Weekly Global Climate Highlights Map for April 14, 2001

1. Western United States:

UNSEASONABLY COOL WEATHER PREVAILS
Weekly departures of -2°C to -5°C dominated the western United States, with temperatures as much as 7°C below normal in the mountains of southern California. Subfreezing lows prevailed across most of the region. Highs in excess of 30°C were restricted to southeastern California and southwestern Arizona while readings of 20°C or higher were limited to eastern California and southern Nevada [COLD - 2 weeks].
 

2. Midwestern United States:

RAINS BRING LIMITED RELIEF
Between 50 and 100 mm of rain fell on the central sections of Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio while 25 to 50 mm fell on eastern Iowa and southern Wisconsin. Elsewhere, weekly total precipitation was less than 25 mm. Precipitation shortfalls for the last 8 weeks ranged from 50 to 150 mm [DRY - Up to 7 weeks].

3. Central Argentina:

MORE WET WEATHER
Moderate to heavy rains (50 to 200 mm) soaked San Luis, La Pampa, southern Cordoba, and western Buenos Aires provinces of central Argentina while totals dropped off rapidly to the north and east. Since the middle of February, central Argentina has received 100 to 500 mm of rain, resulting in short-term moisture excesses of 50 to 325 mm [WET - Up to 10 weeks].

4. Northern Europe:

COLD ANOMALY DEVELOPS
Cold weather continued across northern Scandinavia and the northwestern corner of Russia for the second week as temperatures averaged 2°C to 5°C below normal. The mercury dropped to -29°C at Siccajavre, Norway (69°N) [COLD - 2 weeks].

5. Southwestern Europe and Northwestern Africa

WARM ANOMALY REMAINS
Temperature departures of +2°C to +7°C again prevailed over much of the Iberian Peninsula southward across Morocco, with temperatures reaching 34°C at Marrakech, Morocco (32°N) [WARM - Up to 7 weeks].

6. Northwestern Africa:

DRYNESS CONTINUES
Dry weather continued over Morocco and northwestern Algeria. As a result, moisture deficits of 50 to 150 mm have accumulated across the region since the middle of February [DRY - Up to 6 weeks].

7. Northern China and Southern Mongolia:

UNUSUALLY COLD CONDITIONS REPORTED
Temperatures averaged 2°C to 5°C below normal last week, with subfreezing lows across the entire region. Readings approached -13°C in northwestern China, and plummeted below -18°C in west-central Mongolia. The mercury failed to reach 20°C across most of the region [COLD - 2 weeks].

8. East-Central Asia:

VERY DRY CONDITIONS PREVAIL
Moderate rains (50 to 100 mm) were restricted to exposed portions of southern Japan, and light precipitation was reported in central China from eastern Sichuan eastward to northern Fujian. Little or no precipitation fell elsewhere. During the last 8 weeks, only 50 to 320 mm of precipitation accumulated across the region, yielding moisture deficits of 50 to 200 mm [DRY - Up to 7 weeks].

9. Malaysia and Indonesia:

WETNESS EASES ON PENINSULAR MALAYSIA, BUT PERSISTS ELSEWHERE
A few scattered light to moderate rain showers (25 to 50 mm) affected most of the Malay Peninsula, but heavy rains (50 to 200 mm) drenched the extreme southern tip of Peninsular Malaysia and much of Sumatra and Java. Between 200 and 900 mm of rain has fallen on the region since the middle of February, allowing short-term moisture surpluses of 50 to 425 mm to accumulate [WET - Up to 11 weeks].