Extreme Temperatures
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Snowflake

America's northernmost town has heaviest July snow in 55 years as southern Alaska breaks heat records

Snow falls in Utqiagvik - formerly Barrow - Alaska on July 7, 2018
© NWS-FairbanksSnow falls in Utqiagvik - formerly Barrow - Alaska on July 7, 2018.
Alaska's showed off its weather contrasts the first week of July with record snow in the north and record heat in the south.

Wet snow mixed in with rain Saturday evening in Utqiagvik, formerly known as Barrow, as an Arctic Ocean storm pushed a cold front through, dropping 2 inches of wet snow. This was the heaviest July snow in America's northernmost town since the Fourth of July 1963, according to Rick Thoman, climate science and services manager for the National Weather Service Alaska region.

A web cam Saturday evening showed a light coating of wet snow mainly on building roofs and vehicle tops.

Snow can fall in any month in Utqiagvik. Even during the warmest time of year, average low temperatures are still in the middle 30s, cold enough to allow snowflakes aloft to make it to the ground.

Before Saturday, there had been only five other July days with at least 2 inches of snowfall in Utqiagvik, according to NOAA's ACIS database with records dating to 1902.

Other than July 4, 1963, the four other days occurred either in the 1920s or 1930s, led by a 6-inch snowfall on July 29, 1922.

Fire

California: Multiple wildfires and record-breaking heat

California wildfire
© Cal Fire/Cleveland National ForestThe Cleveland National Forest is located in California.

Wildfires burned through Southern and Central California on Friday, prompting mandatory evacuations as areas across the region experienced record-breaking heat. Wildfires burned through Southern and Central California on Friday, prompting mandatory evacuations as areas across the region experienced record-breaking heat.


Comment: It was hot, but maybe it was not record-breaking - at least perhaps not in Los Angeles. See: Faulty weather stations established the all-time record high temperatures for Los Angeles


Firefighters on Friday were battling blazes in Alpine, Dulzura and Camp Pendleton Marine Corps base in San Diego County, California, where the National Weather Service had issued an excessive heat warning until 9 p.m. A fire also broke out further north in the city of Goleta in Santa Barbara County later Friday night.

The wildfire in Alpine, known as the West Fire, started in the morning and spread to more than 400 acres by the afternoon, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, also known as Cal Fire.

Comment: Heat wave scorches US Midwest and East, wildfire warnings for Colorado and California


Sun

Heatwaves and droughts are happening around the world - But are these 'record temperatures' reliable?

world heatwave 2018
© University of Maine Climate ReanalyzerSimulation of maximum temperatures on July 3 from American (GFS) weather model at two meters above the ground.
(This article, originally published Tuesday, was updated Wednesday to add all-time heat records at Mount Washington, N.H., and Tbilisi, Georgia set since Monday. On Thursday, the story was updated to include information on heat-related deaths in Canada and extraordinary heat in Siberia. On Friday, it was updated to add the likely all-time heat record in Africa and Southern California.)

From the normally mild summer climes of Ireland, Scotland and Canada to the scorching Middle East to Southern California, numerous locations in the Northern Hemisphere have witnessed their hottest weather ever recorded over the past week.

Large areas of heat pressure or heat domes scattered around the hemisphere led to the sweltering temperatures. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation reports the heat is to blame for at least 54 deaths in southern Quebec, mostly in and near Montreal, which endured record high temperatures.

Comment: One needs to be sceptical of the temperatures given because it has been shown time and again these weather stations are located near artificial heat sources (from airport runways to ice cream vans) and some measurements are made from the ground while others are estimates. What is clear is that the seasons are increasingly erratic and extreme weather events are on the rise, from epic flooding, unexpected frosts, record breaking snow to extended drought and heatwaves. The overall trend, however, is toward a rapidly cooling planet: Also check out SOTTs' monthly documentary: SOTT Earth Changes Summary - May 2018: Extreme Weather, Planetary Upheaval, Meteor Fireballs


Fire

Another fire scorches through moorland parched by heatwave in Bradford, UK

Another moor fire scorches through land parched by heatwave in Bradford, UK
BLAZE: A picture of the flames that have engulfed the moor.
A FIRE has broken out near Cullingworth Moor in Bradford. West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service says four fire engines are at the scene. The fire is reportedly on heathland between Harden and Cullingworth, known as Catstones Moor, according to a source.

Another source said: "I believe the fire is between Cullingworth, Ryecroft and The Guide Inn, at Hainworth Shaw, Keighley." One onlooker could see smoke building on the moor, from the nearby Cullingworth Gala.

Fearne Grist said: "The flames are spreading bad." Sulley Baynham said: "It's now spreading across and lighting the woodland, so potentially could become alot bigger especially as it nears the St Ives woodland estate. He added: "There's limited access for fire crews due to the location."

Comment: The ignition of the unprecedented number of fires in the UK has been speculated to be arson or carelessness, but there may be other factors not yet considered. What is clear is that after the UK's brutally cold winter followed by an unusually, unsettled spring, summer too is proving to be much hotter and drier than would be considered normal. And these erratic weather patterns are wreaking havoc across the planet:


Snowflake

Global cooling: Excessive spring snowfall results in non-breeding year for shorebirds in north-east Greenland - 1 meter deep snow

The study area in NE Greenland: in mid-June 2018 the tundra surface was close to 100% covered in snow.
© Jeroen ReneerkensThe study area in NE Greenland: in mid-June 2018 the tundra surface was close to 100% covered in snow.
Jeroen Reneerkens of the University of Groningen studies breeding Sanderlings, for the first time in 2003 and since 2007 annually. He works from the Danish Zackenberg Research Station (74°28'N 20°34'W) in NE Greenland that was established in 1996, and is the research base for various experts monitoring the biotic and abiotic environment of NE Greenland.

