NASA, NOAA find 2014 warmest year in modern record

The year 2014 ranks as Earth's warmest since 1880, according to two separate analyses by NASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) scientists.

The 10 warmest years in the instrumental record, with the exception of 1998, have now occurred since 2000. This trend continues a long-term warming of the planet, according to an analysis of surface temperature measurements by scientists at NASA's Goddard Institute of Space Studies (GISS) in New York.

In an independent analysis of the raw data, also released Friday, NOAA scientists also found 2014 to be the warmest on record.

"NASA is at the forefront of the scientific investigation of the dynamics of the Earth's climate on a global scale," said John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "The observed long-term warming trend and the ranking of 2014 as the warmest year on record reinforces the importance for NASA to study Earth as a complete system, and particularly to understand the role and impacts of human activity."

Since 1880, Earth's average surface temperature has warmed by about 1.4 degrees Fahrenheit (0.8 degrees Celsius), a trend that is largely driven by the increase in carbon dioxide and other human emissions into the planet's atmosphere. The majority of that warming has occurred in the past three decades.

"This is the latest in a series of warm years, in a series of warm decades. While the ranking of individual years can be affected by chaotic weather patterns, the long-term trends are attributable to drivers of climate change that right now are dominated by human emissions of greenhouse gases," said GISS Director Gavin Schmidt.

While 2014 temperatures continue the planet's long-term warming trend, scientists still expect to see year-to-year fluctuations in average global temperature caused by phenomena such as El Ni?o or La Ni?a. These phenomena warm or cool the tropical Pacific and are thought to have played a role in the flattening of the long-term warming trend over the past 15 years. However, 2014's record warmth occurred during an El Ni?o-neutral year.

"NOAA provides decision makers with timely and trusted science-based information about our changing world," said Richard Spinrad, NOAA chief scientist. "As we monitor changes in our climate, demand for the environmental intelligence NOAA provides is only growing. It's critical that we continue to work with our partners, like NASA, to observe these changes and to provide the information communities need to build resiliency."

Regional differences in temperature are more strongly affected by weather dynamics than the global mean. For example, in the U.S. in 2014, parts of the Midwest and East Coast were unusually cool, while Alaska and three western states -- California, Arizona and Nevada -- experienced their warmest year on record, according to NOAA.

The GISS analysis incorporates surface temperature measurements from 6,300 weather stations, ship- and buoy-based observations of sea surface temperatures, and temperature measurements from Antarctic research stations. This raw data is analyzed using an algorithm that takes into account the varied spacing of temperature stations around the globe and urban heating effects that could skew the calculation. The result is an estimate of the global average temperature difference from a baseline period of 1951 to 1980.

NOAA scientists used much of the same raw temperature data, but a different baseline period. They also employ their own methods to estimate global temperatures.

GISS is a NASA laboratory managed by the Earth Sciences Division of the agency's Goddard Space Flight Center, in Greenbelt, Maryland. The laboratory is affiliated with Columbia University's Earth Institute and School of Engineering and Applied Science in New York.

NASA monitors Earth's vital signs from land, air and space with a fleet of satellites, as well as airborne and ground-based observation campaigns. NASA develops new ways to observe and study Earth's interconnected natural systems with long-term data records and computer analysis tools to better see how our planet is changing. The agency shares this unique knowledge with the global community and works with institutions in the United States and around the world that contribute to understanding and protecting our home planet.

The data set of 2014 surface temperature measurements is available at:

http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/

The methodology used to make the temperature calculation is available at:

http://data.giss.nasa.gov/gistemp/sources_v3/

For more information about NASA's Earth science activities, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/earthrightnow

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2012 was one of the 10 warmest years on record globally

August 6, 2013

The 2012 State of the Climate report is available online.

(Credit: NOAA)

Worldwide, 2012 was among the 10 warmest years on record according to the 2012 State of the Climate report released online today by the American Meteorological Society (AMS). The peer-reviewed report, with scientists from NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C., serving as lead editors, was compiled by 384 scientists from 52 countries (highlights, full report). It provides a detailed update on global climate indicators, notable weather events, and other data collected by environmental monitoring stations and instruments on land, sea, ice, and sky. 

