Climate Monitoring / Climate of 1999 / Help
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National Oceanic and Atmospheric AdministrationClimate of 1999 - SeptemberU.S. Regional and Statewide Analyses Includes Year-To-Date Summary National Climatic Data Center, 15 October 1999 |
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Through climate analysis, National Climatic Data Center scientists have identified nine climatically consistent regions within the contiguous United States which are useful for putting current climate anomalies into an historical perspective.
PRECIPITATION AND TEMPERATURE RANKS, BASED
ON THE PERIOD 1895-1999. 1 = DRIEST/COLDEST,
105 = WETTEST/WARMEST FOR SEPTEMBER 1999,
105 = WETTEST/WARMEST FOR AUG-SEP 1999,
105 = WETTEST/WARMEST FOR APR-SEP 1999,
104 = WETTEST/WARMEST FOR OCT 1998-SEP 1999.
PRECIPITATION (INCHES)
DRIEST WETTEST NORMAL 1999
REGION VALUE YEAR VALUE YEAR PCPN PCPN
------ ---------- ---------- ------ ------
NORTHEAST 1.25 1914 7.67 1999 3.63 7.67
EAST NORTH CENTRAL 0.95 1952 7.21 1986 3.60 2.60
CENTRAL 0.70 1897 6.94 1926 3.63 2.20
SOUTHEAST 1.91 1919 9.26 1979 4.33 6.26
WEST NORTH CENTRAL 0.47 1952 3.42 1973 1.61 1.75
SOUTH 0.88 1956 6.88 1913 3.67 2.48
SOUTHWEST 0.09 1956 3.07 1941 1.46 1.30
NORTHWEST 0.12 1975 3.42 1959 1.33 0.20
WEST 0.03 1974 2.00 1976 0.62 0.26
NATIONAL 1.45 1956 3.57 1986 2.63 2.48*
* PRELIMINARY VALUE, CONFIDENCE
INTERVAL + OR - 0.18 INCHES
TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
COLDEST WARMEST NORMAL 1999
REGION VALUE YEAR VALUE YEAR TEMP TEMP
------ ---------- ---------- ------ ------
NORTHEAST 56.2 1918 66.5 1961 59.8 63.2
EAST NORTH CENTRAL 53.5 1918 65.6 1931 58.8 59.1
CENTRAL 60.5 1918 73.6 1925 66.7 66.6
SOUTHEAST 68.9 1967 80.3 1925 73.2 72.7
WEST NORTH CENTRAL 47.4 1965 63.7 1998 56.8 55.1
SOUTH 67.7 1974 79.5 1911 73.6 73.3
SOUTHWEST 59.0 1912 67.6 1998 63.9 63.5
NORTHWEST 52.7 1926 62.7 1990 57.3 57.8
WEST 61.0 1986 69.9 1979 65.9 68.1
NATIONAL 62.1 1965 69.1 1998 64.8 64.8*
* PRELIMINARY VALUE, CONFIDENCE
INTERVAL + OR - 0.3 DEG. F.
