The new hottest place on Earth: Death Valley, California
As any weather aficionado can avow, Earth's most iconic weather record has long been the legendary all-time hottest temperature of 58°C (136.4°F) measured 90 years ago today at El Azizia, Libya on September 13, 1922. One hundred thirty six degrees! It's difficult to comprehend that heat like that could exist on our planet. For 90 years, no place on Earth has come close to beating the unbelievable 136 degree reading from Al Azizia, and for good reason--the record is simply not believable. But Earth's mightiest weather record has been officially cast down. Today, the official arbiter of Earth's weather records, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), announced that the all-time heat record held for exactly 90 years by El Azizia in Libya "is invalid because of an error in recording the temperature." The WMO committee found five major problems with the measurement. Most seriously, the temperature was measured in a paved courtyard over a black, asphalt-like material by a new and inexperienced observer, not trained in the use of an unsuitable replacement instrument that could be easily misread. The observer improperly recorded the observation, which was consequently in error by about 7°C (12.6°F.) The new official highest hottest place on the planet is now Death Valley, California. A remarkable high temperature of 56.7°C (134°F) was measured there on 10 July 1913, at Greenland Ranch.
Figure 1. The trading post at Al Azizia, Libya in 1923. The photo was taken from the Italian military fort located on a small hill just south of the trading post. It was at this fort that the temperature of 58°C (136.4°F) was observed on Sept. 13, 1922 (used with permission from the family of Gen. Enrico Pezzi).
The story behind the overturning of Earth's most hallowed weather record
Today's announcement is the culmination of a 3-year research effort begun by wunderground weather historian, Christopher C. Burt. His blog post today, World Heat Record Overturned--A Personal Account, provides a fascinating detective story on how the record came to be cast down--and how the Libyan revolution of 2012 almost prevented this from happening.
Figure 2. The new official hottest place on the planet: Death Valley, California. Wide open spaces, infinite views, intensely salty water, mind-boggling heat. What's not to love about this place? Image credit: Wunderphotographer SonomaCountyRAF.
Dead Heat: The Video
Don't miss the 25-minute wunderground video, Dead Heat, a detective story on how the El Azizia record was overturned.
Atlantic tropical update
Tropical Storm Nadine is recurving to the northwest and north well east of the Lesser Antilles Islands, on a track that would likely keep this storm far out at sea away from any land areas. However, Nadine may eventually threaten the Azores Islands or Newfoundland; the models are divided on how the steering currents will evolve next week, and we cannot be sure which way Nadine will go during the middle of next week.
The models predict that a trough of low pressure off the U.S. East Coast may serve as the focus for development of a non-tropical low pressure system on Sunday or Monday, but this low will likely form too far to the north to become a tropical storm. The GFS model has been predicting a tropical wave coming off the coast of Africa may develop next week, but has not been consistent with the timing or location of the development.
In the Western Pacific, Super Typhoon Sanba is an impressive top-end Category 4 storm with 155 mph winds, and is headed north-northwest towards a possible landfall in Korea early next week.
Given the importance of the new world record all-time high temperature, I'll leave this post up until Saturday afternoon, when I'll post an update on the tropics.
Jeff Masters
Reader Comments
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Fair enough, I can see what you are saying. I personally don't think she will go annular, but we shall find out soon enough. That is a very impressive CDO though, that's for sure.
Though the banding developed not long ago.
Nope
TROPICAL STORM NADINE ADVISORY NUMBER 10
NWS NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL AL142012
ISSUED BY THE HYDROMETEOROLOGICAL PREDICTION CENTER COLLEGE PARK MD
500 PM AST THU SEP 13 2012
...NADINE MOVING NORTHWESTWARD AND MAINTAINING 70 MPH WINDS...
SUMMARY OF 500 PM AST...2100 UTC...INFORMATION
----------------------------------------------
LOCATION...24.0N 53.0W
ABOUT 765 MI...1230 KM ENE OF THE NORTHERN LEEWARD ISLANDS
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...70 MPH...110 KM/H
PRESENT MOVEMENT...NW OR 325 DEGREES AT 16 MPH...26 KM/H
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...990 MB...29.23 INCHES
TROPICAL STORM KRISTY ADVISORY NUMBER 6
NWS NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL EP112012
200 PM PDT THU SEP 13 2012
...CENTER OF KRISTY JUST TO THE NORTHEAST OF SOCORRO ISLAND...
