Extreme 111° heat hits Texas; floods kill 9 in Haiti
Another round of unprecedented April heat hit the U.S. yesterday, and this time it was Texas' turn to see large sections of the state with the hottest April temperatures in over a century of record keeping. Seven major airports in Texas set all-time April high temperatures yesterday:
Amarillo, TX: 99° (old April record 98° on 4/22/1989 and 4/22/1965)
Lubbock, TX: 101° (old April record 100° on 4/16/1925 and /22/1989)
Dalhart, TX: 96° (old April record 94° on 4/22/1989)
Borger, TX: 99° (tied April record set on 4/22/1965)
Midland, TX: 104° (old April record 101° on 4/21/1989)
Abilene, TX: 104° (old April record 102° on 4/16/1925)
Childress, TX: 106° (old April record 102° on three occasions, most recently on 4/3/2011)
According to wunderground's weather historian Christopher C. Burt, both Texas and Oklahoma came within 2°F of their all-time April state high temperature record yesterday. Altus, Oklahoma hit 104°, falling 2° short of the April state record of 106° set at the Magnum Research Station in 1972. In the Texas Mesonet, it hit 111° at Knox City 3NW, which is just 2° short of the Texas April state record of 113° set at Catarina in 1984. According to Mr. Burt, What is amazing is that Knox City is in the north-central part of the state, not down in the Rio Grande region like Catarina. The 111° would probably be pretty close to whatever the all-time hottest temp for ANY month might be in that location (probably around 115°). On Sunday this week, Nevada just missed setting their April state high temperature record, when the mercury hit 105° in Laughlin (April state record: 106° in 1989.)
Figure 1. At least 36 of the roughly 400 major U.S. cities that maintain automated weather sensors at their local airports (8%) have set or tied all-time April high temperature records so far this month. The records set yesterday in Texas are not yet in the database, and are not included on this map. Image taken from our new Record Extremes page.
Earlier this week, all-time record April heat hit large portions of Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and Wyoming. At least 36 of the roughly 400 major U.S. cities that maintain automated weather sensors at their local airports (8%) have set or tied all-time April high temperature records so far this month; no all-time April cold records have been set. The U.S. has been on an extraordinary pace of setting high temperature records so far in 2012. During March 2012, an astonishing 32% of all the major airports in the U.S. set all-time March high temperature records. For the year-to-date, there have been 184 new all-time monthly high temperature records set at the major airports, and 6 all-time monthly low temperature records. Not surprisingly, the period January - March this year has been the warmest such period in the U.S. since record keeping began in 1895.
Figure 2. Total precipitable water (in mm) for this morning shows a surge of moisture moving westwards though the Caribbean. Precipitable water values in excess of 51 mm (2 inches, orange colors) are capable of generating heavy flooding rains. Image credit: University of Wisconsin CIMSS.
Heavy rains kill nine in Haiti
The rainy season has begun on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, where heavy rains that began on Monday have triggered mudslides and floods that killed nine people. Nearly 500,000 people are still homeless in Haiti from the January 2010 earthquake, making the country highly vulnerable to flooding disasters. Heavy flooding was also a problem this week in the neighboring Dominican Republic, where 11,000 people were evacuated; no deaths were reported there, however. Precipitation forecasts from the GFS model suggest that the worst is over for Hispaniola, with the axis of greatest moisture expected to move west of the island today. This surge of moisture will bring heavy rains to Jamaica, Cuba, the Bahamas, Cayman Islands, and South Florida during the remainder of the week.
Jeff Masters
Reader Comments
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Thanks Dr M!
One part will be dry and another part flooded.
Mother Nature is always delivering surprises.
Thanks for the update Dr Jeff.
Nea, we said the same thing about Haiti last year and we say it every year. That poor country is always in the state of disaster.
So sad for the people who live there.
Still nice and cool in SE Florida, this surprise cool front the past few days has been nice but I enjoy the warmer temps.
Happy Thursday my friends.
Haiti is ideally positioned to become a major tourist attraction, except for the abject poverty and deforested hillsides.
Because as soon as you plant trees, people cut them down for fuel. Conservation isn't even a concept to them - survival is the most important thing.
I don't think it would even take a "number of decades", honestly. Give Haiti 10-15 years, and it will be very lush and verdant. The country just needs about that long of full support, which considering the country does not have much in the way of oil reserves or resources worth the expense... no sovereign nation is going to spend that much money just to be a good neighbor.