REGION PRECIPITATION TEMPERATURE ------ ------------- ----------- NORTHEAST 72 99 EAST NORTH CENTRAL 99 99 CENTRAL 24 82 SOUTHEAST 29 75 WEST NORTH CENTRAL 83 91 SOUTH 50 93 SOUTHWEST 84 96 NORTHWEST 66 65 WEST 53 55 NATIONAL 57 95
PRECIPITATION (INCHES) DRIEST WETTEST NORMAL 1999 REGION VALUE YEAR VALUE YEAR PCPN PCPN ------ ---------- ---------- ------ ------ NORTHEAST 23.82 1941 39.83 1996 30.99 32.80 EAST NORTH CENTRAL 16.74 1910 31.07 1993 24.70 28.49 CENTRAL 24.56 1930 43.13 1950 33.04 30.32 SOUTHEAST 28.88 1954 51.09 1979 40.70 37.48 WEST NORTH CENTRAL 9.33 1934 20.44 1915 14.44 16.03 SOUTH 18.35 1954 36.99 1973 27.71 26.88 SOUTHWEST 6.45 1956 17.55 1941 10.66 12.24 NORTHWEST 10.14 1924 22.97 1983 17.64 18.18 WEST 4.90 1924 22.15 1998 10.95 10.58 NATIONAL 18.78 1934 25.87 1979 22.68 22.84 TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F) COLDEST WARMEST NORMAL 1999 REGION VALUE YEAR VALUE YEAR TEMP TEMP ------ ---------- ---------- ------ ------ NORTHEAST 46.5 1904 52.2 1998 48.7 51.0 EAST NORTH CENTRAL 43.2 1912 51.5 1987 46.9 49.1 CENTRAL 53.7 1979 60.7 1921 56.3 57.9 SOUTHEAST 62.9 1940 67.6 1921 64.8 66.1 WEST NORTH CENTRAL 42.9 1950 50.3 1934 47.1 48.5 SOUTH 62.9 1979 68.2 1911 65.0 66.9 SOUTHWEST 51.8 1917 58.0 1934 55.0 56.3 NORTHWEST 46.6 1955 53.3 1934 49.6 49.6 WEST 55.4 1903 60.7 1934 57.6 57.5 NATIONAL 53.3 1912 57.7 1934 55.4 56.8
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| After threatening southeastern North Carolina on August 30th, Hurricane Dennis drifted northeastward and became stationary about 150 miles east-southeast of Cape Hatteras for three days. Finally, after drifting southward, Dennis started moving northwestward and made landfall in Carteret County, North Carolina, on the afternoon of September 4th as a strong tropical storm. | ![]() |
Dennis impacted the region with flooding rains, gusty winds, and prolonged heavy surf which led to beach erosion that caused extensive damage to the barrier islands and approximately 1,600 properties. Precipitation totals exceeded twelve inches in some locations of North Carolina. The storm then moved northward providing beneficial rains to drought-stricken areas of the mid-Atlantic and Northeast.
Dennis was the fourth tropical cyclone to make landfall in eastern North Carolina in the last three years.
Hurricane Floyd became an ominous threat to the U.S. Atlantic southeast coast on the 14th. On the day before, Floyd's minimum pressure bottomed at 921 millibars and the maximum winds reached 155 mph, a very strong category 4 storm on the Saffir/Simpson hurricane scale. Hurricane Floyd weakened before making landfall at Cape Fear early on the 16th with winds around 110 mph, but was still a respectable borderline category 3 hurricane.
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In conjunction with a stationary trough of low pressure along the coastal inland areas of the Carolinas and Virginia, Floyd dumped copious amounts of rainfall from northeastern South Carolina, northward through New England. Isolated precipitation amounts approaching 20 inches were reported in coastal North Carolina. With these rainfall amounts added to totals provided by Dennis and several frontal passages, areas of North Carolina witnessed unprecedented flooding and major interruptions to daily life. In North Carolina alone, at least 47 people perished and damage estimates exceeded $6 Billion dollars. September monthly precipitation totals approached 30 inches in some locations. The average annual precipitation for the region is slightly over 40 inches.
Hurricane Floyd is the fifth hurricane in just over three years to directly impact southeastern North Carolina. The others were Bertha (7/96), Fran (9/96), Bonnie (8/98), and Dennis (8/99).
For the latest forecasts, warnings, and analyses for the tropical Atlantic and the tropical Eastern North Pacific, visit the National Hurricane Center's web site. For maps of U.S. landfalling major hurricanes and special reports on recent noteworthy storms visit the NCDC Hurricanes page. Additional satellite images and loops of Dennis and Floyd are located at the NCDC Online Images web site. Additional information, including near real-time data can be found at the Weather Underground tropical page.
September 1999 Temperature and Precipitation
Based upon preliminary data, September 1999 was the tenth warmest September on record for the Northeast Region. September 1999 was only the sixth such month since 1972 to be above the long-term mean.
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larger image Preliminary data for the West-North Central Region ranked September 1999 as the 21st coolest September since 1895. September 1998 was the warmest such month since 1895.
Due to several active frontal zones along with copious tropical moisture from the remnants of hurricanes Dennis and Floyd, September 1999 was the wettest September on record for the Northeast Region.
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larger image Preliminary data for the Northwest Region ranked September 1999 as the fourth driest September since records began in 1895. A dominant ridge of high pressure in the eastern Pacific kept most storm activity north of the region. Twelve of the last thirteen such months have been at to much below the long-term mean.
