About Jeff Masters
Cat 6 lead authors: WU cofounder Dr. Jeff Masters (right), who flew w/NOAA Hurricane Hunters 1986-1990, & WU meteorologist Bob Henson, @bhensonweather
By: Jeff Masters , 3:01 AM GMT on July 22, 2016
It was a historic day in the annals of meteorology on Thursday, July 21, 2016 in the Middle East, where the temperature in Mitribah, Kuwait soared to an astonishing 54°C (129.2°F). If verified, this would be Earth's hottest temperature ever reliably measured outside of Death Valley, California, according to wunderground's weather historian Christopher C. Burt. The temperature is likely to be verified, since Thursday's incredible heat also extended into Iraq, which set their all-time heat record: 128°F (53.4°C) at Basrah. According to Burt and Herrera, Thursday's Basrah reading ranks as the fourth highest temperature ever reliably measured outside of Death Valley; the only higher non-Death Valley temperatures were today's 54°C (129.2°F) at Mitribah, Kuwait, a 53.6°C reading at Sulaibya, Kuwait in 2011, and a 53.5°C reading at Mohenjodaro, Pakistan on May 26, 2010. Note that there is one other competitor for hottest non-Death Valley temperature ever measured: the official all-time high temperature in Israel is a 54°C (129.2°F) reading from Tirat Tsvi, Israel on June 22, 1942. The Israeli Met Office pursued an investigation of the record in 2012, prompted by an inquiry from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and convincing evidence from wunderground's weather historian Christopher C. Burt and weather extremes expert Howard Rainford that the actual high temperature was a full degree lower. The Israeli Met Office concluded that the record was valid, but refused to make public the details leading to their conclusions. Until they do so, the record remains suspect.![]()
Figure 1. A photograph of the official Furnace Creek, Death Valley maximum recording thermometer at time of observation on Monday morning July 1, 2013 (which was for the maximum temperature measured on June 30). The photo shows a maximum of 129.2°F was reached, tying it with the 129.2°F reading at Mitribah, Kuwait, on July 21, 2016, for the highest reliably measured temperature on Earth, according to wunderground's weather historian Christopher C. Burt. Observations at the site are made only at 4 p.m. and 7 a.m. daily. The shelter door is not opened at any other time in order to not affect the ambient air temperature inside the shelter. You may have seen a different image of this same thermometer on the NWS-Las Vegas web site posted July 1, 2013 that shows the temperature just shy of 129°. That is because THAT photograph was taken after the thermometer had been removed from its shelter and turned vertically, which caused the mercury to slip down the tube about 0.3°F. This photograph was taken prior to the thermometer being removed from the shelter. Photo courtesy of Death Valley National Park and NWS-Las Vegas.
Comparison with Death Valley temperatures
The official world record high temperature is 56.7 °C (134.1 °F) on July 10, 1913, in Furnace Creek Ranch, California, in Death Valley. Mr. Burt has commented "the record has been scrutinized perhaps more than any other in the United States. I don't have much more to add to the debate aside from my belief it is most likely not a valid reading when one looks at all the evidence." He proposes that the highest reliably recorded temperature at Death Valley is a 54.0 °C (129.2 °F) reading on June 30, 2013--tied with Thursday's measurement in Kuwait. The 129.2°F value at Death Valley was rounded down to 129°F in the official record, though. Death Valley has also recorded 53.9°C (129°F) four times: July 20, 1960, July 18, 1998, July 20, 2005, July 7, 2007. There is no evidence that the temperature reached 129.2°F on those dates, unlike the reading on June 30, 2013.
The Middle East's heat wave continues on Friday
The Middle East's astonishing heat wave will last one more day. Friday's high in Basrah, Iraq is predicted to hit 128°F and Mitribah, Kuwait is predicted to hit 127°F. Gotvand, Iran is predicted to hit 126°F--very close to Iran's all-time heat record of 127.4°F, set most recently at Gotvand on July 17, 2014. On Saturday, the ridge of high pressure bringing the record heat will weaken, bringing temperatures about 10°F cooler to Iraq and Kuwait, and about 2 - 4°F cooler to Iran.
UPDATE: On Friday, July 22, 2016, Basrah, Iraq International Airport reported a high temperature of 53.9°C (129°F). Today's high in Basrah is the second highest reliably measured temperature in world recorded history outside of Death Valley, California. Only yesterday's 54°C (129.2°F) at Mitribah, Kuwait was hotter.
Mr. Burt plans to post an in-depth look at the new heat records in a forthcoming post.
