[DG57]

http://france.meteof...cument_id=26522

25.4°C at St John (New Brunswick), the previous all-time record for March being 17.5°C, and for April being 22.8°C (!).

Not only, St John beat its own record, but it did by 8°C, exceeded the 20°C-line, and even the warm day-line, 25°C!

[Nigel Bolton]

Big Dave, on 22 March 2012 - 18:21, said:

The margins by which previous records are being broken is staggering. It is totally inconceivable that any UK location record for high temperature on any day could be broken by 20 °C! It's just insane

Some of these anomalies are very scary indeed. Normally one would expect to break records by tenths of one degree, not multiples of ten.

The biggest maximum temperature anomalies in the UK date by date tend to be around the 13C to 16C difference, for instance the top UK temperature on 10th August 2003 of 38C was near 16C. Similar anomalies were recorded during the last days of June 1976, when temperatures of up to 36C were recorded, this heatwave being an in-situ developer over very dry ground.

One can only speculate as to how such anomalies elsewhere could affect life, especially at the hottest time of the year. For instance, taking the Pellston anomaly of 48F, (27C), in London in July would yield a temperature of near 50C (120F), a temperature that would have the potential to kill tens, if not hundreds of thousands, plus a severe drain on elecrical energy as air conditioning units strained to cope with the extra demand.

Of course our temperatures are generally attenuated by being surrounded by cooler seas, and more often than not, some rainfall at relatively frequent intervals, but large conurbations on the Continent do not have this luxury. It is worth remembering that the heat-wave of 2003 across Europe allegedly killed tens of thousands, a more approximate number eludes me just now, but that was with temperatures into the low fourties.

As a leveller to the above stats, it might be worth pointing out, that given max sunshine, a lapse rate as seen during the summer of 1976, and thickness values as seen during the heatwaves of Augusts 1990 and 2003, would yeald a theoretical max temp here in the UK of around 42C.

Food for thought.

N.

[Dave K]

A comprehensive round-up of this remarkable event by Christopher C Burt at


The Historic Anomalous Temperature Event of March 2012: http://www.wundergro...tml?entrynum=66

[Nigel Bolton]

As a matter of interest, generally, how snowy was the winter in the mid-west. My sis in Chicago said that the winter had been remarkably snow free in the area. Much of the soalr power in the Spring is used to melt snow, latent heat required to change state from ice to water is considerable.

N.

[Dave K]

What a difference a week makes...

Quote

Hard freeze likely to significantly damage Midwest fruit trees
By Dr. Jeff Masters
Published: 1:13 PM GMT on March 26, 2012
After a week of temperatures in the 70s and 80s last week, it was a rude awakening for Michigan this morning, as temperatures across all but the extreme southern portions of the state dropped below freezing. Tonight, far colder temperatures in the low to mid-20s are expected across the entire state, and frosts and freezes are also expected in all of Ohio, plus portions of Indiana, Kentucky, Wisconsin, West Virginia, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Delaware, North Carolina, Maryland, Washington D.C., and New Jersey. A hard freeze (temperatures below 28°F ) will cause widespread damage to flowering plants fooled into blooming by last week's unprecedented "Summer in March" heat wave. Temperatures as hot as 90° hit Michigan last week, and the National Weather Service in Detroit called the "Summer in March" heat wave "perhaps the most anomalous weather event in Michigan since climate records began 130 years ago."

http://www.wundergro...rs/article.html