Climate Monitoring / Climate of 2000 / Help
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A broad trough covered Australia throughout March. This pattern combined with moist tropical air from the northern monsoon brought above average rainfall to much of the continent. Most of northern Australia received heavy rainfall from Tropical Cyclone Steve with briefly reached hurricane force off the northwestern coast before weakening as it recurved southeastward and moved inland. Rainfall totals for the week ending March 11th exceeded 100 mm (4 inches) across the northwestern Northwest Territory and in western and northern Western Australia. Southeastern and some western coastal areas of the continent were drier than average. This pattern mirrors the temperature anomalies for the month with cooler than average temperatures observed in the west and warmer than average conditions in the east and southeast. |
Temperature Anomalies across Australia
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The blended temperature anomaly product across the United States showed much of the nation from the Rockies to the east coast had above average temperatures. Warmest departures stretched from the northern Plains eastward into New England where anomalies were more than 4 C above average. This was the fourth warmest March on record since 1895. Additional details are available on the Climate of 2000- March U.S. National Analysis. The only cool anomalies were across the intermountain west and scattered areas along the west coast. |
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 March. The pattern generally follows the temperature map for the month. Percent of snow cover was below the long term average across much of the central and northern Plains eastward across the Great Lakes and through the middle Atlantic region into southern New England. The combination of lack of snow cover and less precipitation than average has led to decreased water levels in the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes are at the lowest water levels since 1965 and may reach new records this year unless there is an extremely wet spring and summer. The complete NOAA report is available by clicking here. | larger image |
Wetness Anomalies across Europe
| A large area of western Russia southeastward into Kazakhstan had another month with negative wetness anomalies. This region has generally been dry and mild over the last several months especially in the area around the Caspian Sea. Liquid water observed on the surface was below average as well in parts of central Turkey but that was due to heavier than average snowfall which is not picked up by the wetness signal. In contrast, large positive wetness anomalies were reported over portions of Slovakia and Hungary. Media reports indicate that flooding due to heavy rains over the late winter and early spring has affected Hungary for the second year in a row. Flooding has been worse in the east central part of the country along the Tisza River. Last year, in March of 1999, the combination of heavy rains and melting snows also resulted in a series of floods and landslides. | larger image |
Asian Snow Cover Anomalies
| Conditions across the continent varied greatly this month. Temperatures were significantly warmer leading to less snowfall across parts of the region. The snow cover was again below average from Kazakhstan eastward into the high deserts of Tien Shan in extreme western China. Scattered areas of above average snow cover were reported across the remainder of western China. The largest anomalies were across the Tibetan plateau. | larger image |
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.
Peterson, Thomas C. and Russell S. Vose, 1997: An overview of the Global Historical Climatology Network temperature data base. Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 78, 2837-2849.
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:
Tom Ross
NOAA/National Climatic Data Center
151 Patton Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801-5001
fax: 828-271-4499
email: tom.ross@noaa.gov
-or-
Alan Basist
NOAA/National Climatic Data Center
151 Patton Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801-5001
fax: 828-271-4107
email: alan.basist@noaa.gov
-or-
Mike Changery
NOAA/National Climatic Data Center
151 Patton Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801-5001
fax: 828-271-4750
email: mchangry@ncdc.noaa.gov
NCDC / Climate Monitoring / Climate of 2000 / Help
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Weekly Wetness Product