“Many of the events that made 2012 such an interesting year are part of the long-term trends we see in a changing and varying climate — carbon levels are climbing, sea levels are rising, Arctic sea ice is melting, and our planet as a whole is becoming a warmer place," said Acting NOAA Administrator Kathryn D. Sullivan, Ph.D. “This annual report is well-researched, well-respected, and well-used; it is a superb example of the timely, actionable climate information that people need from NOAA to help prepare for extremes in our ever-changing environment."

Conditions in the Arctic were a major story of 2012, with the region experiencing unprecedented change and breaking several records. Sea ice shrank to its smallest “summer minimum” extent since satellite records began 34 years ago. In addition, more than 97 percent of the Greenland ice sheet showed some form of melt during the summer, four times greater than the 1981–2010 average melt extent.

Temperature in 2012 compared to the 1981-2010 average. Credit: NOAA Climate.gov, based on NCDC data. See more.

The report used dozens of climate indicators to track and identify changes and overall trends to the global climate system. These indicators include greenhouse gas concentrations, temperature of the lower and upper atmosphere, cloud cover, sea surface temperature, sea-level rise, ocean salinity, sea ice extent and snow cover. Each indicator includes thousands of measurements from multiple independent datasets.

Highlights:

Warm temperature trends continue near Earth’s surface: Four major independent datasets show 2012 was among the 10 warmest years on record, ranking either 8th or 9th, depending upon the dataset used. The United States and Argentina had their warmest year on record. La Niña dissipates into neutral conditions:  A weak La Niña dissipated during spring 2012 and, for the first time in several years, neither El Niño nor La Niña, which can dominate regional weather and climate conditions around the globe, prevailed for the majority of the year.  The Arctic continues to warm; sea ice extent reaches record low: The Arctic continued to warm at about twice the rate compared with lower latitudes. Minimum Arctic sea ice extent in September and Northern Hemisphere snow cover extent in June each reached new record lows. Arctic sea ice minimum extent (1.32 million square miles, September 16) was the lowest of the satellite era. This is 18 percent lower than the previous record low extent of 1.61 million square miles that occurred in 2007 and 54 percent lower than the record high minimum ice extent of 2.90 million square miles that occurred in 1980. The temperature of permafrost, or permanently frozen land, reached record-high values in northernmost Alaska. A new melt extent record occurred July 11–12 on the Greenland ice sheet when 97 percent of the ice sheet showed some form of melt, four times greater than the average melt this time of year. Antarctica sea ice extent reaches record high: The Antarctic maximum sea ice extent reached a record high of 7.51 million square miles on September 26. This is 0.5 percent higher than the previous record high extent of 7.47 million square miles that occurred in 2006 and seven percent higher than the record low maximum sea ice extent of 6.96 million square miles that occurred in 1986. Sea surface temperatures increase: Four independent datasets indicate that the globally averaged sea surface temperature for 2012 was among the 11 warmest on record.  After a 30-year period from 1970 to 1999 of rising global sea surface temperatures, the period 2000–2012 exhibited little trend. Part of this difference is linked to the prevalence of La Niña-like conditions during the 21st century, which typically lead to lower global sea surface temperatures. Ocean heat content remains near record levels: Heat content in the upper 2,300 feet, or a little less than one-half mile, of the ocean remained near record high levels in 2012. Overall increases from 2011 to 2012 occurred between depths of 2,300 to 6,600 feet and even in the deep ocean. Sea level reaches record high: Following sharp decreases in global sea level in the first half of 2011 that were linked to the effects of La Niña, sea levels rebounded to reach record highs in 2012. Globally, sea level has been increasing at an average rate of 3.2 ± 0.4 mm per year over the past two decades.

Sea ice concentration reached a new record low in mid-September 2012. Credit: NOAA Climate.gov, based on NSIDC data. See more. 

Ocean salinity trends continue: Continuing a trend that began in 2004, oceans were saltier than average in areas of high evaporation, including the central tropical North Pacific, and fresher than average in areas of high precipitation, including the north central Indian Ocean, suggesting that precipitation is increasing in already rainy areas and evaporation is intensifying in drier locations. Tropical cyclones near average: Global tropical cyclone activity during 2012 was near average, with a total of 84 storms, compared with the 1981–2010 average of 89. Similar to 2010 and 2011, the North Atlantic was the only hurricane basin that experienced above-normal activity. Greenhouse gases climb: Major greenhouse gas concentrations, including carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, continued to rise during 2012. Following a slight decline in manmade emissions associated with the global economic downturn, global CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion and cement production reached a record high in 2011 of 9.5 ± 0.5 petagrams (1,000,000,000,000,000 grams) of carbon , and a new record of 9.7 ± 0.5 petagrams of carbon  is estimated for 2012. Atmospheric CO2 concentrations increased by 2.1 ppm in 2012, reaching a global average of 392.6 ppm for the year. In spring 2012, for the first time, the atmospheric CO2concentration exceeded 400 ppm at several Arctic observational sites. Cool temperature trends continue in Earth’s lower stratosphere: The average lower stratospheric temperature, about six to ten miles above the Earth’s surface, for 2012 was record to near-record cold, depending on the dataset. Increasing greenhouse gases and decline of stratospheric ozone tend to cool the stratosphere while warming the planet near-surface layers.

