I’ve got another post coming up after this one about the record high temperature set in Baltimore today…
RECORD EVENT REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC
0547 PM EDT TUE JUL 06 2010
...RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE SET AT BALTIMORE MD...
A RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 105 DEGREES WAS SET AT BALTIMORE MD
TODAY. THIS BREAKS THE OLD RECORD OF 101 SET IN 1999.
…but I first thought I’d give credit where credit is due. While the MSM prattles on about the heat wave on the east coast of the USA, it is useful to step back and look at some historical perspectives. To their credit, the NWS in Baltimore did just that.
Dr. Roger Pielke Sr. alerted me to this Area Forecast Discussion (AFD) on the Baltimore/Washington DC National Weather Service page. The full text is below (source here) but I’ve pulled it out for you to read. Note that the appearance of “talking in code” is a holdover from when the NWS weather wire used to be communicated via KSR-28 teletypes operating at 56.85 baud, using 5 bit BAUDOT code, where every character saved meant more time for other products sent. In today’s hi-speed Internet age, it seems a silly holdover:
I RCVD A CALL ABT HIGH TEMP RECORDS AND DID A LTL RESEARCH – THIS IS CERTAINLY HOT BUT WAT OCCURRED 80 YRS AGO…W/O THE MODERN CONVENIENCES WE HV TDA…SEEMS UNFATHOMABLE. IN JUL AND AUG 1930 DC/BALT SET MULTIPLE RECORDS WHICH STILL STAND. AT DC IN JUL`30 4 HIGH TEMP RECORDS WERE SET – 100, 102, 103, AND 106. AND THE NGT OF 7/27/30 STILL HOLDS THE RECORD MIN..WHEN THERE WAS A WHOLE LOT LESS INFRASTRUCTURE…OF 81. NOT TO BE OUTDONE AUG 4-9 `30 HAD 3 DAYS OF 102…ALSO LONG STANDING RECORDS. WHEW!
Even the NWS recognizes the UHI effect on record temps. So much in fact that they closed the rooftop USHCN station in 1999 because it was reading erroneously.
Full story here:
How not to measure temperature, part 48. NOAA cites errors with Baltimore’s Rooftop USHCN Station
Here is the full text of the AFD:
000 FXUS61 KLWX 061328 AFDLWX AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC 928 AM EDT TUE JUL 6 2010 .SYNOPSIS... HIGH PRESSURE WILL INFLUENCE THE MID ATLANTIC THROUGH THE END OF THE WEEK...KEEPING HOT CONDITIONS ACROSS THE AREA. AN UPPER LOW CURRENTLY STALLED SOUTHEAST OF NOVA SCOTIA WILL MOVE SOUTHWEST TOWARD THE MID ATLANTIC COAST THROUGH LATE IN THE WEEK...BEFORE A COLD FRONT MOVES THROUGH ON SATURDAY. && .NEAR TERM /THROUGH TONIGHT/...-- Changed Discussion --UPDATE... HEAT ADVSRIES IN EFFECT FM CENTRAL VA ALL THE WAY TO QUEBEC. SFC ANLYS SHOWS HIGH PRES RMNS ANCHORED OVR THE RGN W/ WX PATTERN E OF THE MS RVR ESSENTIALLY STAGNANT FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF DAYS. I RCVD A CALL ABT HIGH TEMP RECORDS AND DID A LTL RESEARCH - THIS IS CERTAINLY HOT BUT WAT OCCURRED 80 YRS AGO...W/O THE MODERN CONVENIENCES WE HV TDA...SEEMS UNFATHOMABLE. IN JUL AND AUG 1930 DC/BALT SET MULTIPLE RECORDS WHICH STILL STAND. AT DC IN JUL`30 4 HIGH TEMP RECORDS WERE SET - 100, 102, 103, AND 106. AND THE NGT OF 7/27/30 STILL HOLDS THE RECORD MIN..WHEN THERE WAS A WHOLE LOT LESS INFRASTRUCTURE...OF 81. NOT TO BE OUTDONE AUG 4-9 `30 HAD 3 DAYS OF 102...ALSO LONG