Large positive wetness anomalies became apparent during the month of February across portions of southeastern Africa. Parts of the region from Mozambique into Zimbabwe and across northeastern South Africa had several storms during the month. These storms, some of tropical origin, brought flooding rainfall to parts of the area. The hardest hit region was across Mozambique. Rainfall increased during the last three weeks of the month across much of the region. The combination of flooding rains, rising and then raging rivers overspilling their banks, brought some of the worst flooding this century to parts of Mozambique especially in the Limpopo river basin. Even without more flooding, outbreaks of disease threaten more people than those who died beneath the muddy waters. Outbreaks of malaria and cholera were spreading through refugee camps. These and additional global regional variations are discussed in this report. A special report highlighting February extremes is available at Climate Watch.

Europe / Asia Snow Cover

Snow cover was above average across portions of the region, especially just north and south of the Black Sea and across portions of north central and northeastern China. In contrast, the snow cover was below average across portions of the Volga river basin and around the northern half of the Caspian sea eastward into the steppe region of Kazakhstan. This region had below average snow cover in January where most of the precipitation fell as rain rather than snow. Snow cover was also below average across portions of eastern Europe and the Baltic states. Last month most of the region saw exactly the opposite with above average snow cover.

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Temperature Anomalies across Europe and Asia

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Temperatures across much of central Europe eastward across Russia and into western Siberia were generally warmer than average this month. The warmest regions were around the Baltic states eastward to the Caspian and Aral seas where temperatures were more than 4 degrees C above average. In contrast, the coldest anomalies were observed over portions of Mongolia and north central China with cold anomalies of 4 degrees C below average.

Temperature Anomalies across Australia

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Much of the interior Australian continent was cool this month. The coolest areas were over interior deserts across Western Australia were temperatures were about 4 degrees C below average. This region also had several periods of rainy cool weather this month with flooding rains associated with the northern monsoon. Ayers Rock, in a normally dry continental interior climate, received heavy downpours which turned the parched heart of Australia into an inland sea. Waterfalls cascaded down the face of the giant Uluru (Ayers Rock) and outback towns were flooded. In contrast, a ridge of high pressure aloft near the south coast kept regions in South Australia near Adelaide quite warm with temperatures nearly 4 degrees C above average.

Snow Cover Anomalies in North America

The snow cover anomaly map to the right reflects the general upper-level pattern across the U.S during February. A dominant westerlow flow of mild Pacific air kept the central and southern Rockies and the Great Basin quite mild. These milder than normal conditions prevented any snow cover from lasting for more than a few days. Weak Pacific storms provided greater than normal snowfall anomalies over portions of the northern Rockies and High Plains. In the east, two major storms brought major snowfall to the region during the end of January. Snow cover from these storms perisisted into the first half of February from northeast North Carolina northward into southeastern Pennsylvania and is reflected as above average snow cover. Additional information on these and other events is available in the Climate Watch report.

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South American Temperature

Conditions across the continent varied greatly this month. A ridge of high pressure aloft off southeastern Argentina kept parts of Paraguay, northern Argentina, southern Brazil, and Uruguay warm and dry. The combination of warm temperatures and below average rainfall led to drought conditions in parts of the area. Temperatures were cooler than average across parts of east central Brazil, parts of the Pacific coast of the continent, and across most of Columbia and Venezuela. Most of these areas also had persistant cloudiness, rainfall, and cool temperatures. Media reports indicate that 8 people have died as a result of flooding mainly across the western part of Columbia this month.

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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

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

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