Author Archives: EarthNow Team
July 2013 Climate Digest
Each month, we will provide information regarding the previous month’s climate. Overall, preliminary data analysis suggests that July 2013 was the 6th warmest on record (since 1880). Major stories include Tropical Storm Flossie, a warmer than normal Australia, and the continued absence of El Niño or La Niña. Continue reading
Impacts of Saharan Dust Cloud
Over the past several days, a large dust cloud has moved from Africa’s Sahara Desert over the Atlantic Ocean. NOAA’s satellites detected the plume of dust several days ago. moving off the coast of Africa. Dust clouds like this are relatively common and are part of the Saharan Air Layer, but this particular plume of dust is highly concentrated. The high concentration will not only lower visibilities for any areas along its path, but has the potential to suppress hurricane development. NOAA models forecast the the dust plume to travel across the Atlantic over the next several days. Continue reading
Global Seasonal Outlook (August – October 2013)
The data for the global temperature and precipitation outlooks are provided by the International Research Institute for Climate and Society (IRI). The IRI was established as a cooperative agreement between NOAA’s Climate Program Office and Columbia University. It is part of The Earth Institute, Columbia University. The data for these maps are constructed primarily from several climate models, with some minor tweaks by climatologists. Continue reading