Preliminary data indicate that precipitation averaged across the Primary Corn and Soybean agricultural belt ranked near the long-term mean for growing season to date. The last eleven such periods have averaged at or above the long-term mean for precipitation.
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September 1999 Statewide Temperature and Precipitation
Larger MapFour states ranked within the top ten warm portion of the distribution for September 1999, including: New Hampshire - 2nd warmest Vermont - 2nd warmest Maine - 3rd warmest New York - 7th warmest No state ranked within the top ten cool portion of the distribution.
Thirteen states ranked within the top ten wet portion of the historical distribution for September 1999, including: Maine - Wettest Maryland - Wettest New Jersey - Wettest Vermont - Wettest Virginia - Wettest September 1999 was the driest September since 1895 for Oregon, sixth driest for Tennessee, and the eighth driest for Idaho and Washington.
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January-September 1999 Statewide Temperature and Precipitation
Larger MapFifteen states were within the top ten warm portion of the distribution for temperature for January-September 1999, including: Maine - 3rd warmest New Hampshire - 3rd warmest Rhode Island - 3rd warmest Massachusetts - 4th warmest Wisconsin - 5th warmest No state ranked within the top-ten cool portion of the distribution.
Two states ranked within the top ten dry portion of the distribution for January-September 1999, including: West Virginia - 7th driest Kentucky - 9th driest Four states ranked within the top ten wet portion of the distribution for the same period including:
Minnesota - 3rd wettest Wisconsin - 8th wettest North Dakota - 10th wettest South Dakota - 10th wettest
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October 1998-September 1999 Statewide Temperature and Precipitation
Larger MapTwenty-nine states were within the top ten warm portion of the distribution for temperature for the running twelve month period. Some October 1998-September 1999 ranks included: New Hampshire - Warmest Maine - 2nd warmest Rhode Island - 2nd warmest Vermont - 2nd warmest Only California ranked within the cool third portion of the historical distribution.
Eight states were within the top 10 wet portion of the distribution for the October 1998-September 1999 period including: Minnesota - Wettest North Dakota - Wettest South Dakota - Wettest Kansas - 5th wettest Three states ranked with the top ten dry portion of the distribution for the same period. They included the fourth driest such period for West Virginia, the sixth driest for Georgia, and the tenth driest such twelve-month period since 1895 for Ohio.
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It should be emphasized that all of the temperature and precipitation ranks on these maps are based on preliminary data. The ranks will change when the final data are processed.
For more information, refer to ...References:
Thomas R. Karl and Albert J. Koscielny, 1982: "Drought in the United States: 1895-1981." Journal of Climatology, vol. 2, pp. 313-329.
Thomas R. Karl and Walter James Koss, 1984: "Regional and National Monthly, Seasonal, and Annual Temperature Weighted by Area, 1895-1983." Historical Climatology Series 4-3, National Climatic Data Center, Asheville, NC, 38 pp.
NOAA's National Climatic Data Center is the world's largest active archive of weather data. The preliminary temperature and precipitation rankings are available from the center by calling: 828-271-4800.
Historical precipitation and temperature ranking maps are also available on the Internet at: http://nic.fb4.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/regional_monitoring/usa.html.
NOAA works closely with the academic and science communities on climate-related research projects to increase the understanding of El Niño and improve forecasting techniques. NOAA's Climate Prediction Center monitors, analyzes and predicts climate events ranging from weeks to seasons for the nation. NOAA also operates the network of data buoys and satellites that provide vital information about the ocean waters, and initiates research projects to improve future climate forecasts. The long lead climate outlooks are available on the Internet at: http://nic.fb4.noaa.gov.
For all climate questions other than questions concerning this report, please contact the National Climatic Data Center's Climate Services Division:
Climate Services DivisionFor further information on the historical climate perspective presented in this report, contact:
NOAA/National Climatic Data Center
151 Patton Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801-5001
fax: 828-271-4876
phone: 828-271-4800
email: ncdc.orders@noaa.gov
William Brown-or-
NOAA/National Climatic Data Center
151 Patton Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801-5001
fax: 828-271-4328
email: william.brown@noaa.gov
Mike Changery
NOAA/National Climatic Data Center
151 Patton Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801-5001
fax: 828-271-4328
email: mchangry@ncdc.noaa.gov
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