SUMMARY OF 200 PM PDT...2100 UTC...INFORMATION
----------------------------------------------
LOCATION...19.3N 110.2W
ABOUT 65 MI...100 KM NE OF SOCORRO ISLAND
ABOUT 250 MI...400 KM S OF THE SOUTHERN TIP OF BAJA CALIFORNIA
MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS...50 MPH...85 KM/H
PRESENT MOVEMENT...WNW OR 295 DEGREES AT 10 MPH...17 KM/H
MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE...1002 MB...29.59 INCHES
I was implying that if Nadine became a Cat. 5 like Sanba, it would be the first ATL Cat 5 since 2007 and it would be a great storm to look at. Plus it would significantly increase our ACE total.
Not angry at all - but your comment did not come over like that to me - anyway - np as you have clarified
No Alert, just a blob.
Very obvious banding.
NWS NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL AL142012
ISSUED BY THE HYDROMETEOROLOGICAL PREDICTION CENTER COLLEGE PARK MD
500 PM AST THU SEP 13 2012
NADINE CONTINUES TO MAINTAIN THE APPEARANCE OF A STRONG TROPICAL
STORM PER SATELLITE IMAGERY...AND THIS IS CONFIRMED BY DATA FROM A
RECENT SCATTEROMETER OVERPASS. ALTHOUGH THE CYCLONE EXHIBITS A
FAIRLY WELL DEFINED CENTRAL DENSE OVERCAST...NO EYE IS APPARENT IN
EITHER VISIBLE OR INFRARED IMAGERY. WATER VAPOR IMAGERY SUGGESTS
THAT VERTICAL SHEAR HAS NOT BECOME PROHIBITIVELY STRONG OVER THE
STORM. THE SHEAR HAS...HOWEVER...BEEN STRONG ENOUGH TO PREVENT
NADINE FROM STRENGTHENING TODAY. THE DYNAMICAL GUIDANCE DOES NOT
SHOW AS MUCH SHEAR DURING THE FORECAST PERIOD AS IN PREVIOUS
CYCLES. THIS LIKELY RESULTS FROM THE PREDICTION OF THE GLOBAL
MODELS THAT A TROUGH TO THE WEST OF NADINE WILL DE-AMPLIFY AND
PHASE WITH ANOTHER CYCLONE EXITING EASTERN CANADA. THIS WOULD
LEAVE THE TROPICAL CYCLONE SOUTH OF AN AMPLIFYING RIDGE...IN AN
ENVIRONMENT THAT COULD ALLOW FOR SOME RELAXATION OF THE SHEAR.
THEREFORE...NADINE MAY STILL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO STRENGTHEN...AS
SUGGESTED BY THE OFFICIAL FORECAST. HOWEVER...IT SHOULD BE NOTED
THAT THE TIMING AND DURATION OF A POTENTIAL STRENGTHENING EPISODE
IS UNCERTAIN.
THE MOTION CONTINUES TO BEND TOWARD THE RIGHT...AND IS NOW NEAR
325/14. THE SYNOPTIC TRACK FORECAST REASONING IS BASICALLY
UNCHANGED FROM THE PREVIOUS ADVISORY...AND THE GFS AND ECMWF
FORECASTS HAVE COME INTO BETTER AGREEMENT DURING THE LATTER PART OF
THE FORECAST PERIOD. THE GFDL CONTINUES TO APPEAR AS A LEFT
OUTLIER...ALTHOUGH NOT AS FAR LEFT AS IN ITS PREVIOUS RUN. THE
OFFICIAL FORECAST TRACK HAS CHANGED VERY LITTLE...EXCEPT TO LOOP
JUST SLIGHTLY FARTHER WEST DURING THE FIRST COUPLE OF DAYS...BEFORE
RETURNING TO THE PREVIOUS NHC TRACK FOR DAYS 3-5. THIS FALLS
BETWEEN THE LATEST TVCN CONSENSUS AND THE GFS/ECMWF TRACKS.
THE SCATTEROMETER PASS SHOWED A MUCH LARGER TROPICAL CYCLONE THAN
PREVIOUSLY ANALYZED...ESPECIALLY OVER THE EASTERN SEMICIRCLE WHERE
TROPICAL STORM FORCE WINDS EXTEND OUTWARD AT LEAST 200 N MI. THIS
IS CONSISTENT WITH THE SATELLITE PRESENTATION IN WHICH NADINE IS
SEEN TO HAVE A LARGE AREA OF DEEP CONVECTION THAT EXTENDS WELL TO
THE EAST AND NORTHEAST OF THE CENTER.
