WunderBlog Archive » Weather Extremes

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2013 June

Hot in the Southwest and Texas: Almost, but no cigar!

Saturday, June 29th, saw most sites in Arizona, Utah, Nevada, and the desert region of southern California come within 1°-3° of their all-time heat records. Some significant sites saw their June monthly records broken. A very brief summary is posted herein.

weatherhistorian, • 5:44 AM GMT on June 30, 2013

Santa Fe, New Mexico New All-time Heat Record?

The great ‘Southwest heat wave of June 2013’ is cranking up and perhaps the first all-time heat record has already fallen. This would be for Santa Fe, New Mexico where the airport location reached 102°F on Thursday June 27th. However, Santa Fe has a complex weather site history.

weatherhistorian, • 8:26 PM GMT on June 28, 2013

Late Season Heavy Rainstorm Strikes Northern California

A rare late June rainstorm brought widespread precipitation to Northern and Central California this past Sunday- Tuesday. Precipitation totals were modest at coastal and low elevation sites but impressive in the Sierra Nevada and northern mountain ranges where up to 9” of rain fell.

weatherhistorian, • 8:42 PM GMT on June 26, 2013

Fires in Sumatra: Record Air Pollution in Singapore, Malaysia

Fires set to clear land for palm oil plantations in Sumatra, Indonesia have caused smoke to drift over the Malaysian Peninsula (including Singapore) creating the worst air quality levels ever measured there. A state of emergency has been declared in Malaysia. This is a guest blog post by National Geographic Society photographer Michael Yamashita who covered the previous worst such event in 1997 for National Geographic Magazine.

weatherhistorian, • 7:47 PM GMT on June 24, 2013

Massive Flooding in Calgary, Canada

Torrential rainfall on Wednesday night and Thursday has resulted in the most extensive flooding in Alberta Province, Canada in at least 8 years. Some 100,000 people are facing evacuations in the city of Calgary. Here is a brief summary of the event. There have so far been reports of at least two fatalities.

weatherhistorian, • 8:53 PM GMT on June 21, 2013

Alaska Bakes with All-time Heat Records: UPDATE 6/20

A strong upper-air high-pressure ridge has brought all-time record heat to much of Alaska the past few days. Temperatures peaked at 96°F at Talkeetna north of Anchorage on Monday June 17 with unofficial readings as high as 98°. Here is a brief review of the record-setting temperatures.

weatherhistorian, • 9:17 PM GMT on June 18, 2013

May 2013 Global Weather Extremes Summary

May was a very active month globally in so far as extreme weather events were concerned. Two violent EF-5 tornadoes (one on May 20th and the other on May 31st) raked the Oklahoma City area resulting in 45 deaths and billions of dollars in damage. A strong tornado also hit Modena, Italy. Record late season snowfalls and unusual cold affected portions of the central and eastern U.S. while extreme heat prevailed in India and Southeast Asia as well as eastern and northern Europe. Near record cold was experienced in Alaska, and portions of Western Europe (along with unseasonal snow) and Iceland.

weatherhistorian, • 7:15 AM GMT on June 15, 2013

Heat Bursts

A rare and intense heat burst affected south-central Nebraska early Tuesday morning rising the temperature from 73°F at 2 a.m. to 97°F by 4 a.m. in Hastings. Herein is a summary of the event and other notable heat bursts that have occurred in the past.

weatherhistorian, • 7:32 PM GMT on June 12, 2013

What is the Most Rain to Ever Fall in One Minute or One Hour?

As a follow up to my last blog I thought I would write up a short summary of the most intense short-term rainfalls on record in the United States. Wiley Post Airport in Oklahoma City picked up 3.10" in 1 hour and 2.00" in 25 minutes during the tornado and flood event on May 31st.

weatherhistorian, • 5:15 AM GMT on June 02, 2013