http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/ NOAA | National Climatic Data Center | Climate Monitoring Branch - Monthly Report on the State of the Climate en-us November 2009 Tue, 17 Nov 2009 jesse.enloe@noaa.gov ncdc.webmaster@noaa.gov 1 http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/climate-monitoring/img/sotc-icon.gif http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/ NOAA | National Climatic Data Center | Climate Monitoring Branch - Monthly Report on the State of the Climate 144 13 http://www/sotc/?report=hazards&year=2009&month=11 Typhoon Mirinae makes a second landfall in Vietnam killing at least 130 people. Torrential rainfall in El Salvador kills 192 people. Extreme record heat in South Australia increases fire danger. Landslide triggered by heavy rainfall kills 42 people in India. Hurricane Ida makes landfall in Nicaragua and the United States. Record snowfall in northern China leaves at least 38 people dead. Strong coastal storm causes record storm surge along the U.S. East Coast. November 2009 Jessica.Blunden@noaa.gov http://www/sotc/?report=national&year=2009&month=10 The average October temperature of 50.8°F was 4.0°F below the 20th Century average and ranked as the 3rd coolest based on preliminary data. Statewide temperatures coincided with the regional values as all but six states had below normal temperatures. Oklahoma had its coolest October on record and ten other states had their top five coolest such months. The U.S. recorded its wettest October in the 115-year period of record. The nationwide precipitation of 4.15 inches was nearly double the long-term average of 2.11 inches. Three states (Iowa, Arkansas, and Louisiana) saw their record wettest October. Fourteen other states had precipitation readings ranking in their top five category. Only three states (Florida, Utah, and Arizona) saw below normal precipitation. October 2009 Chris.Fenimore@noaa.gov http://www/sotc/?report=global&year=2009&month=10 The combined global land and ocean surface temperature for October 2009 was the sixth warmest on record, with an anomaly of 0.57°C (1.03°F) above the 20th century average of 14.0°C (57.1°F). The global land surface temperature for October 2009 was 0.82°C (1.48°F) above the 20th century average of 9.3°C (48.7°F), and ranked as the sixth warmest October on record. The worldwide ocean temperature was the fifth warmest October on record, with an anomaly of 0.50°C (0.90°F) above the 20th century average of 15.9°C (60.6°F). For the year to date, the global combined land and ocean surface temperature of 14.7 °C (58.4 °F) tied with 2007 as the fifth-warmest January-through-October period on record. This value is 0.56°C (1.01°F) above the 20th century average. October 2009 Ahira.Sanchez-Lugo@noaa.gov http://www/sotc/?report=drought&year=2009&month=10 Wet and cool conditions across much of the contiguous U.S. improved drought conditions during October 2009 — with the percent area experiencing moderate to exceptional drought decreasing to 11.9 percent of the country by October 27 from 15 percent at the end of September. At month's end, areas of abnormally dry to moderate drought conditions partially ringed a large area of unusually wet conditions in the center of the country. October 2009 Richard.Heim@noaa.gov http://www/sotc/?report=fire&year=2009&month=10 For October 2009, 3,207 fires burned approximately 158,644 acres, which is 1,652 fires below the 2000 - 2009 average for the month (4,859), and 130,706 acres below the 10-year average acreage burned for the month (289,350). The 73,424 fires for the year-to-date are slightly above the 2000 - 2009 average (71,723), and the 5,775,350 acres burned for the year-to-date are below the 10-year average (6,627,330). October 2009 Karsten.Shein@noaa.gov http://www/sotc/?report=snow&year=2009&month=10 At the beginning of October, snow cover in the U.S. was confined to the high terrain of the Rockies and Cascades, with 3.5 percent of the nation having snow on the ground according to the National Operational Hydrologic Remote Sensing Center. Two large snow storms on October 9th through 13th and October 27th through 30th affected the upper Midwest, Rocky Mountains, and portions of the western Plains. By the end of the month, 13.6 percent of the nation was under snow cover. October 2009 Jake.Crouch@noaa.gov