The 2012 State of the Climate report is peer-reviewed and published annually as a special supplement to the Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. This year marks the 23rd edition of the report, which is part of the suite of climate services NOAA provides to government, the business sector, academia, and the public to support informed decision-making. The full report can be viewed online.

NOAA’s mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources. Join us on Facebook, Twitter and our other social media channels.

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Record Low Lightning Deaths in 2011; What about 2012?

A horrific weather year. I'm sure that you are aware of how bad 2011 was overall in terms of severe weather, with more than a dozen billion-dollar weather disasters and a record 99 Presidential disaster declarations. With 552 tornado fatalities, the year tied with 1936 for second-most tornado deaths on record, trailing only 1925 which had 794. April alone brought 748 tornadoes, a record for any month of any year. May brought the tornado at Joplin, Missouri that killed at least 158 people (with additional indirect deaths), most for a single tornado in the United States since 1947.

The listing of severe events could go on and on! You can refresh your memory about 2011 in Stu Ostro's blog and images of 2011 and my blog on the 2011 tornadoes.

Record-low lightning fatalities. Despite all of the severe thunderstorm and tornado activity, there were only 26 confirmed lightning fatalities in 2011, a record low. While this is still too many, it's gratifying that the trend has been downward for decades. We've been helping spread the message "when thunder roars, go (stay) indoors" and hopefully that has been a contributing factor. (Read more about this slogan below.) The safest places to be are inside a building with plumbing and wiring or inside a metal-bodied and metal-roofed vehicle. Keep away from electrical appliances, corded telephones, and plumbing during a thunderstorm, as lightning can travel into and through the house in wires and pipes. Avoid contact with metal inside vehicles. Stay in these safe places for at least 30 minutes after the last thunder or lightning has ended to allow storm clouds to clear the area.

Practice lightning safety in 2012. Even one lightning death is too many, and about 10 times as many people are injured as are killed. Most of the casualties are people caught outside during a thunderstorm. Monitor the weather and avoid outside activities as much as possible when thunderstorms are predicted, particularly activities in remote areas where a shelter would not be within quick reach. Many of the fatalities are from the first strike of a thunderstorm. Thus, it's best to seek shelter when the skies start to darken on a day when thunderstorms are predicted. Certainly practice another safety rule "Use your brain, don't wait for the rain!" And don't let sports activities delay your response. Remember more lightning safety slogans: "Don't be lame, end the game! Don't be a fool, get out of the pool!"

Miss America Contestant a Lightning Safety Spokesperson. Lightning safety advocates will be rooting for Ellen Bryan, Miss Ohio (right above) to win the Miss America Pageant on 14 January. She has been a
spokesperson for lightning safety for several years. Her sister Christina (left above) was struck by lightning in 2000 and suffered permanent brain damage. Ellen has made lightning safety and "when thunder roars, go indoors" her Miss America platform issue. You can read Christina's story and watch their lightning safety video clips at the link above.

What about 2012? About this time each year, people wonder how bad the new year will be. In reality, the skill in predicting that is quite low. When it comes to anticipating tornadoes, many researchers have examined potential links to El Nino and La Nina. Results have varied depending upon geographical region and how the studies were conducted. Results are a bit more robust for tropical cyclones, with El Nino conditions tending to reduce the threat of tropical cyclones for the United States. The current La Nina conditions are predicted to persist at least into the spring, and if they persisted beyond that then there would not be a suppressing factor for at least the start of the tropical cyclone season.

El Nino is a phenomenon in which surface and near-surface waters in the eastern and central portions of the equatorial Pacific Ocean are warmer than average. By contrast, La Nina episodes have below-average water temperatures there. The warm or cold waters can impact the formation and location of thunderstorm clusters and rising motions in these areas that, in turn, can affect the strength and location of the jet stream in subtropical and middle latitudes. The jet stream influences weather systems that sometimes produce tornadoes.