STANDING RECORDS. WHEW! FCST IN XCLNT SHAPE. PRES DCSN... ANOTHER HOT DAY TDA AS THE STRONG ANTICYCLONE REMAINS OVRHD. H8 TEMPS EVEN A DEGREE OR SO CELSIUS WARMER TDA THAN YESTERDAY WILL TRANSLATE TO WIDESPREAD 100F READINGS EAST OF THE BLUE RIDGE. THE LOCATIONS THAT HIT 100F YESTERDAY MAY RISE INTO THE LOW 100S TDA. TO CONSTRUCT TDA`S MAX TEMP GRID...USED A BLEND OF MODEL GUIDANCE FOR A BACKGROUND GRID AND THEN ADDED 1-3F /DEPENDING ON THE LOCATION/ TO YESTERDAY`S HIGHS AT SPECIFIC ASOS SITES. THE SLIGHTLY HIGHER TEMPERATURES COMBINED WITH THE SLIGHTLY HIGHER DEWPOINTS /MID 60S DURING THE AFTN/ ADVECTED FROM THE NORTH WILL YIELD HEAT INDICES OF AROUND 105F IN LOCATIONS ALONG AND EAST OF THE BLUE RIDGE....WHICH WARRANTS THE HEAT ADVISORY BEGINNING AT NOON. LIGHT N-NW WINDS GENERALLY AOB 10 MPH WILL NOT PROVIDE MUCH RELIEF TO THE HEAT. ANOTHER CONCERN IS THE LACK OF RELIEF FROM THE HEAT AT NIGHT IN THE CITY AREAS. OVNGT LOWS IN DC AND BALTIMORE WILL STRUGGLE TO DROP OUT OF THE 80S WHILE IT WILL FEEL MORE HUMID AS DEWPOINTS RISE INTO THE U60S TO NEAR 70F AT NIGHT.-- End Changed Discussion --
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It seems to me that “talking in code” is the norm in a world of texting and tweeting. The more things change, the more they stay the same. ;->
Refreshing comments from the NWS I’m impressed!.
Don’t be too hard on the Baltimore/Washington NWS “talking in code”. Many of us are frozen in time with the tech we first were exposed too. My daughter, an IT pro, is always laughing at me for insisting on using file names of no more than 8 characters, something probably not necessary for the last 10-15 years, but important under early versions of DOS.
Meanwhile, in California, I’ve had to get out my fleece-lined jacket again.
And just for some balance, here’s a current public information bulletin from NWS in southern California.
RECORD EVENT REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOS ANGELES/OXNARD CA
455 AM PDT TUE JUL 6 2010
…RECORD LOW MAXIMUM TEMPERATURES OVER THE PAST FEW DAYS…
IF THE DAYS HAVE SEEMED RATHER CHILLY FOR JULY LATELY…IT IS WITH
GOOD REASON. RECORD LOW MAXIMUM TEMPERATURES HAVE BEEN SET OR TIED
IN SOME LOCATIONS ON EACH OF THE PAST THREE DAYS.
ON JULY 3RD…THE HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 69 DEGREES AT LONG BEACH
AIRPORT BROKE THE OLD RECORD OF 72 DEGREES SET IN 1999.
ON JULY 4TH…THE HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 70 DEGREES AT LONG BEACH
AIRPORT TIED THE RECORD FOR THE DATE…SET IN 2002.
YESTERDAY…NEW RECORDS WERE SET AT BOTH LOS ANGELES AIRPORT AND
LONG BEACH AIRPORT FOR JULY 5TH. THE HIGH TEMPERATURE OF 67 DEGREES
AT LOS ANGELES AIRPORT WAS 1 DEGREE LOWER THAN THE PREVIOUS RECORD
OF 68 DEGREES SET IN 1968. THE HIGH OF 71 DEGREES AT LONG BEACH
AIRPORT WAS ALSO 1 DEGREE LOWER THAN THE PREVIOUS RECORD OF 72
DEGREES SET IN 2002.
OFFICIAL RECORDS HAVE BEEN KEPT AT LOS ANGELES AIRPORT SINCE 1944
AND AT LONG BEACH AIRPORT SINCE 1958.
Hot in the east, cold in the west, the exact opposite of this past February. Is a discussion of the jet stream position in order?
Its been cool in Florida. We have been rainy and 5-7 F below normal for the last 3 days.
