Mexican and Guatemalian Flooding
Flooding and mudslides caused much damage and loss of lives in Central and South America at the end of May and the first few days of June. Thirteen people died in Guatamala due to to torrential rains which triggered mudslides across the northern part of the country. Additional rains were also expected during the first few days of June. Floods also hit central Mexico in the Mexico City area, where five people have died east of Mexico City in the Chalco Valley area. The image above shows the Chalco Valley to the Southwest of Mexico City; volcanoes Iztacihuatl and Popocatapetl watch over a corn field; elevation is roughly 8200 feet (2500 meters) above sea level.
Weather Log - June 1-10th, 2000
Drought and Wildfires in Southern U.S.: The deep south from Texas eastward across much of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina continues to experience drought conditions. The drought is especially severe across southeast LA, southern MS and AL, much of GA, the FL panhandle, and much of SC. The drought has severely impacted agriculture in the region, with some crops, such as corn, not developing as they should, and other crops, such as cotton and soybeans, being delayed in planting due to extremely dry soils. An update on how the three year drought in parts of the Southeast is affecting wildlife is available here. See below for maps depicting the drought.
Wildfires continue to burn across parts of central and south Florida as dryness and warm temperatures provide the right environment for additional fires to start. For an updated wildfire report click here.
A news update on the New Mexico fires and possible dangers from flooding this summer is available here.
Heavy rains fell in parts of Northeast Texas over the weekend of the 3-4th of June. Hardest hit areas were just west of Fort Worth, Texas in Parker county where upwards of 15 inches of rain fell; amounts were less to areas south and east but still enough to cause flooding and some damage. The storms dumped caused local floods which drove people from their homes and damaged bridges, and contributing to at least four deaths. A complete news report is available here.
State, National and Regional Drought Information
Following are national maps which convey the drought situation at the end of May 2000:
24-month departure from normal.
24-month precipitation percentile.
24-month standardized precipitation index.
4-month percent of average precipitation.
4-month precipitation percentile.
For National Drought information: Climate Prediction Center Drought Information and National Drought Mitigation Center.
For updates to the drought in South Carolina, see South Carolina Drought Information Center.
Information for Georgia is available at Georgia Drought Information WWW Page.
Weather Log - June 10-20th, 2000
Hot conditions across coastal California.: Downtown San Francisco station (Duboce Park) tied it�s all-time record high temperature with a reading of 103 degrees F. on the 14th. The same temperature was recorded on July 3rd, 1988. Records downtown began in 1871.
Thundershowers moved through Barrow, AK on the Arctic coast on the 20th. A rare event- a thunderstorm moved through the Barrow area on the 20th and dropped 0.16 inches of rain in just a couple minutes. Many calls were received at the weather office from people who have just witnessed their first thunderstorm and lightning display ..and what a display it was. According to calls received, Barrow had one of the most exciting events they had ever seen since it was the first for most residents. Thunderstorms and lightning are extremely rare on the north coast of Alaska. This is only the third time a thunderstorm has occurred in Barrow since 1978. The other two events were on July 18, 1995 and July 22, 1989. (corrected statement) First ever thundershowers moved through Barrow, AK on the Arctic coast on the 20th. See Selected U.S. City and State Extremes- June 2000 for more information and other records.
China is dealing both with drought and possible flooding. A drought spreading across north China has left at least 3.2 million people short of water, brought out swarms of locusts, and threatened hundreds of thousands of farmers with economic ruin, state media reported on Tuesday June 20th. Two hard hit provinces of Shandong and Liaoning, both in east China on the Gulf of Bo Hai (Yellow Sea), are low on water, as drought has hit parts of these provinces. Groundwater levels continue to drop, water levels in some reservoirs are 30 percent below average, and "many reservoirs have even run dry." Also, in west central China in Qinghai province on the northern Tibetan plateau, government reports indicate that 1.2 million people are affected by drought. The city of Tianjin in northeast Qiunghai was fighting swarms of locusts apparently made more voracious by the drought. In contrast, in provinces along the Yangtze, China's longest river, residents were warned Tuesday by government officials to prepare for possible summer flooding following large rainfalls on the river's upper reaches and tributaries.
Heavy rains have hit the U.S. northern Plains. Fargo, ND received over 8 inches of rain on the 20th. See CNN New Report- North Dakota Flooding for a special news report
Powerful Hurricane Carlotta brushed Mexico's Pacific coast with heavy rains and some flooding on the 20th. The storm intensified as it moved away from the southwest Mexican coast, but was expected to weaken as it moves into cooler waters over the next few days.
An update on the relief efforts due to February floods in Mozambique is available here . According to news reports, the floods killed at least 700 people and destroyed the homes or jobs of approximately 2 million.
Wildfires burned across portions of the western U.S. Click here for more information.
Weather Log - June 21-30th, 2000
The government of Nicaragua and Red Cross workers on Thursday the 22nd supplied medicine, food and blankets to help more than 5,000 people affected by floods in eastern Nicaragua. The Rama River, which rose 4.5 meters (15 feet) after heavy rains earlier this week, spilled over its banks Wednesday night (21st) , flooding most of Rama City, a town of 10,000 about 292 kilometers (180 miles) east of Managua.
In the U.S., parts of North Dakota and Minnesota were declared disaster areas due to heavy rains that hit portions of these states. More information is available from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) WWW Site.Details are also available in the Weather Log section above.
Other global highlights for the month can be found at NOAA/OGP Special Global Summary for June 2000.
Note: Hazard event satellite images available courtesy of NOAA OSEI Satellite Images WWW site.
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