There has been a tendency for large tornado outbreaks during La Nina episodes during the January through April months. The record numbers of tornadoes in each of those months occurred during La Nina conditions, including April 2011. Of the eleven largest and most impactful tornado outbreaks since 1950 in those months, six were during La Nina, 3 during El Nino, and 2 during neutral conditions. These statistics suggest, but don't guarantee, above-average tornado activity in January-April 2012. Historically this activity occurs mainly in the Gulf Coast (excluding the Florida Peninsula), Southeast, Mississippi Valley, and Tennessee Valley states.

El Nino conditions have tended to exist during large tornado outbreaks from May through December in the past, but we can't predict with certainty what the conditions will be during these months in 2012.

Tornado outbreaks are mainly driven by travelling weather systems (low pressure systems, fronts, and upper-air disturbances) operating on much shorter time scales than El Nino or La Nina. It's whether or not those factors become favorable that ultimately determine whether or not and how bad an outbreak will be. But factors like La Nina can impact the configuration of those travelling weather systems, and thus exert some influence, but aren't the dominant factor.

Another phenomenon that can potentially influence weather patterns is the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). An index of this oscillation is positive when there is a strong upper low over or near the Greenland area (as in the figures below). The index is negative when there is relatively high pressure over this region. The nature of the NAO tends to influence the location and intensity of the jet stream pattern over the Northeast, and the temperature pattern over the central and eastern United States.

Positive NAO conditions were present during the record-tornado April 2011. Of the 27 largest and most impactful tornado outbreaks since 1950, 14 were during positive NAO, 8 during negative NAO, and 5 during near-zero periods. Thus, positive NAO tends to favor tornado outbreaks, but it's far from a foolproof indicator. NAO is much more variable and on shorter time scales than El Nino/La Nina, so it can't be predicted far enough in advance to use it in forecasts of tornado activity in 2012.

Another large-scale potential influencing factor is the Arctic Oscillation (AO). This is positive when there is colder-than-average air over the North Pole region at the upper-level jet stream altitudes. Positive NAO tends to mean a stronger-than-average polar jet stream, which can influence possible tornado-producing weather systems. AO was positive during April 2011 and was positive in 16 of the 27 largest and most impactful tornado outbreaks since 1950. Again, though, it is rather variable and can't be predicted far enough in advance to use in forecasts of tornado activity in 2012.

The bottom line is that La Nina conditions may lead to an active January-to-April period for tornadoes in 2012, but that can't be predicted with total certainty. We can all hope that the death toll in 2012 will be way below that of 2011.

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Summer 2012 was the USA's third-hottest on record

The USA just endured its third-hottest summer on record, and it looks like the fall is on track to be warmer than average too, scientists reported Monday.

National Climatic Data Center

States in red (Wyoming and Colorado) had their warmest summer on record, while all the states in orange had one of their top-ten warmest summers on record. No states saw a below average summer for temperatures.

National Climatic Data Center

States in red (Wyoming and Colorado) had their warmest summer on record, while all the states in orange had one of their top-ten warmest summers on record. No states saw a below average summer for temperatures.

For the entire year to date, the nation is having its warmest year since records began in 1895, said the report by the National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C.

About 80 million Americans sweltered through 100-degree temperatures at some point this summer, the climate center noted in its report.

The warmth should continue for much of the nation over the next several months: "We're looking at a warmer-than-average fall," especially east of the Rockies, AccuWeather meteorologist Jack Boston said.

He adds that cooler-than-average temperatures should be confined to the far west this fall, however, with mountain snows possible by early October.

With the El Niño climate pattern now in effect, "the best chances for above-normal temperatures this fall are in the northern tier of the nation," mainly east of the Rockies, forecaster Jon Gottschalck of the Climate Prediction Center said.

Seven of the 10 hottest summers in U.S. history have occurred since 2000. Average summer temperature:

Year / Avg.:

1936: 74.64

2011: 74.49

2012: 74.41

2006: 74.36

1934: 74.18

2002: 73.96

2010: 73.95

1988: 73.92

2007: 73.90

2003: 73.53

Source: NOAA

El Niño is a periodic warming of Pacific Ocean water temperatures that influences weather in the USA and around the world.

