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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Monitoring the Climate for EARTH DAY, 2000

Launch of First Weather Satellite

40th Anniversary of TIROS Launch

TIROS Satellite

The National Climatic Data Center's Climate Monitoring Team dedicates this page to the 40th anniversary of weather satellites. April 1, 2000 marked the anniversary of the launch of the world's first weather satellite. With today's advanced technology, and with satellite images of clouds on television weather forecasts, it may be difficult to remember when there were no weather satellites.

Improvements in Satellite Imagery/Analyses

TIROS Image and Surface Chart Analyses

Satellite Comparisions of Floyd and Andrew

The world's first meteorological satellite, TIROS-1, was launched on April 1, 1960, commemorating the start of a brand new era of weather observations from space. TIROS-1 demonstrated the ability to acquire images of the Earth's cloud cover over much of the planet. TIROS-1 weighed 122kg and was 1.1 meter in diameter and 0.6 meter high not including antennas on the top and bottom of the spacecraft. The spacecraft consisted of two compact 1.3-cm vidicon television cameras (one wide angle and one narrow angle), two video recorders, a command and control electronics system, a communication system, solid rockets for spin control, power supply with rechargeable batteries, and a cylindrical solar array. The earliest uses of satellite imagery focused on the identification of synoptic-scale cloud patterns, their general characteristics, and influences on weather patterns. It was soon realized that weather satellites would become a major player in observational and forecast meteorology. The impact of that momentous date in meteorological history is still being felt 40 years later with a greater urgency for more sophisticated remote environmental observing platforms. The above images show the advance in satellite and meteorological analysis over the past forty years. The left image depicts a surface frontal analysis using the TIROS 1 satellite from May 19-20, 1960 while the right image is a comparision of Hurricanes Andrew and Floyd. Note the clarity and detail available in the right image using new improvements and breakthroughs in satellite technology. For a brief history of the NOAA polar-orbiting and geo-stationary satellites and their launch dates, please visit the Satellite Resources page and the popular NCDC Images/Movies of Hurricanes and Special Events page. Also, visit the NOAA 40th Anniversary of First Weather Satellite Launch conference page.

Global Temperature/Precipitation Anomalies for 1999

Annual 1999 Global GHCN Temperature Anomalies

Annual 1999 Global GHCN Precipitation Anomalies

Since Earthday, 1998, meteorologists and climatologists have observed a lot of unusual weather and climate extremes. For example, the last three year's the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) reported that 1997 was the warmest year of the century. Yet only one year later, global mean temperatures for 1998 exceeded those of 1997, especially over land; 1998 broke the 1997 record. In 1999 , the global mean (Land and Ocean combined) temperature for 1999 (depicted above) was the 5th warmest on record since 1880. Globally, the departure from the long-term average (1880-1998) was 0.41 degrees C (0.74F). The annual temperature departures from the long-term mean for each year from 1880 to 1999 are available here . The warmest and second warmest years were 1998 and 1997. The top 6 warmest years have been in the 1990's. Each year of this decade has been one of the top 15 warmest of the century.

Additional Highlights for 1999

National Winter Temperatures

Seasonal Blended Temperature Product

In 1999, NCDC reported on the extemes in drought and temperature in the US, especially in the central and east ern parts of the nation.There were reports on the devastating Indian Cyclone, flooding in the Carolinas from Floyd, and Hurricane Irene. Hurricane season 1999 is chronicled at Hurricanes- 1999 WWW page. Additional summaries on seasonal, monthly and seasonal reports is available here.

U.S. and Global Weather and Climate Disaster Information

Billion Dollar U.S. Weather Disaster Synoptic Map

Time Series of Events/Cost of Billion Dollar Disasters

The National Climatic Data Center collects and protects climate data, testing the quality and accuracy of the reports; compares the trends and extremes to recorded history; and distributes the results. Since Earthday, 1998, a team at NCDC has been responding to the unusual climate stories by gathering various analyses and data and providing them on the web as regular monthly Climate Perspectives Reports and Special Climate Summaries. We at NCDC work to keep the climate analyses in perspective...in service to the American people...for generations to come.

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