NCDC: Climate of December 1999 - February 1999

NCDC / Climate Research / Climate of 1999 2000 / Dec-Feb / Global / Search / Help

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

December 1999 - February 2000
Global Analysis

National Climatic Data Center, 13 March 2000

larger image

Dec 99 - Feb 00: Climate Overview
Detailed Climate Perspectives . . .
- Global Analysis
- Global Regional Analyses
- U.S. National Analysis
- U.S. Regional/Statewide Analyses
- Extreme Events
2000 Monthly Reports

Line separating section as of the report

Global Temperature

Global mean anomalies for the period December-February (using a base period 1880-1999) are shown in the above figure. The anomaly for the 1999-2000 season was well above the mean value. The combined land and sea surface temperature anomaly for this period was 0.43 C above the 1880-1999 mean. The trend for the last three winter seasons has been decreasing. The sea surface temperature anomaly was 0.28 C above the long term mean and slightly below last years winter value. The land temperature anomaly was 0.77 C above the long term mean but about 0.4 C less than the previous two winters.

The adjacent figure shows December 1999 - February 2000 temperature anomalies calculated from available in-situ stations using a 1961-1990 base period. The warmest seasonal anomalies occurred across North America, central and northern Europe, and central Russia. Cooler seasonal anomalies were experienced in the Mediterranean area and northern Africa, and most notably in Australia

larger image

Global Precipitation

larger image

The adjacent map shows the December 1999 through February 2000 precipitation anomalies from the 1961-1990 base period. Most notable were the exceptionally wet areas of Australia, southeast Asia, and parts of South America. Additional precipitation data are available on the Global Regional Analyses page. Relatively dry areas were the Mediterranean, western Canada, and the southern United States.

During the December 1999- February 2000 period, several areas of the world experienced extremes in climate. The worst disasters in terms of human misery were two flooding events; one in Venezuela, the other in Mozambique. Each of these events caused several thousand deaths, and malaria is causing additional deaths in flooded areas in southeast Africa. Elsewhere around the globe, winter storms, drought, heatwaves and floods took their toll on various areas. More complete information is available under the Climate Watch December 1999, January 2000, February 2000 .

For further information, contact:

David Easterling
NOAA/National Climatic Data Center
151 Patton Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801-5001
fax: 828-271-4675
email: david.easterling@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

Top of Page

NCDC / Climate Research / Climate of 1999 2000 / Dec-Feb / Global / Search / Help




http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/research/2000/win/global.html Downloaded Wednesday, 15-Oct-2008 20:41:06 EDT Last Updated Wednesday, 06-Jul-2005 15:03:30 EDT by Jay.Lawrimore@noaa.gov Please see the NCDC Contact Page if you have questions or comments.