfall and warm temperatures have stressed crops over much of the area. Warm anomalies persisted this month across portions of the Middle East and were also noted along coastal areas of South Africa. The central portion of the Sahara Desert and portions of southeastern Africa were cooler than average .
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Wetness Anomalies in Africa and the Middle East
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Drought continued to worsen across portions of the Middle East. Severe water shortages caused government officials in the city of Tehran, Iran to ration water. Jordan's drought is the worst in 40 years and rainfall this year is only 30% of normal. This region is also in the midst of their dry season, and the drought has reduced the cereal harvest and other agricultural products. Dry anomalies and drought conditions were also observed across portions of the Sudan westward along the Sahel at about 10 degrees north latitude. In contrast, surface wetness was above average across portions of Ethiopia.
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European Temperature
| The warmest anomalies on the globe in June were across portions of eastern Europe, where an upper level ridge dominated the climate. These anomalies were strongest east and south of the Baltic Sea. In fact, large peat and forest fires were observed during the month around Moscow. This extremely warm month followed cooler than average temperatures during May. Another ridge over the Iberian Pennisula brought extremely hot temperatures in Spain this month, while the remainder of western Europe had fairly average temperatures.
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Wetness Anomalies in Europe
Large negative wetness anomalies were associated with a ridge of high pressure which extended from the Black Sea area north and eastward toward the Ural mountains and the Caspian Sea. Negative anomalies were also observed across portions of Spain and eastern Scandinavia.
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Troughs were found on both sides of the ridge. The eastern trough brought positive wetness anomalies to northern and central Siberia. The other trough, centered over Greenland, steered disturbances and rainfall across portions of northwestern Europe.
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Vegetation health over eastern Europe and Central Asia
| This plots uses satellite observations to determine the health of the vegetation. The scale goes from red, which indicates the canopy is under stress; to green, which indicates that the vegetation is near normal health; to blue, which indicates that growing conditions are better than normal. The National Climatic Data Center is presenting these plots in a experimental capacity, to determine their utility as a monitoring tool. For more information you can visit the web site: NOAA Vegetation Health WWW Page.
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Asia Temperature
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Central Russia was dominated by a trough during much of June, leaving the area cooler than usual. Further to the south and east a ridge promoted warmer than average temperatures. The far northeastern section of Russia (near the Pacific coast) was under a trough, which promoted cooler than average conditions. These anomalies form a distinct wave pattern over northern Asia. The majority of southern Asia was cooler than usual which corresponded to an active monsoon season and cool sea surface temperature anomalies in the Indian Ocean.
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Wetness Anomalies in Asia
| For the second consecutive month, high positive anomalies were observed across portions of southeast Asia. The Indo-China Penisula received adequate rainfall for a plentiful rice crop. Furthermore, Vietnam expects a bumper crop of coffee due to favorable rainfall. Other areas of positive wetness anomalies were observed over portions of central, northeast and coastal China and near the India-Pakistan border. Flooding was reported in southeast China along portions of the Yangtze River. In contrast, the largest negative wetness anomalies were observed over parts of north central China, where a lack of moisture and warm temperatures led to localized drought conditions. The spotty distribution of the Indian monsoon left some areas drier than average.
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North American Temperature
| A ridge of high pressure kept eastern North America (around the Canadian - U.S. border) warmer than usual. This warmth stretched to the landmass surrounding the Hudson Bay. A storm track and transient trough near the center of the continent brought unusually cool temperatures. A persistent trough over western Canada and the U.S. Pacific Northwest kept this region cooler than usual. Clouds and rain kept the southern plains and northern Mexico cooler than average and this rain was much needed in Mexico. Rain clouds also brought unusually cool temperatures to Florida. The cold bulls-eye in the Gulf of the St. Lawrence is erroneous, and efforts are underway to correct the analysis where there is partial sea ice.
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Wetness Anomalies Across North America
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The positive anomalies in northeastern Canada correspond to an area where the snow cover persisted longer than normal, extending through May and melting in June. This was also true west of the Hudson Bay. In contrast, south of Hudson Bay temperatures in May were warmer than usual, causing the snow cover to melt prematurely and leaving the area drier than average in June. Positive anomalies covered much of the U.S. plains and Midwestern states, an area where the storm track brought excessive rainfall. Further west over portions of the high plains the surface was drier than usual. High pressure over the portions of the Ohio Valley and northeastern states supressed precipitation.
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Most of the eastern U.S. was drier than normal and these dry conditions were most pronounced in the northeeastern portion of the U.S. These conditions are not accurately depicted in this image, since dense vegetation obscures the surface water from the satellite.
South America Temperature
| The South American continent as a whole continued to be cooler than average, which is associated with the La Niña conditions in the east equatorial Pacific. The coldest anomalies were centered near the Argentina-Paraguay-Bolivia border, which is a repeat from last month. There is also a significant cold anomaly along the Ecuador coast, which directly aligns with the cold pool of Pacific water. The only warm anomaly over South America occurred over east central Brazil, where it was also drier than usual.
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South America Wetness Anomalies
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The negative wetness anomaly evident over eastern Argentina during May amplified in June. This is an area where a significant amount of winter wheat is grown and the persistent pattern of low precipitation and surface wetness continues to stress the crop. The large seasonal swamp in south central Brazil shows evidence of earlier than normal drying. The plains in southeastern Venezuela experienced deficient rainfall in May and June, whereas portions of Amazon River appear wider than usual this month. This stretch of positive wetness anomalies is visible in northern Brazil. There are also some isolated area of positive wetness values in north central Argentina.
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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
For further information on the historical climate perspective presented in this report, contact:
Alan Basist
NOAA/National Climatic Data Center
151 Patton Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801-5001
fax: 828-271-4328
email: alan.basist@noaa.gov
-or-
Tom Ross
NOAA/National Climatic Data Center
151 Patton Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801-5001
fax: 828-271-4328
email: tom.ross@noaa.gov
-or-
Mike Changery
NOAA/National Climatic Data Center
151 Patton Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801-5001
fax: 828-271-4328
email: mchangry@ncdc.noaa.gov
 NCDC / Climate Monitoring / Climate of 1999 / Help
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