Friday, June 24, 2011 5:21:03 PM
2010 - 2011: Earth's most extreme weather since 1816?
By Dr. Jeff Masters
Published: 4:00 PM GMT on June 24, 2011
Every year extraordinary weather events rock the Earth. Records that have stood centuries are broken. Great floods, droughts, and storms affect millions of people, and truly exceptional weather events unprecedented in human history may occur. But the wild roller-coaster ride of incredible weather events during 2010, in my mind, makes that year the planet's most extraordinary year for extreme weather since reliable global upper-air data began in the late 1940s. Never in my 30 years as a meteorologist have I witnessed a year like 2010--the astonishing number of weather disasters and unprecedented wild swings in Earth's atmospheric circulation were like nothing I've seen. The pace of incredible extreme weather events in the U.S. over the past few months have kept me so busy that I've been unable to write-up a retrospective look at the weather events of 2010. But I've finally managed to finish, so fasten your seat belts for a tour through the top twenty most remarkable weather events of 2010. At the end, I'll reflect on what the wild weather events of 2010 and 2011 imply for our future.
Earth's hottest year on record
Unprecedented heat scorched the Earth's surface in 2010, tying 2005 for the warmest year since accurate records began in the late 1800s. Temperatures in Earth's lower atmosphere also tied for warmest year on record, according to independent satellite measurements. Earth's 2010 record warmth was unusual because it occurred during the deepest solar energy minimum since satellite measurements of the sun began in the 1970s. Unofficially, nineteen nations (plus the the U.K.'s Ascension Island) set all-time extreme heat records in 2010. This includes Asia's hottest reliably measured temperature of all-time, the remarkable 128.3°F (53.5°C) in Pakistan in May 2010. This measurement is also the hottest reliably recorded temperature anywhere on the planet except for in Death Valley, California. The countries that experienced all-time extreme highs in 2010 constituted over 20% of Earth's land surface area.
Figure 1. Climate Central and Weather Underground put together this graphic showing the nineteen nations (plus one UK territory, Ascension Island) that set new extreme heat records in 2010.
Most extreme winter Arctic atmospheric circulation on record; "Snowmageddon" results
Arctic sea ice: lowest volume on record, 3rd lowest extent
Record melting in Greenland, and a massive calving event
Second most extreme shift from El Niño to La Niña
Second worst coral bleaching year
Wettest year over land
Amazon rainforest experiences its 2nd 100-year drought in 5 years
Global tropical cyclone activity lowest on record
A hyperactive Atlantic hurricane season: 3rd busiest on record
A rare tropical storm in the South Atlantic
Strongest storm in Southwestern U.S. history
Strongest non-coastal storm in U.S. history
Weakest and latest-ending East Asian monsoon on record
No monsoon depressions in India's Southwest Monsoon for 2nd time in 134 years
The Pakistani flood: most expensive natural disaster in Pakistan's history
The Russian heat wave and drought: deadliest heat wave in human history
Record rains trigger Australia's most expensive natural disaster in history
Heaviest rains on record trigger Colombia's worst flooding disaster in history
Tennessee's 1-in-1000 year flood kills 30, does $2.4 billion in damage
When was the last time global weather was so extreme?
Where will Earth's climate go from here?
http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/article.html
By Dr. Jeff Masters
Published: 4:00 PM GMT on June 24, 2011
Every year extraordinary weather events rock the Earth. Records that have stood centuries are broken. Great floods, droughts, and storms affect millions of people, and truly exceptional weather events unprecedented in human history may occur. But the wild roller-coaster ride of incredible weather events during 2010, in my mind, makes that year the planet's most extraordinary year for extreme weather since reliable global upper-air data began in the late 1940s. Never in my 30 years as a meteorologist have I witnessed a year like 2010--the astonishing number of weather disasters and unprecedented wild swings in Earth's atmospheric circulation were like nothing I've seen. The pace of incredible extreme weather events in the U.S. over the past few months have kept me so busy that I've been unable to write-up a retrospective look at the weather events of 2010. But I've finally managed to finish, so fasten your seat belts for a tour through the top twenty most remarkable weather events of 2010. At the end, I'll reflect on what the wild weather events of 2010 and 2011 imply for our future.
Earth's hottest year on record
Unprecedented heat scorched the Earth's surface in 2010, tying 2005 for the warmest year since accurate records began in the late 1800s. Temperatures in Earth's lower atmosphere also tied for warmest year on record, according to independent satellite measurements. Earth's 2010 record warmth was unusual because it occurred during the deepest solar energy minimum since satellite measurements of the sun began in the 1970s. Unofficially, nineteen nations (plus the the U.K.'s Ascension Island) set all-time extreme heat records in 2010. This includes Asia's hottest reliably measured temperature of all-time, the remarkable 128.3°F (53.5°C) in Pakistan in May 2010. This measurement is also the hottest reliably recorded temperature anywhere on the planet except for in Death Valley, California. The countries that experienced all-time extreme highs in 2010 constituted over 20% of Earth's land surface area.
Figure 1. Climate Central and Weather Underground put together this graphic showing the nineteen nations (plus one UK territory, Ascension Island) that set new extreme heat records in 2010.
Most extreme winter Arctic atmospheric circulation on record; "Snowmageddon" results
Arctic sea ice: lowest volume on record, 3rd lowest extent
Record melting in Greenland, and a massive calving event
Second most extreme shift from El Niño to La Niña
Second worst coral bleaching year
Wettest year over land
Amazon rainforest experiences its 2nd 100-year drought in 5 years
Global tropical cyclone activity lowest on record
A hyperactive Atlantic hurricane season: 3rd busiest on record
A rare tropical storm in the South Atlantic
Strongest storm in Southwestern U.S. history
Strongest non-coastal storm in U.S. history
Weakest and latest-ending East Asian monsoon on record
No monsoon depressions in India's Southwest Monsoon for 2nd time in 134 years
The Pakistani flood: most expensive natural disaster in Pakistan's history
The Russian heat wave and drought: deadliest heat wave in human history
Record rains trigger Australia's most expensive natural disaster in history
Heaviest rains on record trigger Colombia's worst flooding disaster in history
Tennessee's 1-in-1000 year flood kills 30, does $2.4 billion in damage
When was the last time global weather was so extreme?
Where will Earth's climate go from here?
http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/article.html
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