And for some more balance to the globel equation:
http://www.weatherzone.com.au/news/alice-shivers-through-coldest-day-on-record/14583
It was very hot here (around DC) today, but dry. Many people thought it didn’t feel too bad especially in the shade. I think we made it this high because much of the area hasn’t had rain for a month and the dry air allows a higher high (but also a lower low as we will fall well below record high minimum temps tonight). Tomorrow we may get more humidity along with slightly lower high temperatures.
Hmm ?1999 is mentioned in both East and West coast reports. La Nina? Anyone?
7 July: ABC Australia: Alice shivers through coldest day on record
Alice Springs has had its coldest day on record, shivering through single digit temperatures yesterday.
Sally Cutter from the weather bureau says Alice Springs reached a maximum of just 6.4 degrees yesterday afternoon.
“That makes it the coldest on record for Alice Springs and those records are fairly old,” she said.
“I think it was 1948 was the coldest July day and 1966 was the previous coldest day on record.”..
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/07/07/2946659.htm
6 July: UK Tele: Alice Springs: coldest day on record
The Outback Australian town of Alice Spring is suffering what is likely to be its coldest day on record, with temperatures struggling to reach more than 42.8F (6C).
The town, which is used to sweltering in the desert heat, is blanketed by a thick band of cloud, which has been blamed for pushing temperatures down. The mercury rose to just 43.3F (6.3C) by the late afternoon, but the record cannot be confirmed until 9am on Wednesday.
Cold weather is a novelty in Alice Springs, Australia. The previous coldest day was in August 1966 when the maximum temperature reached just 44.6F (7C). ..
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/australia/7874500/Alice-Springs-coldest-day-on-record.html
btw temps in ABC previous post and here are centigrade:
6 July: ABC Australia: Cold weather a blessing in disguise
An independent agronomist says freezing temperatures across much of the state may in fact help the state’s farmers.
On Sunday, Geraldton shivered through its coldest temperature on record, when the mercury dipped to 0.4 degrees.
Much of the Wheatbelt has also experienced temperatures below 5 degrees.
Richard Quinlan from Planfarm says frost is unlikely to cause damage, because most crops are still in the early stages of growth…
http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/07/06/2946119.htm
As fhsiv already pointed out, SoCal is experiencing record cool temps. Just to put it into perspective, the high temp yesterday in San Diego was 65 degrees. That’s the normal high temp for January 1st!
Of course 65 is only 10 degrees below normal for San Diego in July. We don’t have much a difference between temps in summer versus winter down here along the coast!
Of couse what happened 80 years ago isn’t on the MSM radar. Thier clocks were reset to 1979.
Eric (skeptic) says:
July 6, 2010 at 6:41 pm
Can’t find what I did with the article, but in the AMA Journals over 100 years ago, 1 week in August had temps at or above 100 all across the US, and a couple of days later saw widespread frost in most states.
Maybe one of you AMA fellows out there knows how to search that out.
Yes talking in Txt style speak was also very common for morse code operators. My father who was one in the war is very proficient at txt-ing his teenage grandchildren, to their amazement.
Already the usual Environment Canada suspect is salivating about the heatwave:
“This is not just an American heat wave or a Canadian heat wave. It’s really roasting the eastern half of the continent,” David Phillips of Environment Canada said from Toronto.”
For reference it was 22 in Winnipeg.
Next we’ll expect high pressure anticyclones to stop at the border and show documents…
Eric (skeptic) says:
July 6, 2010 at 6:41 pm
It was very hot here (around DC) today, but dry. Many people thought it didn’t feel too bad especially in the shade. I think we made it this high because much of the area hasn’t had rain for a month and the dry air allows a higher high (but also a lower low as we will fall well below record high minimum temps tonight). Tomorrow we may get more humidity along with slightly lower high temperatures.
Sissy, but good to to here you are still there… by skimming through some MSM news I thought you on the East coast were all dying while lying on the 193 degree tarmac after being programmed that hot is really cold, or was it taught the other way around!
But I know what has really happened, you’ve got OK’s weather and I would like it back! It’s fall weather here already, 72 degrees, overcast, cool, rainy for last week and at least five more to run they say and it’s not my liking for summer. I want my normal 100+ degree July temperatures back, OK? (you can have this crud if you want it) 🙂
However, it’s been great for the wheat if it’ll just stop soon!
