Ag Weather Forum

May Climate Report

Bryce Anderson
By  Bryce Anderson , Ag Meteorologist Emeritus
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Another month, another entry in the continual warming trend for the globe. That's how the May world climate report can be summed up. The text summary is posted here. The full report is at this link: http://tinyurl.com/…

Bryce

Twitter @BAndersonDTN

According to NOAA scientists, the globally averaged temperature over land and ocean surfaces for May 2014 was the highest for May since record keeping began in 1880. It also marked the 39th consecutive May and 351st consecutive month with a global temperature above the 20th century average. The last below-average global temperature for May occurred in 1976 and the last below-average temperature for any month occurred in February 1985.

The majority of the world experienced warmer-than-average monthly temperatures, with record warmth across eastern Kazakhstan, parts of Indonesia, and central and northwestern Australia. Scattered sections across every major ocean basin were also record warm. Part of the northeastern Atlantic, small sections of the northwestern and southeastern Pacific, and the ocean waters off the southern tip of South America were cooler or much cooler than average.

Global temperature highlights: May

The combined average temperature over global land and ocean surfaces for May 2014 was the record highest for the month, at 59.93 deg F (15.54 deg C), or 1.33 deg F (0.74 deg C) above the 20th century average of 58.6 deg F (14.8 deg C), surpassing the previous record of +1.30 deg F (+0.72 deg C) set in 2010. The margin of error associated with this temperature is +/- 0.13 deg F (0.07 deg C).

The May global land temperature was the fourth highest for May on record, at 2.03 deg F (1.13 deg C) above the 20th century average of 52.0 deg F (11.1 deg C), with a margin of error of +/- 0.23 deg F (0.13 deg C). The Southern Hemisphere land temperature was record warm for May.

Some national land temperature highlights include:

The nationally averaged May temperature for Australia was the third highest in the country's 105-year period of record, at 2.92 deg F (1.62 deg C) above the 1961-1990 average. The average temperature for South Australia was record warm for May, surpassing the previous record set just one year ago.

With national records extending back to 1973, the average May temperature was record high for South Korea, at 2.2 deg F (1.2 deg C) above the 1981-2010 average.

Spain observed a May temperature 2.5 deg F (1.4 deg C) higher than the 1971-2000 average. Most of the southern half of the country was 4-5 deg F (2-3 deg C) higher than average.

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In North America, the U.S. state of Alaska had its sixth warmest May since records began in 1918, at 3.56 deg F (1.98 deg C) above the 1971-2000 average.

For the ocean, the May global sea surface temperature was 1.06 deg F (0.59 deg C) above the 20th century average of 61.3 deg F (16.3 deg C), the highest for May on record and surpasses the previous record of +1.02 deg F (+0.57 deg C) set in 1998. This also ties with June 1998, October 2010, and July 2009 as the highest departure from average for any month on record. The margin of error is +/- 0.07 deg F (0.04 deg C).

Although neither El Nino nor La Nina conditions were present across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean during May 2014, NOAA's Climate Prediction Center estimates that there is about a 70 percent chance that El Nino conditions will develop during Northern Hemisphere summer 2014 and an 80 percent chance it will develop during the fall and winter.

Global temperature highlights: March-May

Due largely to the extreme warmth during both April and May, the combined average temperature over global land and ocean surfaces for March-May was the second highest on record for this period, behind only 2010, at 1.33 deg F (0.74 deg C) above the 20th century average of 56.7 deg F (13.7 deg C). The margin of error associated with this temperature is +/- 0.16 deg F (0.09 deg C).

The global land temperature was the third highest for March-May on record, at 2.27 deg F (1.26 deg C) above the 20th century average of 46.4 deg F (8.1 deg C). The margin of error is +/- 0.31 deg F (0.17 deg C).

Some national land temperature highlights include:

Autumn 2014 was the third warmest for Australia since records began in 1910, with a nationally-averaged temperature that was 2.07 deg F (1.15 deg C) above the 1961-1990 average. With the exception of the Northern Territory, every state observed average autumn temperatures among their 10 warmest on record.

In Europe, several countries observed record or near-record warm March-May temperatures. Latvia and Norway each reported record warmth for the period, while Denmark had its second warmest spring and the United Kingdom and Germany each had its third warmest.

Due in part to the record warmth during May, South Korea observed its second highest average spring temperature on record, behind only 1998. The average maximum temperature was record high for the month, while the average minimum temperature was second highest.

