Special Highlight

Italy's Mount Etna, located on Sicily, first erupted on July 18 sending a large mass of ash and smoke into the atmosphere. After days of tremors, the volcano finally erupted, prompting evacuations and airport closures on Sicily. Upper level northwesterly winds transported the large volcanic plume across the Mediterranean, as depicted via NOAA polar-orbiting satellite imagery. Mount Etna is one of Europe's most active volcanos.

Australia (Click for map)

High pressure dominated the weather regime across Australia for most of July, with little in the way of significant frontal activity. Dry weather prevailed across southern South Australia and the southern half of Victoria with several locations reporting the driest July on record. The most significant rainfall event in July occurred over the northwest and interior sections as an upper level trough of low pressure affected these areas during the 13th-19th, dumping 50-100 mm (1.97-3.94 inches) of rain. Below average rainfall continued along the southwest tip of Western Australia, resulting in yet another in a series of dry months. Large temperature anomalies of -2 to -4°C (3.6 to 7.2°F) were coincident with unseasonably heavy rains that affected portions of the Australian Outback.

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Africa (Click for map)

Temperatures across the southern third of Africa were generally 1-2°C (1.8-3.6°F) below average. The mean position of the Intertropical Convergenge Zone (ITCZ) also delineates slight negative temperature departures along 15° north latitude.

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All Africa Global Media reported that more than 3 million people continued to depend on emergency food aid in Kenya as the northern and eastern parts of the country entered the fourth consecutive year of drought. Dry weather is adversely impacting the Somali region of neighboring Ethiopia with nine out of eleven zones in the country reportedly facing an acute shortage of water. Little relief is expected across these regions until the rainy season begins in October. In sharp contrast, heavy rains across Mozambique have forced nearly 200,000 people into accommodation centers around the country, with significant crop losses resulting from flooded fields.

West Pacific Typhoons

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Durian began as a depression on the June 29 and tracked into China’s Guangdong province near Zhanjiang on July 2nd along with maximum sustained winds of 75 knots (38.6 m/s or 86 mph) and higher gusts. The storm then tracked along the northern Gulf of Tonkin in China’s Guangxi province before dissipating in the mountainous terrain north of the Vietnam border on the 3rd.

The Western Pacific Typhoon season became very active in July with several typhoons affecting Taiwan, the Philippines and the southeast Asia mainland:

Utor gained tropical depression status on July 1st and reached typhoon strength on the 3rd. The storm reached peak intensity as it moved through the Luzon straight on the 4th, attaining sustained maximum wind speeds of 80 knots (41.2 m/s or 92 mph). Utor made landfall just east of Hong Kong on the 6th and continued to move inland across the Chinese Guangxi province before dissipating on the 7th.

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Yutu began as a tropical depression on the 22nd, passing through the Luzon Straight and becoming a typhoon on the 24th. Yutu made landfall in China’s Guandong province near Dianbai on the 25th with peak sustained wind speeds of 80 knots (41.2 m/s or 92 mph) and dissipated inland the following day. Yutu caused at least 55 deaths as it crossed Luzon island of the Phillippines and Taiwan.

Tropical cyclone activity provided much above normal rainfall for Guangzhou, located on the southeast China coast in the Guangdong province. Precipitation for July nearly doubled the normal rainfall for the month.

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Toraji developed as a tropical depression on the 26th and intensified as it moved into the Philippine Sea on the 28th. Toraji then made landfall on Taiwan on the 29th with maximum sustained wind speeds near 100 knots (51.4 m/s or 115 mph). The weakened remnants passed into China's Fujian province on the 30th. CNN reported that the storm resulted in at least 77 deaths on Taiwan, with 156 people listed as missing. Earlier in the month, Tropical Storm Trami dumped torrential rains on southern Taiwan. This was characterized as the heaviest rainfall in 40 years by the Central Weather Bureau as approximately 559 mm (22 inches) of rain fell in a 24-hour period during the 11-12th.