The summer heat this year really ramped up in July, which ended up as the hottest month in U.S. history.

"The heat was widespread in July," scientist Jake Crouch of the National Climatic Data Center said. The worst of the heat eased a bit in August, he said, which prevented the summer from being the hottest on record.

The climate center defines summer as June 1-Aug. 31. Seven of the 10 hottest summers in U.S. history have occurred since 2000, and the nation has experienced its second- and third-warmest summers in back-to-back years.

This may be a signal of climate change: "All of this fits into the longer-term warming trend," Crouch told the environmental group Climate Central.

Other highlights of summer:

•The average U.S. temperature during the summer was 74.4 degrees, which was 2.3 degrees above the long-term (1901-2000) average. Only 1936, at 74.6 degrees, and 2011, at 74.5 degrees, were warmer.

•Two states — Colorado and Wyoming — had their warmest summer on record.

•As for rainfall, the nation saw extremes this summer: Nebraska and Wyoming had their driest summer on record, while Florida had its wettest summer.

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USA had warmest March-May on record

The surreal heat that enveloped much of the USA this spring turned out to be the warmest ever recorded in U.S. history — by an eye-opening margin, scientists report.

Robert K. O'Daniell, AP

University of Illinois freshmen Jill Marik, left, and Jeremy Vivit enjoy unseasonably warm weather on March 13 on the campus Quad in Urbana, Ill.

Robert K. O'Daniell, AP

University of Illinois freshmen Jill Marik, left, and Jeremy Vivit enjoy unseasonably warm weather on March 13 on the campus Quad in Urbana, Ill.

Coming on the heels of the fourth-warmest winter on record in the USA, nature and the economy were thrown off rhythm, as jobs, retail sales, crops and bugs sprouted outside their normal cycles.

Though the calendar says we're still in spring, climatologists define spring as the months of March, April and May; weather records go back to 1895.

"Record and near-record warmth dominated the eastern two-thirds of the nation during spring," according to the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) report. "Thirty-one states were record warm for the season. Only Oregon and Washington had spring temperatures near normal."

The spring season's nationally averaged temperature was 57.1 degrees, 5.2 degrees above the long-term average, and surpassing the previous warmest spring (1910) by 2 degrees.

The amount by which the spring broke the record was also phenomenal: Spring 2012 marked the largest temperature departure from average of any season on record in the USA, the center reported.

In addition, the center also announced that the USA is seeing its warmest start to the year since records began.

The warmth wreaked havoc on plants and insects across the country, leading to an unusually early blooming of the cherry trees in Washington, D.C. Apple and peach trees bloomed two months early in the Midwest.

Just Wednesday, the Federal Reserve's Beige Book report on the economy said the warm spring had boosted tourism, bolstering everything from Florida visits by foreigners to ticket sales on Broadway.

Restaurant sales rose by double digits in January and February, months when cold weather keeps many consumers home, helping calm fears that gas prices would slash discretionary spending. Sales of vehicles and parts rose 7.3% in the first quarter, accounting for more than a fourth of the economy's growth, according to the government.

Analysts think car buyers came out earlier than usual this year because dealer lots weren't freezing, said Chris Christopher, an economist at consulting firm IHS Global Insight. And The Home Depot's shares are up 20% this year, largely because of strong winter sales, though momentum at rival Lowe's has cooled since March.

Economists at Moody's Analytics think the warm weather added about 50,000 jobs a month during January and February, Moody's associate economist Sara Kline said. But then the weather has hurt employment growth in recent months given some car, new-house and home-improvement sales happened sooner than expected, both said.

"Workers were brought back more quickly than usual in construction, in trucking and leisure and hospitality than they would be in a normal winter," Kline said. "The flip side is not getting as much growth as expected in March and April."

Too much hot, dry weather can be bad news for agriculture, but it's hard to say how bad the impact this year will be. The Texas economy lost more than $7.6 billion due to last year's heat and drought, said Mark Waller, an agricultural economist at the Texas AgriLife Extension at Texas A&M University.

"It's not as bad as it was last year," because the Texas winter wasn't as dry, he said. "We haven't been hot enough yet this year to damage crops, and we probably got some early hay cutting because it warmed up early."

How warm has it been? Chicago saw eight days in the 80s in March and five days in the 90s in May, the National Weather Service reported, smashing records in a city known for cold, windy weather.