For the ocean, the March-May global sea surface temperature was 0.97 deg F (0.54 deg C), above the 20th century average of 61.0 deg F (16.1 deg C), also the third highest for March-May on record. The margin of error is +/- 0.09 deg F (0.05 deg C).

Snow and ice highlights: May and March-May

According to NOAA data analyzed by the Rutgers Global Snow Lab, the Northern Hemisphere snow cover extent for May was the sixth smallest in the 48-year period of record at 6.6 million square miles, which was 0.8 million square miles below the 1981-2010 average. Eurasian snow cover extent was also the sixth smallest on record for May, while the North American snow cover extent was the 12th smallest on record.

The spring snow cover extent for the Northern Hemisphere was 10.8 million square miles, which was 0.7 million square miles below the 1981-2010 average and the third smallest spring snow cover extent on record for the Northern Hemisphere. The Eurasian spring snow cover extent was the second smallest on record, behind 2008, while the North American spring snow cover extent was the 20th largest.

The average Arctic sea ice extent for May was 4.9 million square miles, 240,000 square miles (4.6 percent) below the 1981-2010 average, resulting in the third smallest May extent since records began in 1979, behind May 2004 and 2006, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center.

On the opposite pole, the Antarctic sea ice extent for May was 4.6 million square miles, 470,000 square miles (11.5 percent) above the 1981-2010 average. This marked the largest May Antarctic sea ice extent since records began in 1979, surpassing the previous record large May Antarctic sea ice extent that occurred in 2000 by about 140,000 square miles. Much of the above-average ice extent occurred in the Weddell Sea off the West Antarctic coast, with above-average sea ice in nearly every region. Six of the past 12 months have had record large Antarctic sea ice extent.

Combining the Arctic and Antarctic sea ice, May global sea ice was 9.6 million square miles, 2.6 percent above the 1981-2010 average. This was the sixth largest global May sea ice extent on record.

Precipitation highlights: May and March-May

Extreme wetness was observed during May over parts of central and eastern Europe, along with small sections in both eastern and western equatorial Africa. Extreme dryness was scattered across different parts of the globe, including northern and eastern South America, parts of northern and eastern Australia, and sections of East Asia.

Some regions in northern and eastern Austria received record monthly rainfall for May. The region north of Salzburg to Mattersburg observed 230 percent of average May precipitation, the most since records began in 1820. Several individual stations set new May precipitation records.

Across Spain, May rainfall was just 50 percent of average, at 1.3 inches (33 mm), with parts of central and southern Spain recording less than 25 percent of their average precipitation.

Wet weather accompanied the warmth in Norway during spring, as March-May was among the 10 wettest in the country's 115-year period of record. Some stations in northern Norway reported more than 200 percent of average precipitation for the season.

Global temperature highlights: Year-to-date

January-May was the fifth warmest such period on record, with a combined global land and ocean average surface temperature 1.19 deg F (0.66 deg C) above the 20th century average of 55.5 deg F (13.1 deg C). The margin of error is +/- 0.18 deg F (0.10 deg C).

The January-May worldwide land surface temperature was 1.91 deg F (1.06 deg C) above the 20th century average, the fifth warmest such period on record. The margin of error is +/- 0.41 deg F (0.23 deg C).

The global ocean surface temperature for the year to date was 0.92 deg F (0.51 deg C) above average, the third warmest such period on record. The margin of error is +/-0.09 deg F (0.05 deg C).

(CZ)