Jeroen reports about his remarkable 2018 field season:

I study how rising temperatures may affect the reproductive success of Sanderlings in Zackenberg, NE Greenland. Due to a disproportionate degree of climate warming in the Arctic, shorebirds that migrate to the Arctic to breed are strongly suspected to be negatively affected by ongoing climate change. Niels Martin Schmidt and his team have indeed established that the summer temperatures in Zackenberg have steadily increased during the last decades.

Comment: Some additional data just to show the size and extent of the Northeast Greenland national park and how much land surface was (still is?) covered with snow:

Northeast Greenland National Park
Northeast Greenland National Park


From Wikipedia:
Northeast Greenland National Park (Greenlandic: Kalaallit Nunaanni nuna eqqissisimatitaq, Danish: Grønlands Nationalpark) is the world's largest national park and the largest protected land area.[1] Established in 1974 and expanded to its present size in 1988, it protects 972,000 km2 (375,000 sq mi)[2] of the interior and northeastern coast of Greenland and is bigger than all but twenty-nine countries in the world. It was the first national park to be created in the Kingdom of Denmark and remains Greenland's only national park.



Cloud Grey

Ice Age Farmer Report: Darkest skies in 100 years, no Summer for Iceland, hail destroys crops

Reykjavik, Iceland
© Boyloso/iStock/Getty Images Plus/Getty ImagesReykjavik, Iceland
Iceland's meteorologists--some requiring anonymity--speak of a "Year Without a Summer" there, as well as the darkest June in 100 years. As galactic cosmic rays (GCRs) increase, so will cloud cover. This complicates growing, and further drops temperatures.

ALSO: slew of reports about major destruction of crops by hail storms.


Sources

Comment: See also:


Cloud Precipitation

Extreme weather affecting crop harvests in Europe - North too dry, south hit by hail

Valencia fruit damage
© AVA-ASAJA
Temperatures well above 20 degrees Celsius are being recorded far into the topmost northern regions of Europe. These sunny days are, however, accompanied by a lack of rain and low humidity. There are concerns about drought in several countries in north-west Europe. Further to the south, farmers have no issues with this. In some cases, it is just the opposite. Severe hailstorms have damaged crops in various countries.

The European Union is worried about this year's harvests. This is according to June's JRC MARS Bulletin. This document contains the harvest forecasts for the season. In general, estimates have been adjusted downward. The map below shows the areas of concern. From these, the division in Europe immediately becomes obvious. The north is dealing with a drought while further to the south there has been too much precipitation.

Sun

Heat wave breaks records in Iran, across the Caucasus

Iranian man dealing with heatwave
© Azernews.az
An Iranian man dealing with the heat.
An intense heat wave is shattering temperature records in Iran and the Caucasus nations of Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia, causing power shortages that are adding to discomfort in the region.

Weather experts on July 6 said the heat wave is the result of a high-pressure dome or heat dome that formed over the Eurasian region and reaches as far north as southern Russia, where temperatures hit a record high for June on June 28.

In the Georgian capital, Tbilisi, temperatures soared to a record of 41 degrees Celsius on July 4, contributing to unhealthy air pollution levels reported by the National Environmental Agency.

Earlier in the week, on July 1, temperatures hit a record 43 degrees in the Azerbaijani capital of Baku, prompting heavy use of air-conditioning that the government said caused an explosion at a hydroelectric power plant and a nationwide power outage.

Comment: See also:



Sun

UK heatwave: Welsh farmers 'fighting to survive'

Farmers have brought in emergency water tankers
Farmers have brought in emergency water tankers
Farmers in Wales are warning that they could be fighting to survive if the summer's dry weather continues.

Many say the grass they feed their cows effectively stopped growing weeks ago, prompting concerns about the food available to herds in the longer term.

The weeks of scorching weather follow heavy snow storms in late winter.

NFU Cymru has also warned farmers that they have "a duty of care" to animals, as forecasts predict two more weeks of soaring temperatures.

The warm weather reached a record high of 32.6C in Porthmadog in Gwynedd at the end of June and the heatwave has continued this week.

NFU Cymru President John Davies said he had heard farmers were already using their winter supplies of fodder because the lack of rain had stunted grass growth while the "intense" heat was "burning off crops".

Mr Davies said: "We've heard of farmers who are already using their winter supplies of fodder to feed livestock and with fodder already at a premium this could become a real problem later in the year."

The union has now relaunched its free fodder bank service to help members find animal feed or sell any surplus.

Comment: The present UK heatwave has already caused the earliest harvest in 40 years for farmers, with a significantly reduced yield. The heatwave seems to be extending towards the end of July, with the Met Office predicting that "the last third of July, dry, sunny and warm weather will probably dominate across the bulk of UK, especially in the south."


Snowflake

Global cooling: 'Winterlike weather' in the Northern Rockies

snow
This follows a winter with more snow on the ground than any time in the past 30 years, reports weather.com.

"A few spots in the northern Rockies experienced a more winterlike scene Monday, just two days before the Fourth of July holiday."

"On July 2, it was cold enough for snow to fall in portions of the higher elevations of western Montana and northern Idaho."