The cause of the strange heat was an ongoing pattern that kept the jet stream much farther to the north than usual, according to NCDC climatologist Jake Crouch. This allowed warm air to spread across most of the country east of the Rockies, he said.

The heat is expected to continue: In its summer forecast released in May, the Climate Prediction Center (CPC) said that about three-fourths of the nation — from the Southwest to the Mid-Atlantic — should see above-average temperatures from June-August.

Additionally, the CPC announced Thursday that there is a 50% chance that El Niño conditions will develop during the second half of the year. El Niño is a periodic warming of sea-surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean that primarily affects winter weather in the USA.

A typical El Niño tends to bring warmer-than-average winter temperatures to much of the northern USA and cooler-than-average temperatures to the nation's southern tier, the CPC reports.

Worldwide data for spring will be released June 14. Through April, the globe was not experiencing the level of unusual warmth that the USA was: The worldwide temperature for January-April was only the 15th warmest on record, the climate center reported in May.

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Surfer sets Guinness record riding 78-foot wave

HONOLULU (AP) – Dude, that was the gnarliest wave ever. Guinness World Records says so.

By Jorge Leal, AP

Garrett McNamara surfs a 78-foot wave at Praia do Norte beach in Nazare, Portugal, Nov. 1, 2011.

By Jorge Leal, AP

Garrett McNamara surfs a 78-foot wave at Praia do Norte beach in Nazare, Portugal, Nov. 1, 2011.

The record-keeping agency is acknowledging a 44-year-old Hawaii pro surfer for catching a 78-foot wave off the coast of Portugal, saying the November run beats a 2008 record by more than 1 foot.

Big-wave surfer Garrett McNamara of Haleiwa, on Oahu's North Shore, told The Associated Press that the ride of his life was a fluke.

He said he originally didn't want to attempt the waves that day after wiping out numerous times on even bigger swells in the same spot, above an undersea canyon known as one of the biggest wave-generators on the planet.

"I was really beat-up that morning," he said. "This day, I did not want to get out of bed."

He changed his mind at the urging of friends, once they got into the ocean and he helped others catch a few waves.

"Everything came together," McNamara said Thursday. "Everything felt right."

Video of the run shows a minuscule 5-foot-10-inch McNamara against a wall of water as he lets go of a tow rope and begins riding down the wave at Praia do Norte. He briefly disappears into the break about 10 seconds into the run, then speeds up and remerges from the wave's tube as the swell quickly dissipates.

"I knew it was big, but I didn't know how big," he said.

McNamara said he didn't care at first about whether the wave was a record, but was urged by the townspeople in Nazare, Portugal, to get some kind of confirmation. He said he sent the footage and pictures to surfing legend and Billabong judge Sean Collins, who guessed the wave was 85 to 90 feet tall. Collins died in December.

The official record comes after McNamara was awarded $15,000 for the ride at the Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards in California last week.

Judges for the awards, considered the official arbiters of big-wave surfing, pored over footage and high-resolution still images from several angles to calculate a more accurate estimate, event director Bill Sharp told the AP.

They used McNamara's height in a crouch and the length of his shin bone to help compare it to the wave's top and bottom, Sharp said.

"You can't deny how big it was for that moment," Sharp said.

Sharp said surfers don't often get a chance to catch waves so big. He put the achievement on par with other infrequent athletic feats like four home runs in a game — which Texas Rangers outfielder Josh Hamilton achieved this week — or a perfect game.

"But add to that the fact that the stadium could collapse on you at any second," he said.

McNamara, who began surfing at age 11 and went pro at 17, said the achievement became more important to him when he realized it could help him urge more people to follow their passions.

"The world would be a much better place if everyone was doing what they wanted to do," he said.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.For more information about reprints & permissions, visit our FAQ's. To report corrections and clarifications, contact Standards Editor Brent Jones. For publication consideration in the newspaper, send comments to letters@usatoday.com. Include name, phone number, city and state for verification. To view our corrections, go to corrections.usatoday.com.

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2012 is USA's warmest year on record, so far

The nation's unusual warmth keeps on rolling: Through April, the USA is experiencing its warmest year on record, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced on Tuesday, with a national average temperature of 45 degrees.

This is 5 degrees above the long-term average.

So far this year, more than 15,000 record high temperatures have been set across the nation, compared with about 1,100 record lows, reports Weather Channel meteorologist Guy Walton.