Asia (Click for map)

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In South Korea, heavy rains from a frontal system caused flooding on the night of the 14th which resulted in 14 deaths and 34,000 flooded homes in Seoul and Kyonggi-do. This is a significant reversal in weather conditions since this region has been experiencing one of the most severe droughts on record.

In Indonesia, the Associated Press reported that incessant rains during the last week of July triggered flooding and landslides which killed at least 77 people on the remote Nias island located off the northwest coast of Sumatra.

The Indian monsoon season continued to be abnormally strong across the Orissa province, where flooding rains have resulted in 84 deaths and rendered more than 50,000 people homeless. A precipitation time series for the city of Bhubaneswar depicts excessive rainfall that more than doubled the normal July precipitation. Crop losses thus far are estimated at over $8 million. Across central India as well as neighboring Bangladesh, drier conditions prevailed with negative wetness anomalies depicting lighter than average monsoon rains.

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A high amplitude upper air pattern was characterized by an upper level ridge of high pressure across eastern Europe, a low pressure trough across the central Former Soviet Union (FSU), with more upper level ridging over eastern Siberia. Beneath the upper level ridges, temperatures averaged over 4°C (7.2°F) above the long term mean across European Russia and across the Russian Far East. High temperatures during the week of the 23rd soared to 36°C (97°F) as far north as Sumy in Russia (51°N latitude).

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Between the upper level ridges, a strong cold upper level trough of low pressure brought temperatures that were over 4°C (7.2°F) below the 1992-2001 average in the central parts of the Former Soviet Union along with above average precipitation. Across Iran, one of the worst droughts in 30 years has produced nearly $2.6 billion in economic losses. Nearby Uzbekistan is experiencing what is believed to be the most severe drought in 100 years, while dry weather also continues to adversely affect neighboring Tajikstan. Heavy rains and flooding alleviated drought conditions in Pakistan during July, although at least 200 people died in the southern Sindh province, most from landslides in the port city of Karachi. Farther west, ongoing dry weather in Israel and Jordan has resulted in water shortfalls of 30-50% for the current year.

Europe (Click for map)

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Near average temperatures were noted across extreme western Europe, along with precipitation that was near to or above the long term mean. Along the German-Poland border, persistent heavy rains brought severe flooding to areas along the Oder River. CNN reported that ecomonic losses will approach $2 billion and that this has been the worst natural disaster to hit Central Europe in more than a century. Floodwaters killed at least 52 people in Poland and 39 in the Czech Republic, with 140,000 displaced from their homes in Poland alone. Warsaw has received more than double the normal rainfall during the month of July.

South America (Click for map)

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An outbreak of cold air and snow affected Argentina during the week of July 16 resulting in at least 14 deaths. The snowstorm reportedly blocked most roads to Chile in the Andes and across the southern provinces of Chubut, Rio Negro and Santa Cruz. Much of southern Argentina had increased snow cover during the month. Torrential rain and strong winds pounded central and southern Chile during the 28th-30th, causing 2 deaths and closing the main commercial border with Argentina as more heavy snowfall occurred along the Andean border with Argentina.

Temperatures were 2-4°C (3.6-7.2°F) below average across southern Argentina, while warmer weather with positive departures of 1-3°C (1.8-5.4°F) were common across parts of Bolivia, southern Brazil and most of Paraguay.

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Farther north in Central America, drought is affecting the food security in Honduras, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Guatemala. According to estimates by the World Food Program, some 610,000 people in Central America are already short of food due to drought-induced crop failures.

North America (Click for map)

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Upper level troughs of low pressure brought cooler than average temperatures to the Pacific Northwest and to the Eastern Seaboard of the United States. Meanwhile, an upper level dome of high pressure across the nation’s heartland promoted high heat and increasing dryness across much of the central states. Clusters of showers and thunderstorms brought very heavy rain to parts of the Ohio Valley and central Appalachians, flooding homes and washing out bridges across sections of Ohio, eastern Kentucky and West Virginia. In Canada, above average temperatures of 1-3°C (1.8-5.4°F) were restricted to central provinces with cooler than usual weather across British Columbia and much of Quebec.

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

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