The fact that the main stream media are blowing this “heat wave” all out of proportion is well….typical of their reactive, sensationalist BS.
It is also indicative of the fact that because it is occurring in the “Megalopolis”, because the world revolves around them, (and all of the national networks of ABC, CBS, NBC, and the New York Times are centered there), the rest of the world, should be forced to know about it, too, lol.
Nothing like a little northeast-USA-centrism to be forced down your throats, right?
Well, while they sizzle a little bit in Baltimore and Philly, and DC, maybe some of the powers that be at Al Gore Central don’t want you to remember what just occurred a few months ago….literally:
http://wattsupwiththat.com/2010/02/10/all-time-seasonal-snowfall-record-broken-in-washington-and-baltimore/
Chris
Norfolk, VA, USa
Off Topic, kind of… I am flying to Baltimore tomorrow for a meeting with a publisher based out there.
Its currently 52 degrees with a lite fog and blue sky’s currently at the Pacific Coast… I will probably go into shock, just trying to breath once I arrive. This should be interesting. It will be the hottest temp I have felt in ages… I have gotton used to my Pacific Ice Age Temps.
After tomorrow, anyways…its over.
http://www.goes.noaa.gov/GIFS/ECSTWV.JPG
An unusual, retrograding upper-level cyclone is about to slosh ashore from the ENE off the Atlantic and bring some increased moisture, and “cooler” maritime temperatures, putting an end to this nonsense hyped-up heat wave that is being forced across the airways thanks to the Chicken-Little news.
Back to the retrograding upper low in the scalding direct sun heat of of the NH July:
I think this display you are seeing is reflective of the mature AMO, cooling Pacific…and the sheer fact that the extremely high heights of the anticyclone that was “threatening” to become this over-hyped monster East-o-centric “heat wave”…. are evaporating before our eyes.
It is all a sign of the times. This would have amplified and become a monster in 2007.
But not now in 2010. Hmm.
Ask the Texans about heat waves and dry conditions.
Well, not this year. But the last few years.
And you don’t hear them whining on the news.
Its all no big deal….and definitely not newsworthy.
Just natural variation….with a few urban heat islands and misplaced weather data stations on airplane tarmacs and rooftops…mixed in.
Chris
Norfolk, VA, USA
A teletype connected to the internet is still a teletype. Are you sure they scrapped the KSRs? Thunkchugga Thunkchugga…..
Its a good record, got a nice beat, easy to dance to.
I’d give it an 8.
PennState at it again:
6 July: PennLive: Donald Brown: Climate change could be worse than Gulf spill
Donald Brown is associate professor of Environmental Ethics, Science and Law at Penn State University
As the globe has been experiencing record heat during the spring, floodwaters that have been predicted by climate change science are wreaking havoc in many worldwide locations. Disastrous flooding was experienced this spring in France where flash floods hit the back hills of the French Riviera and turned streets into rivers of surging, muddy water. The death toll from the flooding has risen to 25.
In Myanmar and Bangladesh, floods and landslides triggered by incessant monsoon rains have killed more than 100 people. China and Brazil have also experienced devastating flooding this year. In the United States, flooding in Texas, Nebraska and Wyoming has caused massive damage to farms and homes.
Although science can’t say that all of these flooding events are directly attributable to human-causation, this flooding is predicted by climate change science.
Climate change not only threatens more people, animals and ecological systems around the world than the Gulf spill, it promises to be a problem that will continually wreak havoc for centuries while harming the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people with drought, floods, killer storms, rising sea levels and vector-borne disease.
The magnitude of greenhouse gas emissions reductions needed to prevent dangerous climate change is truly civilization challenging. This is so because the world will need to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions from current levels by 80 percent or greater by the middle of this century to prevent catastrophic climate change. Greenhouse gas emissions increase worldwide at 2 percent per year under current trends….
http://www.pennlive.com/editorials/index.ssf/2010/07/climate_change_could_be_worse.html
Seems to be hottest nearest the sources of hot air, especially DC and New York. In addition to the urban heat island effect, could there be a bloviating politician effect?