Turks and Caicos today.
Febuary 23rd:
April 26:
It's called over population, and on an island....that aint good
Yeah...this will further inhibit the chance of an early el nino
A lush line of palm trees stands sentinel on an isolated Dominican Republic beach.
Photograph by Raul Touzon
Dominican Republic
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Not to be confused with The Commonwealth of Dominica.
Dominican Republic
República Dominicana (Spanish)
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: "Dios, Patria, Libertad"
(Spanish)
"God, Fatherland, Liberty"
Anthem:
Himno Nacional
"National Anthem"
Capital
(and largest city) Santo Domingo
19°00′N 70°40′W
Official language(s) Spanish
Ethnic groups 73%: Multiracial
16%: White
11%: Black
Demonym Dominican
Government Unitary and Democratic Republic[4][5] or Representative Democracy[5]
- President Leonel Fernández[5]
- Vice President Rafael Alburquerque[5]
Independence
- from Spain December 1, 1821[5]
- from Haiti February 27, 1844[5]
- from Spain August 16, 1865[5]
Area
- Total 48,442 km2 (130th)
18,704 sq mi
- Water (%) 0.7[4]
Population
- 2010 census 9,378,818
- Density 193.6/km2 (?)
501.5/sq mi
GDP (PPP) 2011 estimate
- Total $93.383 billion[6]
- Per capita $9,286[6]
GDP (nominal) 2011 estimate
- Total $56.700 billion[6]
- Per capita $5,638[6]
Gini (2005) 49.9[4] (high)
HDI (2010) 0.663[7] (medium) (88th)
Currency Peso[5] (DOP)
Time zone Atlantic (UTC-4[4])
Drives on the right
ISO 3166 code DO
Internet TLD .do[4]
Calling code +1-809, +1-829, +1-849
Sources for:
area, capital, coat of arms, coordinates, flag, language, motto, and names: .
For an alternate area figure of 48,730 km2, calling code 809, and Internet TLD:
The Dominican Republic (i/dəˌmɪnɨkən rɨˈpʌblɪk/; Spanish: República Dominicana [reˈpuβlika ðominiˈkana]) is a nation on the island of Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries. Both by area and population, the Dominican Republic is the second largest Caribbean nation (after Cuba), with 48,442 square kilometres (18,704 sq mi) and an estimated 10 million people.
Taínos inhabited what is now the Dominican Republic since the 7th century. Christopher Columbus landed on it in 1492, and it became the site of the first permanent European settlement in the Americas, namely Santo Domingo, the country's capital and Spain's first capital in the New World. Santo Domingo can boast of many firsts in the Americas, including the first cathedral, and castle, both in the Ciudad Colonial area, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
After three centuries of Spanish rule, with French and Haitian interludes, the country became independent in 1821 under the rule of a former colonial judge who maintained the system of slavery and limited rights for the mostly mulatto and black population. The ruler, José Núñez de Cáceres, intended that the Dominican Republic be part of the nation of Gran Colombia, but he was quickly removed by the Haitian government and "Dominican" slave revolts. Victorious in the Dominican War of Independence in 1844, Dominicans experienced mostly internal strife, and also a brief return to Spanish rule, over the next 72 years. The United States occupation of 1916–1924, and a subsequent calm and prosperous six-year period under Horacio Vásquez Lajara, were followed by the dictatorship of Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina until 1961. The civil war of 1965, the country's last, was ended by a U.S.-led intervention, and was followed by the authoritarian rule of Joaquín Balaguer, 1966–1978. Since then, the Dominican Republic has moved toward representative democracy, and has been led by Leonel Fernández for most of the time after 1996.
The Dominican Republic has the second largest economy in the Caribbean and Central American region. Though long known for sugar production, the economy is now dominated by services. The country's economic progress is exemplified by its advanced telecommunication system. Nevertheless, unemployment, government corruption, and inconsistent electric service remain major Dominican problems. The country also has "marked income inequality".
I am probably living in a dreamworld, though by the sound of the comments.
TROPICAL DISCUSSION - INTERNATIONAL DESKS
NWS HYDROMETEOROLOGICAL PREDICTION CENTER CAMP SPRINGS MD
615 AM EDT THU APR 26 2012
PRELIMINARY DISCUSSION FOR PUERTO RICO AND THE USVI.