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Comments

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Paul Beiser
7/9/2014 | 7:58 AM CDT
80-90 % of the germans followed Hitler.... talk is cheap. Make me a 200 hp tractor that runs on clean energy... I dare you :-P
GORDON KEYES
7/1/2014 | 3:48 PM CDT
!00 million dollar bribe to Democratic party by Tom Steyer to their candidates and Obama causes will get the Keystone Pipeline shut down and people say it is not about the,money what pathetic fools !! Good ole Tom made billions in the fossil fuels industry and plans on making even more with a little help from his slavish politically connected friends. It is really quite sad that people will give up so much so easily for a few dollars and some false praise .
Brandon Butler
7/1/2014 | 2:20 PM CDT
In regards to my last post, it is only a matter of a few hours I'm sure that Bryce and Jay will give give the excuses why the gist of that article doesn't matter, et al. I'll give you to water carriers a hint....STOP SUPPORTING THOSE THAT LIE AND MANIPULATE DATA. You are being used. Do we as a whole need to use finite resources in a better way? Do we need to care for our environment better than in the past? A RESOUNDING YES TO BOTH QUESTIONS. But to blindly follow those that have shown that they are manipulating data to fit and agenda torpedoes YOUR credibility and makes those that ask questions first turn a blind eye or put up objections to environmental issues. Just for once admit that there is big money behind the climate issues and there are those attempting to profit from it with less than lily white intentions.
Brandon Butler
7/1/2014 | 2:14 PM CDT
http://dailycaller.com/2014/06/30/noaa-quietly-reinstates-july-1936-as-the-hottest-month-on-record/
Jay Mcginnis
7/1/2014 | 6:28 AM CDT
I attended a discussion on climate change at Princeton University this year, standing room only and hardly that. They were the greatest brains on the subject and their conclusion was that there is no question that their is serious climate change brought about by humans releasing CO2 from burning fossil fuel and that this is being sped up by perma-frost areas thawing and releasing methane gas. Yes at this point it is more about how we will adapt to this change that is already in place, but we need to deal with cutting down the emissions of greenhouse gas by using much less fossil fuels. The panel had little time for deniers and their questions other then to say the research and figures are in and they are dismal.
Unknown
6/30/2014 | 5:52 PM CDT
so much for accurate information poured about half inch yet nothing on the 24 hour map yesterday what other results are inaccurate phil
Brandon Butler
6/30/2014 | 11:18 AM CDT
80-90 % of the scientists? How is this verifiable? I won't link it, as you can do the research yourself, but just do a little leg work on what happens to the dissenters of climate change. This folks, is ONE BIG LIE.
Curt Zingula
6/30/2014 | 7:10 AM CDT
"Unknown" makes a good point about preparing to adapt. If man's burning of fossil fuels and subsequent release of CO2 is the problem, then consider that in just 18 months China will increase its CO2 release by about the same amount as Obama policy expects to decrease CO2 here in the States.
Jim R Lerwick
6/29/2014 | 11:05 PM CDT
How are those warm temperatures making all that ice down at the S. pole? Maybe all the pontificating in certain areas of the world is leaving us all a little off balance! Has the current administration really made the seas began to recede back to the pole and become ice in just 6 short years. Maybe 80 to 90 percent of the crowd is chasing the wrong assumptions and u and me are being exposed!
Unknown
6/29/2014 | 9:26 PM CDT
Good luck on trying to stop an unstoppable force. Prepare to adapt, its called evolution.
DONALD LITTLE
6/29/2014 | 9:17 PM CDT
I have never commented before. Maybe I shouldn't. But when 80-90 percent of scientists say there is global warming maybe we should wake up ! It won't matter to us. But what about our grand kids or great grandkiids. Maybe we should think of the future. We won't live forever although we all try not to accept that fact. Hoping for better future. THINK!!
Jay Mcginnis
6/29/2014 | 11:42 AM CDT
I agree that Curt has a good point. I once was told there was an Easter Bunny, woke up to hunting colored eggs and received an basket of chocolate eggs on Easter Morning,,,,, while there was some evidence of rabbits in the yard Easter Morning it was in part a hoax,,,,, last time I beleive thermometer readings around the world!!!!!
Gene Tiedemann
6/28/2014 | 1:21 PM CDT
IN THE 70'S I WAS MUCH YOUNGER AND MUCH LESS CYNICAL AND WAS CONCERNED ABOUT PREDICTED GLOBAL COOLING. THEN IT WAS ACID RAIN AND WHAT KINDS OF CROPS COULD I RAISE. WHAT NEXT?
Dakota Ag
6/28/2014 | 11:20 AM CDT
Good comments Curt and well stated, I'm in your camp -
Curt Zingula
6/28/2014 | 8:19 AM CDT
My skepticism about global warming isn't denial - it's distrust. Several years ago it was reported that nitrates in a local river were higher than they were 100 years earlier. I researched the data and found that in the early 1900s, nitrate samples were only collected in the summer time when aquatic vegetation reduces nitrates. The same report stopped short of using two below normal nitrate years in their "modern" reporting period. But who knew?! The word 'global' is synonymous with comprehensive. I have a hard time believing that in 1880, third world equatorial countries were concerned about globally representative temperature data collection. Turn a globe over and look at the bottom 1/4 of our planet - its all water and ice. Was that area of our planet well represented with temperature data in 1880? Is it today? Or, like the nitrate results, is data just cherry-picked? Fool me once ......