15-19 March 2010

• Becoming AWARE --
The National Weather Service has designated that this coming week of 15-19 March 2010 is Flood Safety Awareness Week. Check the website http://www.floodsafety.noaa.gov/ for information concerning flooding caused by excessive rain events, rapid snowmelt, ice jams and debris flow, along with useful flood safety and mitigation measures. At least one half of the 50 states are also observing this week with special activities. Iowa is observing the entire month of March as Flood Awareness Month. In addition, Indiana and Pennsylvania will observe their Severe/Hazardous Weather Awareness Weeks during this week. Virginia has also scheduled Tornado Preparedness Day for Tuesday, 16 March 2010. These days and weeks are usually scheduled before the onset of the severe weather season in that particular state. If you live in any of these states, you should take time to become familiar with the various public affairs announcements issued by your local National Weather Service Office. In upcoming weeks, other states will observe Severe Weather Awareness weeks.
• "Earth-Sun Day"--
Since Saturday 20 March 2010 is the vernal equinox, the day has been declared Earth-Sun Day, which is includes a series of programs and events that occur throughout the year culminating with a celebration on the Spring Equinox. This year's theme is Magnetic Storms, which are disturbances in the Earth's magnetic field associated by solar activity. NASA will have a live Sun-Earth Day Webcast from the exhibit floor of the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) conference in Philadelphia, PA.
• Eye on the tropics --
Tropical cyclone activity was found across the Southern Hemisphere during the past week:
In the South Pacific Tropical Cyclone Tomas formed west of Pago Pago late last week and traveled to the west and then southwest. By late Sunday (local time), Tomas became a major category-3 cyclone on the Saffir-Simpson Scale as it traveled southward. Additional information on Tropical Cyclone Tomas and a satellite image are available on the NASA Hurricane Page.
Tropical Cyclone Ului also formed late last week over the waters of the South Pacific near the Torres Islands in the island nation of Vanuatu to the northeast of Australia. By midday on Sunday (local time), Uliui had become a major category-5 cyclone on the Saffir-Simpson Scale, as maximum sustained surface winds reached 160 mph. At that time, this major tropical cyclone was traveling to the west-northwest. See additional information concerning Tropical Cyclone Ului on the NASA Hurricane Page.
In Southern Indian Ocean, Tropical Storm Hubert formed early last week east of Madagascar. However, this tropical storm was short-lived as it made landfall along Madagascar within two days of formation. Satellite images and additional information on Tropical Storm Hubert are available from the NASA Hurricane Page.
In the South Atlantic basin , a rare tropical cyclone formed off the Brazilian coast. This cyclone, identified as Tropical Storm 90Q, represents only the second documented tropical cyclone to form over the cool waters of this basin. This tropical storm traveled away from the coast and dissipated. NASA Hurricane Page.
• Caribbean hurricane preparedness tour to commence --
Meteorologists and support staff from NOAA and the U.S. Air Force Reserve will begin a ten-day trip on "hurricane hunter" aircraft late this coming week to six coastal communities in Bermuda, Mexico and the Caribbean. This mission, which includes the Director of NOAA's National Hurricane Center, is designed to familiarize the region's residents of the hurricane monitoring and forecast efforts of the US and to urge these residents to prepare for the upcoming hurricane season. [NOAA News]
• Little confidence shown in national hurricane response planning --
A study that involved a telephone survey conducted of residents in southeastern Louisiana last fall by researchers at Louisiana State University shows that while many families had their own well-developed hurricane response plan, less than one third of the respondents felt that the Federal government has an adequate plan. Interestingly they felt that the state and their parish or town had adequate plans. [EurekAlert!]
• Review of weather and climate for February 2010 and the 2009-10 winter --
  