The first four months of 2012 were drier than average for the United States as a whole, with some regional variability, NOAA reported. The eastern third of the nation has been drier than average, with Maryland and Delaware both having their driest year on record, to date.

April itself was the third-warmest on record in the USA, with only April 2006 and April 1981 warmer than this April.

U.S. weather records go back to 1895.

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Britain has hottest October day on record (AP)

LONDON – Britain has experienced the hottest October day on record.

National weather service the Met Office says Saturday's temperature reached 85.8 F (29.9 C) at Gravesend in southeast England.

That is the highest October temperature since records began a century ago, beating the previous high of 84.9 F (29.4 C) reached on Oct. 4, 1985.

The average maximum temperature for early October is about 59 F (15 C).

After a cool and wet summer, much of Britain has been basking in several days of sun and unseasonably high temperatures. Forecasters say cooler temperatures should return by Tuesday.

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Weather record tied: Most billion-dollar disasters (AP)

WASHINGTON – This crazy year of weather extremes has tied another record: this one for most billion-dollar weather disasters

The National Weather Service says nine weather disasters this year have each caused more than $1 billion in damage. That ties 2008. And this year isn't near finished.

Weather Service Director Jack Hayes says the peak of hurricane season is just starting and the United States seems overdue for a hurricane smacking the coast.

The government has been tracking billion-dollar weather disasters for 30 years and the country normally averages about three a year.

The billion-dollar disasters included two floods, five tornado outbreaks and a blizzard. This year severe thunderstorms have also cost $20 billion, double what's normal.

Hayes said his office will emphasize making the nation better prepared for weather disasters.

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Texas cattle ranchers feel burn of record drought (AFP)

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (AFP) – A record drought is forcing Texas cattle ranchers to send their cows to slaughter because it's too costly to keep buying feed for herds finding little forage in parched pastures.

"If I knew it would rain in the next two months, we'd buy hay or feed and carry these cows on," said Pete Bonds, who raises about 7,000 cows on his nearly 4,000-acre (1,600-hectare) ranch near Fort Worth.

The problem for ranchers like Bonds is that "only God knows when it's going to rain."

And if conditions don't improve in the next few weeks, he may have to cull as many as 1,000 cows from his herd.

Dry spells are nothing new to Texas cattlemen, the bulk of whom operate ranches that have been in their families for generations.

It's a good life for them, and for the cattle.

Unlike the cramped conditions of "factory" farms elsewhere in the country, most Texas cattle roam free on sprawling ranches, eating brush and grasses and drinking from natural creeks and man-made ponds.

But the first six months of this year have been the driest since records began to be kept in 1895.

Pastures are filled with patches of dry dirt. The grasses that are still alive crackle under foot.

And the drought which began in October has sparked one of the worst wildfire seasons on record.

More than 13,000 wildfires have burned more than 3.2 million acres in Texas where the situation has become so bad that many counties even banned Independence Day fireworks.

"Ranchers have experienced wildfires, long term drought, severe flooding, exceptionally cold winters and high feed costs for several years," said Bill Hyman, executive director of the Independent Cattlemen's Association of Texas.

Their endurance is starting to wear thin, he said and they are "exiting the industry in large numbers due to losses."

"In Texas, you can't find anyone in agriculture who's not suffering," added Gene Hall, a spokesperson of the Texas Farm Bureau.

"The wheat crop is already toast, corn is in serious trouble and the cattle situation is very bad."

One of the broadest impacts has been on cotton, because Texas accounts for nearly half of the US crop.

"Cotton conditions have never been lower than they are right now for any time in the growing season," said Brad Rippey, a meteorologist with the US Department of Agriculture.

"It's been so hot that even irrigation in some cases is not helping the situation because of the intense heat and the low humidity. So cotton is in big trouble early in the year and it would take a major weather pattern change, which does not appear to be on the horizon," to save the crop.

Texas producers have ginned, or treated, between 4.5 and 8 million bales of cotton in the past eight years. This year, they're forecast to get just 2.5 million bales, said Kelley Green of the Texas Cotton Ginners Association.

Chuck Real has been forced to tap into stockpiles of hay that he hasn't planned on using until the winter to feel his herd of 100 cows near San Antonio.

"The Good Lord was very good to us and let us put up a lot of hay last year in the spring of 2010. That was the last time it really rained," he told AFP.

He had been hoping to hang onto his cows until they reached the ideal slaughter weight of 500 to 600 pounds. But it's likely he's going to end up having to cut his losses because it's too costly to buy feed.

