Global Highlights:
- Global average land and sea surface temperature was the second
warmest on record for June
- Lower tropospheric and stratospheric temperatures were slightly
cooler than average during the month
- Above average precipitation was most notable across the Gulf
Coast of the U.S., northern Brazil, northern India and southeast
Asia
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Contents of this Section:
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Introduction
Anomalous warmth
(based on a 1992-2001 base period as shown in the adjacent blended
product of satellite and in-situ data) was dominant across much of
Asia and the United States in June. Strong upper level ridges of
high pressure (depicted by positive
500 millibar height anomalies) were situated across Alaska,
eastern Canada, the central Former Soviet Union (FSU) and northwest
Africa. Temperature anomalies calculated from in-situ station
data using a 1961-1990 base period also show these warmer than
average temperatures, with cooler than average temperatures denoted
across much of Europe, northern India and the U.S. Pacific
Northwest. |
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Temperature
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- The warmest June on record was observed across
extratropical areas of the Northern Hemisphere
(90°N-20°N), as the combined land and ocean temperature
was 0.84°C (1.51°F) above average
- Using a 1961-1990
base period, the combined land and ocean temperature in the
extratropics was 0.77°C (1.39°F) above the 30-year
average
- Temperatures averaged over land areas were the
warmest ever for June using an 1880-2000 base period, or
1.15°C (2.07°F) higher than the mean
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Precipitation
- Heavier than average monsoon rains began across
northern India, with above average precipitation extending through
southeast Asia and parts of eastern China
- Other areas that were wetter than average
included the U.S. Gulf Coast and northern Brazil, with monthly
rainfall surpluses locally exceeding 200 mm (7.87 inches)
- Unusually dry weather was found across the U.S.
southern Plains, much of the Mediterranean, southern India and
southwest Australia
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References:
Peterson, T.C. and R.S. Vose, 1997: An Overview of the Global
Historical Climatology Network Database. Bull. Amer. Meteorol.
Soc., 78, 2837-2849.