Friday, June 28, 2013

Southwest Scorched by Historic Heat;
Update: All-Time June Records at Death Valley, Needles

Image (click to enlarge): U.S. daily high temperatures, June 28, 2013, from Unisys. Note the bright blue area of 120°+.

July 1 Update: The 129° at the aptly-named Furnace Creek in Death Valley on June 30 was a new all-time June high temperature record there. The previous record of 128° was set on June 29, 1994 and tied on the same date this year. The June 30 reading also tied the all-time June record for the U.S. which was originally set 111 years ago on June 23, 1902 in the former town of Volcano, California.

The June average temperature of 101.3° at Death Valley easily surpassed the old June record of 100.4° in 1960. The June average daily minimum of 87.1° also set a record, exceeding the 86.8° in 1977.

At Needles, California, where climate history extends back to 1888, all-time June records were set for:
- Average temperature of 95.8° (old record 94.8° in 1994)
- Monthly maximum 123° on the 29th (old record 122° on June 11, 1918 and June 29, 1924)
- Average minimum 81.5° (old record 81.0° in 1981)

June 30, 5 PM PDT Update: As of 5 pm, Las Vegas is reporting a high so far of 117°, which ties the all-time record. The preliminary monthly average of 91.5° smokes the old June record by a full degree.

June 30, 4 PM PDT Update: The current temperature of 116° at Las Vegas ties the all-time June record set on June 15, 1940. This is the third consecutive day of 115°+ at Las Vegas.

Phoenix tied its record for June 30 at 115°.

June 29, 9 PM Update: More major heat records were set today. Some preliminary highlights:
- The 115° at Las Vegas tied the record for the date.
- Needles, California hit 123°, which set a new all-time June record in a climate history extending back to 1888.
- Kingman, Arizona beat its old June all-time high by 2° in a climate record which began in 1901.
- Salt Lake City had 105° for the second consecutive day. This was a new all-time June record.

June 29, 10 AM Update: The National Weather Service has provided additional record reports for Needles and Death Valley, California and Kingman, Arizona, included in the table below.

The 115° at Las Vegas was the first time that level was reached in June since 1994. It was also the hottest June temperature at Needles since 1994. At Kingman, it was the second earliest 110° temperature; the earliest was June 16, 1917. That also ties the all-time June record.

Original Post:
It was historically hot in the desert Southwest today. Over a dozen major National Weather Service climate locations in Arizona, Nevada and interior California tied or broke temperature records for June 28, in some cases by big margins. The highest readings in absolute terms were 118° at Palm Springs, California, which tied its 1979 record, and at Yuma, Arizona. Yuma climate records began nearly 140 years ago, in 1876. The previous record of 116° was tied 3 times, but it was soundly broken by a margin of 2°. At Winnemucca, Nevada the previous record of 101° was set just 3 years ago in a climate history which dates back to 1877, but this was surpassed by an impressive margin of 4°.

Here's a preliminary summary of today's records (POR indicates first year of period of record):

Location Record Previous Date POR
AZ Flagstaff 96 94 1990/1974 1898
Winslow 107 104 1973 1898
Prescott 104 100 1990 1948
Yuma 118 116 1994/1990/1985 1876
Kingman 110 107 1914 1901
NV Elko 103 101 1892 1888
Eureka 100 95 2010/2007 1963
Tonopah 101 101 1956 1954
Winnemucca 105 101 2010 1877
Las Vegas 115 115 1994 1937
Reno 103 100 2010 1888
CA Bishop 107 105 1956 1943
Palm Springs 118 118 1979 1893
Death Valley 125 125 1994 1911
Needles 121 119 1994 1888


Wednesday, June 26, 2013

New York on Track for Wettest June in 145-Year Climate Record

Images (click to enlarge): June total rainfall to date for New York and southern New England from National Weather Service (NWS); 48-hour total precipitation forecast through Friday evening, June 28, from WPC/NWS

June 27 (Thursday), 10:30 PM Update: The 0.23" so far tonight brings the monthly total to 10.09", which surpasses the 10.06" in 2009 as the second wettest June on record.

Original Post:
The 0.05" of rain which fell at New York's Central Park in light showers this evening brings the month-to-date total to 9.86". This puts June 2013 firmly in position as the 3rd wettest June in a climate history which extends back to 1869. Less than half an inch now separates the current month from the June record of 10.27" in 2003. With over 1" of rain forecast for Thursday and Friday (June 27-28), the record is well within reach.

The 3 wettest Junes in New York have now all occurred in the past 11 years. The all-time wettest month was August 2011, when 18.95" fell.

Seasonal Outlook

Latest seasonal forecast: Click here.


Latest 3-month temperature outlook from Climate Prediction Center/NWS/NOAA.