"We'll have to sell them at 400 pounds because we're running out of grass," Real said.

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It's official: Record June runoff to swollen Missouri River (Reuters)

OMAHA, Neb (Reuters) – It has been obvious for a while from flooding downstream but now it is official: The swollen Missouri River received a record amount of rainfall and snowmelt runoff in June.

The U.S. Army Corp of Engineers said in a report released on Friday that June runoff into the river was 13.8 million acre-feet of water, topping the previous record set in 1952. It was the most runoff since the agency began keeping records in 1898.

What's more, the combined total runoff for May and June fell just short of the normal total runoff for an entire year.

Record water releases to relieve pressure on six reservoirs from Montana through South Dakota have strained flood defenses along the Missouri River and continued to breach a few levees downstream.

(Reporting by Kyle Peterson and David Hendee; Editing by Greg McCune)

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Ohio Record Rainfall, Flooding Causing Algae Problems for Waterways (ContributorNetwork)

Going "green" isn't always a good thing. Due to record amounts of spring rainfall, a coating of green algae known as cyan bacteria has invaded at least 20 public beaches, lakes and ponds in Ohio. The toxic blue-green sticky film occurs when water becomes polluted with sewage, manure and fertilizer.

Indiana Prairie Reporter notes the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) is offering financial assistance to farmers battling an overflow of manure-based fertilizer due to spring flooding. Cleaning up the manure seepage will likely prevent the contamination from encompassing more public and private waterways.

Memorial Day is the unofficial kick-off for outdoor summer fun and coveted eco-tourism business around the state. Ohio State Park beaches are popular day and weekend getaways even when the economy is good. The struggling economy has boosted state park visitation for the last several years. A decline in visitors would have a financial impact for campground, cabin and outdoor recreation rental businesses. The algae problem will impact the rural Hocking Hills area of southern Ohio to the northern shores of Lake Erie, the two largest outdoor tourist attractions in the Midwest.

Heavy April showers and flood waters washed phosphorus-infused sediment from agricultural areas into waterways last year as well. The rainfall run-off issue in 2011 has already surpassed the algae growth which occurred in all of 2010 in Ohio. Per studies by University of Toledo ecologists, harmful algal blooms are expected to make a return appearance in Lake Erie again this summer, according to the Columbus Dispatch. The warmth and sunshine which any Ohioans have been seeking will only exasperate algae growth. Fishing is not only an enjoyable way to spend an afternoon on Lake Erie but a means of putting food on the table for angler-related businesses. Decaying fish floating on the top of the lake will not only deter fishermen but disrupt the fragile economy in the Buckeye State.

Fortunately, no safety warnings affecting human health have yet been issued due to the growing algae problem. Water may be deemed safe for swimming if the concentrations of the green ilk are determined to be low enough not to be harmful if accidentally ingested while in the water.

Last year, tourists were met with warning signs when visiting state park beaches at Hake Hope, Burr Oak and Grand Lake state parks. Thousands of hikers at the Hocking Hills State Park were not deterred by the pending algae over the holiday weekend and cooled off in waterfall overflows at Ash Cave and Old Man's Cave with both their small children and four-legged family members. The thick canopy of trees and cooler temperatures along cave trails are protected from the direct sunlight algae needs to flourish.

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Swollen Mississippi River sets record high at Natchez, Mississippi and still rising

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May 11, 2011 ARCHIVES  |  Weather  |  NEWS

Linda Young - AHN News Writer

Tunica, MS, United States (AHN) - The swollen Mississippi River has residents of Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana bracing for the inevitability of flooding now that the flood crest has passed Memphis.

Flood stage is 37 feet at Memphis and the Mississippi River crested at 47.8 feet on Tuesday, just shy of a 1937 record.

Rain and snowmelt along the river and its tributaries has resulted in one of the worst flood events since the 1937 flood for many towns along its 2,320-mile course.

Some 3 million acres of land are under floodwater in Tennessee, Arkansas and Missouri. Some farmers have lost their crops for the year.

Flood stage is 48 feet in Natchez, Mississippi where a new water level record of 58.3 feet was set Wednesday morning with the river still rising and forecasts calling for it to crest in that city at 64 feet.

Meanwhile, the Mississippi River reached flood stage of 17 feet in New Orleans today, but the flood crest is not expected to reach that city for several more weeks.

Copyright 2011 by (AHN)
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