AS EVIDENT ON THE WATER VAPOR IMAGERY...THE SUBEQUATORIAL RIDGE HAS BEGUN ITS NORTHWARD/WESTWARD EXPANSION ACROSS THE EASTERN CARIBBEAN AND INTO
THE NORTH ATLANTIC. THIS IS STRENGTHENING THE TRADE WIND CAP...WITH SATELLITE DERIVED PWAT ANALYSIS SHOWING EROSION OF AVAILABLE MOISTURE ACROSS THE LESSER ANTILLES. BEST MOISTURE CONVERGENCE IS TO THE NORTH AND WEST OF THE FORECAST AREA...WITH MOISTURE CLUSTERING ALONG A WANING SURFACE FRONT THAT MEANDERS ACROSS THE BAHAMAS TO CUBA.
Link
It is all fire wood.
I know--maybe they could plant kudzu. That will sure cover a hillside in a hurry.
Looks like something we would see May 26th, not April 26th
THE WEEKEND WILL SERVE AS SOMETHING OF TRANSITIONAL PERIOD...WITH
QUASI-ZONAL FLOW ALOFT BECOMING MORE SOUTHWESTERLY...AND A LOW TO
MID LEVEL RIDGE BUILDING OVER THE SE CONUS. THE SWITCH TO A MORE
SOUTHEASTERLY LOW-MID LEVEL FETCH WILL RESULT IN INCREASING
MOISTURE AND LESS INHIBITION IN THE 900-700MB LAYER. IN CONCERT
WITH PERTURBATIONS PROGGED TO BEGIN EJECTING THROUGH THE SOUTHWEST
FLOW ALOFT...THIS SHOULD ALLOW AT LEAST SMALL MAINLY DIURNAL RAIN
CHANCES TO ENTER THE PICTURE BY NEXT WEEK. FOR THIS
PACKAGE...INTRODUCED A SLIGHT CHANCE ON MONDAY WITH BOTH THE
ECMWF AND GFS INDICATING ONE OF THESE SUBTLE IMPULSES LIFTING OUT
ACROSS THE REGION. WILL LEAVE THE REST OF THE EXTENDED DRY AT THIS
TIME AND CONTINUE TO MONITOR TRENDS.
Winds are gusty, full sun, hazy, reminding me of last year.
Don't bet on it. Kudzu is edible.
And isn't as flammable as wood. (it is a type of grass, after all)
For an idea of how thoroughly the hillsides look, go to google earth (or maps), and look at Gonaives, Haiti. There is a major hill just north of the town center... completely and utterly stripped of all trees (and just about anything growing).
Worst and peaked conditions for TX was September 2011
The retreat of McCall Glacier in North Alaska. The left panel is 1958; the right panel is 2003
Consistent with the geomagnetic storm kicking up the atmosphere from a solar wind stream that has been impacting us.
Many thanks for this posting today.
The Karakoram range is home to K2, the world's second highest mountain, as seen from space.
Been a whopper.
The graph is for the fluxgate magnometer at HAARP. That is a scientific instrument that measures intensities of magnetic fields.
The Geomagnetic Storming over the past several days produced some brilliant Aurora over many parts of North America. Here is yet another great movie submitted by Zoltan Kenwell showing us what it looked like over the skies of Alberta, Canada.
Just a teeny bit of shear there.
I believe "thinking outside the box" may indeed be what's needed here. There are trees that produce an inferior grade of wood but which grow phenomenally quickly, several feet a year (a few which even grow metres per year). Many are invasives and should normally never be considered for deliberate plantings. But one could argue the Haitian situation is so dire, even hillsides full of eucalyptus or leucaena trees would be better than hills of flowing mud every rainy season.
Bamboo is also an option - but is the definition of invasive... and it also doesn't burn well... or provide anything except anchoring on a hillside.
The office of the Diaspora of Haitian President Martelly is working on a plan to address the environmental issues facing the country. At a ceremony in Arcahaie, Haiti on 19 April 2012, environmental activists committed to replanting trees, one of the primary concerns people have when they talk about Haiti’s environmental problems, which include the need for clean water, public sanitation, electricity and road infrastructure.
Nadine hosted the first internet radio program – Keep Haiti Green and Beautiful on BlogTalkRadio.
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