I'll have an update on the tropics on Friday afternoon.
Jeff Masters
The views of the author are his/her own and do not necessarily represent the position of The Weather Company or its parent, IBM.
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Cat 6 lead authors: WU cofounder Dr. Jeff Masters (right), who flew w/NOAA Hurricane Hunters 1986-1990, & WU meteorologist Bob Henson, @bhensonweather
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264. Geogm77
4:19 AM GMT on July 26, 2016So your report is not reliable at 54 degrees to say the least when it was surely far above. It sounds like a joke.
263. vis0
2:16 PM GMT on July 23, 2016title of aniGIF is :: "Faster Faster till were F----D - cause we passed the buck"
i remember a once proud GOOD nation that had a motto like "The buck stops here" cause they took charge in doing good to set an example to their youngins AND rest of humanity ...i wonder what ever happened to that nation?
BTW when skeptic$ re-post this comment make sure you include that science understands they'll be a few cooler areas or cooler periods WHEN COMPARED to the NEW warmer atmosphere, BUT AS A WHOLE and as a LONG TERM TREND ITS GETTING WARMER not cooler. If you do not include this you are PURPOSELY deceiving your fellow man
262. Neapolitan
12:17 PM GMT on July 23, 2016261. JakeJ
12:21 AM GMT on July 23, 2016260. BahaHurican
10:19 PM GMT on July 22, 2016The comments about instability are valid as far as that goes. But just about everybody who's talked about numbers for this season has also mentioned that they don't expect an uptick in MDR development over previous years. Basically we've been expecting "nuttin" in the MDR, with storms, as they did in 2005, developing as they approached 55W. So far there's been nothing to change the validity of this thinking.
259. KEEPEROFTHEGATE (Mod)
10:03 PM GMT on July 22, 2016258. BahaHurican
9:52 PM GMT on July 22, 2016And here's the reason why .... :o)
257. Hurricanes101
9:37 PM GMT on July 22, 2016climatology
July is usually an active month in the EPAC
256. rmbjoe1954
9:20 PM GMT on July 22, 2016Ohh...wait until August when the SAL diminishes. Those are healthy lows coming off Africa and they can only get healthier in a few weeks.
This set up for this hurricane seaon is not good at all for the Carib/Bahamas/SE USA.
Please be prepared.
255. weathermanwannabe
9:18 PM GMT on July 22, 2016254. WunderAlertBot (Admin)
9:18 PM GMT on July 22, 2016253. bigwes6844
9:14 PM GMT on July 22, 2016252. bigwes6844
9:11 PM GMT on July 22, 2016not just that the Olympics and football season too. That really ticks me off!
251. MonsterTrough
9:04 PM GMT on July 22, 2016release the hounds...
250. Tampa969mlb
8:58 PM GMT on July 22, 2016249. washingtonian115
8:54 PM GMT on July 22, 2016248. weathergirl2001
8:51 PM GMT on July 22, 2016247. Tcwx2
8:50 PM GMT on July 22, 2016246. PedleyCA
8:48 PM GMT on July 22, 201699.9F here, same as yesterday.
245. 999Ai2016
8:37 PM GMT on July 22, 2016Compassionate thoughts to those affected by the Munich lockdown and by this latest attack in Germany, especially to the wounded and the victims' relatives. I too hope they'll catch the mad ones fast enough to prevent further bloodshed. I'm struggling to understand what just happened, reliable news are sparse. The local police should add more informations within a few minutes though, maybe we'll get a clearer picture then.
244. hydrus
8:35 PM GMT on July 22, 2016243. Gearsts
8:33 PM GMT on July 22, 2016242. HurricaneFan
8:29 PM GMT on July 22, 2016241. victoria780
8:25 PM GMT on July 22, 2016240. RyanSperrey
8:24 PM GMT on July 22, 2016And just had a collection of impressive lightning storms roll through just south of there....Havent seen a week like this in a while.
239. HurricaneFan
8:21 PM GMT on July 22, 2016238. bigwes6844
8:09 PM GMT on July 22, 2016Pat do you see that line coming from Mississippi? You think it'll make it here by us? It looks really bad
237. georgevandenberghe
8:09 PM GMT on July 22, 2016Batteries were invented by the ancient Sumerians and used for electroplating.
236. Gearsts
8:07 PM GMT on July 22, 2016235. weathermanwannabe
8:07 PM GMT on July 22, 2016234. georgevandenberghe
8:07 PM GMT on July 22, 2016Autumn in the Mid Atlantic is by far my favorite season. Encouraging pic. Looking forward to splitting wood then sitting by the woodstove surrounded by dogs, cats and spouse, burning it.
