EarthNow

Overview

Each month, we will provide information regarding the previous month’s climate. November 2015 was the  warmest November on record with a combined average global land and ocean temperature of 1.75°F, or 0.97°C, above the 20^th century average and marked the seventh consecutive month that the monthly global temperature record has been broken.

Highlights Dataset

Dataset: 20151221 EarthNow: November 2015 Highlights

Dataset: 20151221 EarthNow: AUDIO November 2015 Highlights

This dataset shows some of the major November weather and climate highlights from the National Climatic Data Center’s (NCDC) monthly global climate analysis, and serves as an overview of what can be discussed in the datasets that follow. Highlights are noted below.

• Hurricane Sandra: Lasted from November 23^rd through 28^th recording winds up to 143 Mph.

• Cyclone Chapala: Lasted from October 28^th – November 4^th with winds up to 155 Mph.

• Australia: 3^rd warmest November on record.

• Europe: Cooler than average temperatures.

• South America: Cooler than normal temperatures, with several locations within Argentina experiencing record-breaking low temperatures.

• United States: 4^th warmest October on record with an average temperature of 57.4°F or 3.3° above the 20^th century average. Rainfall was also above average for the contiguous United States with a series of storms, including the remnants of Hurricane Patricia, brought record rain and flooding to the Southern Plains and Lower Mississippi Valley.

Sea Surface Temperature Anomalies Dataset

Dataset: 20151221 EarthNow: November 2015 SST Anomaly

Dataset: 20151221 EarthNow: AUDIO November 2015 SST Anomaly

• The real-time sea surface temperature anomaly dataset is a great way to visualize the El Niño – Southern Oscillation (ENSO) in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

• The global sea surface temperature for October 2015 was 1.51°F or 0.84°C, above the 20th century average. This resulted in the highest departure from normal for any November.

• According to NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, strong El Niño conditions are expected to continue through the Northern Hemisphere winter and is to transition to more neutral conditions during late spring to early summer 2016.

• Remember blues indicate cooler than average temperatures and reds indicate warmer than average temperatures (white: average).

Snow and Ice Cover Dataset

Dataset: 20151221 EarthNow: November 2015 Snow and Ice Cover

Dataset: 20151221 EarthNow: AUDIO November 2015 Snow and Ice Cover

• Aside from helping to illustrate seasonal changes, the real-time Snow and Ice Cover dataset is a great way to convey sea ice change through time, including discussing how the current sea ice extent compares to other noteworthy years.

• The Arctic sea ice extent for November 2015 was 8.4% below the 1981-2010 average, making it the 6^th smallest November sea ice extent since satellite records began in 1979.

• In Antarctica, the sea ice extent was 1.2% above the 1981-2010 average, the 14^th largest on record for the month of September.

Seasonal Outlooks

Be sure to check out the 3-month seasonal outlooks for January-March.

• Global Temperature Outlook
• Global Precipitation Outlook
• U.S. Drought Outlook

Where do I find the datasets?

• First, check your SOS system to make sure it’s not already in the EarthNow category.

• In addition to the normal files, there is now a “digest” section. This section in the file structure has all of the normal files compiled into one video.

• If not, you can download the datasets and playlist files from this FTP Site.

• Then download and use playlist files at the top of the page (or create your own) and make sure they are in /home/sos/sosrc or /home/sosdemo/sosrc.

• More detailed information here

Helpful Resources for More Information

• http://go.wisc.edu/3nd6pg National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)

• http://go.wisc.edu/9y2618 About ENSO (El Niño/La Niña)

• http://go.wisc.edu/1nx2n3 NCDC’s Global Climate Report

Credits:

EarthNow Team
NOAA

References:

NOAA National Climatic Data Center, State of the Climate: Global Analysis for October 2015, published online November 2015, retrieved on November 21, 2015 from http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/global/.