Based upon preliminary data, scientists at NOAA's National Climatic Data Center reported that temperatures across the coterminous US for February 2010 and the recently-concluded meteorological winter season (December 2009 through February 2010) were below the long-term average for the period of record that commenced in 1895. Nearly two-thirds of the nation experienced below normal winter temperatures, while Maine had the third warmest winter on record. Washington State and Oregon had above average winter temperatures. The states across the Mid-South and Southeast experienced February temperatures that ranged from the fourth to eighth coldest in the 116-year period of record. While winter precipitation across much of the nation was above average, February precipitation was slightly below average. The South generally had above average winter precipitation, while sections of the Midwest and the northern Rockies had much below average precipitation. [NOAA News]
While much of the continental US experienced below average temperatures for winter, much of Canada had a warmer than normal winter, with only sections of the Prairie Provinces having below average temperatures. The national average temperature for the three months of December 2009 through February 2010 being the highest since nationwide temperature averages began in 1948. Nationwide, Canada also experienced its driest winter in the last 63 winters. [Environment Canada]
• Satellite instruments are readied for ionospheric study --
Three instruments that will be a part of the FASTSAT-HSV01 (Fast, Affordable, Science and Technology Satellite, Huntsville) satellite are being readied at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center and at Marshall Space Flight Center for launch in May 2010. These instruments, which will detect the environment of the Earth's ionosphere are the MINI-ME (Miniature Imager for Neutral Ionospheric atoms and Magnetospheric Electrons), PISA (Plasma Impedance Spectrum Analyzer) and TTI (Thermospheric Temperature Imager). [EurekAlert!]
• Sea salt is spread high and wide --
Based upon air samples taken in the air above Boulder, CO, atmospheric scientists from the University of Washington, NOAA's Earth Systems Research Laboratory in Boulder, CO and from NOAA facilities in Seattle, WA have found that sodium chloride from sea salt can be carried more than one mile above and as far as 900 miles from the nearest large saltwater body. The researchers believe that chemical reactions could form chloride compounds that could contribute to smog formation. [EurekAlert!]
• Hypoxic waters could contribute to climate change --
An oceanographer from the University of Maryland warns that the increasing number and intensity of hypoxic waters, which are oxygen-deprived "dead zones" in the coastal waters, could adversely impact environmental conditions with the large amounts of nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas, produced in these waters, thereby resulting in elevated global temperatures. The nitrous oxide release could also be detrimental to stratospheric ozone levels. [EurekAlert!]
• Decline of Arctic musk ox population was due to climate --
A biologist from Penn State University along with colleagues have discovered that the rapid decline of the Arctic musk ox populations approximately 12,000 years ago was caused by a climate was warming rather than from the impacts caused by human hunting. [Penn State University]
• Prehistoric response to Arctic climate changes studied --
An anthropologist from the University at Buffalo along with colleagues from other institutions has been attempting using archaeological and paleoenvironmental data to determine how ancient societies living in the Arctic regions of Quebec, Finland and Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula approximately 4000 to 6000 years ago responded to changes in the climate of the region. [University at Buffalo News Center]
• "Outsourcing" of carbon emissions made to developing countries --
Scientists at the Carnegie Institution recently released a new study that finds over a third of carbon dioxide emissions associated with consumption of goods and services in many developed countries in western Europe, Japan, and North America are actually emitted elsewhere, especially in developing countries where the goods are produced. For example, some European countries "outsource" over half of their carbon dioxide emissions, primarily to developing countries, especially China. [EurekAlert!]
• Amazon rainforest myths are debunked --
Researchers from Boston University and colleagues have used data collected from the MODIS instruments on NASA's Aqua and Terra satellites to find few significant differences between the greenness level of the Amazon rainforests in drought and non-drought years, which appears to debunk the myth that the rainforests had been severely affected by the major 2005 drought in the Amazon Valley. [EurekAlert!]
• An All-Hazards Monitor--
This Web portal provides the user information from NOAA on current environmental events that may pose as hazards such as tropical weather, fire weather, marine weather, severe weather, drought and floods. [NOAAWatch]
• Global and US Hazards/Climate Extremes --
A review and analysis of the global impacts of various weather-related events, including drought, floods and storms during the current month. [NCDC]
• Earthweek --
Diary of the Planet [earthweek.com] Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.

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Prepared by Edward J. Hopkins, Ph.D., email hopkins@meteor.wisc.edu
© Copyright, 2010, The American Meteorological Society.