FORECAST POSITIONS AND MAX WINDS
INIT 13/2100Z 24.0N 53.0W 60 KT 70 MPH
12H 14/0600Z 25.7N 54.0W 60 KT 70 MPH
24H 14/1800Z 28.0N 54.4W 60 KT 70 MPH
36H 15/0600Z 30.1N 53.8W 65 KT 75 MPH
48H 15/1800Z 31.3N 52.0W 65 KT 75 MPH
72H 16/1800Z 32.0N 47.0W 60 KT 70 MPH
96H 17/1800Z 33.0N 41.0W 60 KT 70 MPH
120H 18/1800Z 35.0N 34.0W 60 KT 70 MPH
$$
FORECASTER BURKE/PASCH
IKE
The only house left that day
Swept clean....vegetation and all
That is an important question. But, I'm a geologist, not a climate expert - and that is why I only provided a link to the data and didn't speculate. But, my rule is that when my own ignorance precludes drawing a conclusion it is generally the best practice to poll the experts for their conclusion(s).
"The name Greenland comes from the early Scandinavian settlers. In the Icelandic sagas, it is said that Norwegian-born Erik the Red was exiled from Iceland for murder. Along with extended family and thralls, he set out in ships to find a land rumored to lie to the northwest. After settling there, he named the land Grœnland ("Greenland"), supposedly in the hope that the pleasant name would attract settlers." (Thanks, wikipedia!)
Perhaps because the thermometer was invented in the early 1600s. :) (Thanks again, wikipedia!)
But also, many temperature rise stats (ice core records, etc.) don't begin in that period (your chart, for instance, starts before it). These longer records STILL clearly show a recent warming trend that, though it could be due to any number of reasons, is generally attributed to human activity according to most climate scientists, who have almost certainly (let's hope!) studied these longer temperature records.
A Guatemalan volcano erupting Thursday for the sixth time this year triggered evacuations of several towns, with more than 33,000 told to flee.
The Fuego volcano started spewing lava some 2,000 feet down two slopes, while ash was jettisoned 3,000 feet upwards. Ash was covering homes and buildings several miles away, the government's disaster agency said.
While Fuego had erupted five times earlier this year, one scientist in Guatemala said today's eruption was the biggest since 1999.
Seventeen towns with 33,000 people are in the evacuation zone, the country's emergency response director said.
The volcano sits just 6 miles southwest of Antigua, a colonial city popular with tourists. Antigua was not in the evacuation zone.
TROPICAL STORM NADINE DISCUSSION NUMBER 10
NWS NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER MIAMI FL AL142012
ISSUED BY THE HYDROMETEOROLOGICAL PREDICTION CENTER COLLEGE PARK MD
500 PM AST THU SEP 13 2012
Ah, but coincidentally it is also thanks to calculus that the folks at the NHC can track Sanba. :)
I've been a member on this site for a while now, but this is the first time I've commented. Love this site for tropical weather, especially discussions on future GFS outputs and predicted storm tracks.
Anyway, what are people's thoughts about Sanba curving and hitting Japan full on? The JTWC forecast keeps shifting eastward from what I've seen:
finally.... current images
Nadine
To me Monica is a curious case for a couple of reasons. Like you said, Monica may have achieved annular status, but if she did, it was quite brief. Also, the relatively small eye would be quite unusual for an annular cyclone.
With that being said, it is undeniable that Monica did have a sharp drop-off in banding for a period of time. During that same time period, Monica strengthened from an intense 125 kt beast to a 155 kt monster, as well as becoming one of very few tropical cyclones to achieve an 8.0 when using the Dvorak T#s.
The Raw T# changes like crazy. All I pay attention to is the blue line.
Link
Any idea why they do this? I've noticed it a lot in past advisories. The NHC seems to have enough staff today to write the advisories themselves. Do you perhaps know more about this?
...Where?
Well at least it'll be short lived.
HPC is the backup to NHC, if something were to happen where NHC could not issue advisories, HPC would, so they practice their ability to do so.
Irene during landfall and next day. Wow.
You finally got that cold front. Awesome. Can you send it down south a little further please.
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