233. Tcwx2
8:05 PM GMT on July 22, 2016232. RobertWC
8:04 PM GMT on July 22, 2016At the award-winning seafood restaurant in downtown Cleveland that The Atlantic rented out for the entire four-day Republican National Convention, GOP Rep. Bill Johnson turned to me and explained that solar panels are not a viable energy source because “the sun goes down.”
Johnson had just stepped off the stage where he was one the two featured guests speaking at The Atlantic’s “cocktail caucus,” where restaurant staff served complimentary wine, cocktails, and “seafood towers” of shrimp, crab cakes, oysters, and mussels to delegates, guests, reporters and, of course, the people paying the bills.
The event was sponsored by the American Petroleum Institute, the lobbying arm of fossil fuel giants like ExxonMobil, Chevron, and ConocoPhilips.
Johnson, a climate denier and influential member of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, spoke of a future when American scientists “solve these big problems” and “figure out how to harness the sun’s energy, and store it up, so that we can put it out over time.” His hypothetical invention, of course, is called a battery, and was invented over 200 years ago.
Link
231. Tcwx2
8:04 PM GMT on July 22, 2016230. bigwes6844
8:03 PM GMT on July 22, 2016lots of rumbling in the jungle out here Pat. Uptown got sum good gullywashers!
229. HurricaneFan
8:03 PM GMT on July 22, 2016I still wouldn't rule out the possibility of an eastern Atlantic TC next week. The GFS has dropped storms before they formed on a few occasions this year. In addition, the ensembles are still picking up on some slight development. I don't remember ECMWF showing Danielle until right before it formed. The eastern Atlantic does not have much dry air right now, due to the passing tropical waves. Also, a CCKW is expected to be in the region. This could allow for a weak spin-up just south of Cape Verde before the potential storm would encounter less favorable conditions, mainly dry air, in the western MDR. If something does develop, however, I expect it to remain weak.
228. barbamz
7:59 PM GMT on July 22, 2016Thanks, guys. I'm nowhere near Munich which is obviously in a complete lock-down right now. Prayers for all who have lost their lives, compassionate thoughts to those who are wounded and all the relatives and friends. Strength and good luck to the police which is hunting the (presumable) terrorists. Not many reliable news available right now. Hope this will end soon without more victims!
227. Adam2001
7:49 PM GMT on July 22, 2016226. 62901IL
7:48 PM GMT on July 22, 2016A whole lotta nothing out there.
225. Methurricanes
7:47 PM GMT on July 22, 2016Every time they predict Thunderstorms they change their mind as the day approches
224. Sfloridacat5
7:40 PM GMT on July 22, 2016223. TropicalAnalystwx13
7:39 PM GMT on July 22, 2016And we don't even know if that is exclusively true yet either. Last year saw 5-2-1 in the Central/East Atlantic amid a record-breaking El Nino and neutral AMO.
222. Sfloridacat5
7:36 PM GMT on July 22, 2016221. elioe
7:24 PM GMT on July 22, 2016If I remember correctly, I've seen one from Mainz and one from Berlin. None from München, or indeed anywhere in Bavaria. But very sad events indeed (again), my condolences.
220. Patrap
7:22 PM GMT on July 22, 2016Picked up a quick .38 inch from er.
219. HurricaneFan
7:20 PM GMT on July 22, 2016It seems like July has been less active than June in recent years.
218. Kyon5
7:20 PM GMT on July 22, 2016217. Hurricanes101
7:11 PM GMT on July 22, 2016In those years, shear was not as favorable and ssts not as warm as this season. July is the quietest month, so it is time to chill out.
Also 2011 and 2012 both had 19 named storms. All some of us are saying is you will see your stronger storms develop closer to land, which makes this hurricane season even more dangerous than years past.
216. Sfloridacat5
7:11 PM GMT on July 22, 2016215. LargoFl
7:09 PM GMT on July 22, 2016214. washingtonian115
7:00 PM GMT on July 22, 2016Okay so what about August and September of 2011,2012,2013 and 2014 where we still had dry air suppressing much of anything in the MDR? Where storms still struggled to amount to much until they were either in the western Atlantic or in the sub-tropics....No..it hasn't been just a "July" thing the last 5 years its been a ongoing theme for the entire seasons length.That is where people are getting at.The seasons leading up to and after 2005 (with the exception of the el nino years) saw healthy development in the MDR.Now we cant even get two clouds to puff up even in the most favorable months.