[asa] Spring 2008 Climate Info Just In

The combined global land and ocean surface temperature for boreal
spring (March-May) 2008 was 0.94°F (0.52°C) above the 20th century
mean of 56.7°F (13.7°C) and ranked 7th warmest based on the 1880-2008
record. The global land surface temperature for boreal spring was
1.87°F (1.04°C) above the 20th century mean of 46.4°F (8.1°C) and tied
with 2000 as 3rd warmest. Number one was 2007 and number two was 2005.
The global ocean surface temperature for boreal spring was 0.59°F
(0.33°C) above the 20th century mean of 61.0°F (16.1°C) and ranked
10th warmest. The combined global land and ocean surface temperature
for May 2008 was 0.81°F (0.45°C) above the 20th century mean of 58.6°F
(14.8°C) and ranked 8th warmest. The global land surface temperature
for May was 1.26°F (0.70°C) above the 20th century mean of 52.0°F
(11.1°C) and ranked 7th warmest. The global ocean surface temperature
for May was 0.65°F (0.36°C) above the 20th century mean of 61.3°F
(16.3°C) and ranked 10th warmest. The extent of spring 2008 snow cover
over Eurasia was the lowest on record for any spring in the 42-year
historical satellite record.

Some will ask why doesn't it seem that way. Because many of us live in
the U.S.

The March-May spring season was the 36th coolest on record for the
contiguous United States, according to an analysis by NOAA's National
Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C. Separately, last month ended
as the 34th coolest May for the contiguous United States, based on
records dating back to 1895. The average spring temperature, 51.4°F
(10.8°C), was 0.5°F (0.3°C) below the 20th century average. The
average May temperature of 60.3°F (15.7°C) was 0.7°F (0.4°C) below the
20th century mean, based on preliminary data.

This global/local disparity looks like this:

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/img/climate/research/2008/may/map-blended-mntp-200803-200805-pg.gif

Note the blue dots only exist in the Pacific and Northern North
America. Due to our parochial tendencies we don't see the problem
elsewhere. It also seems that the urban heat island effect of the U.S.
climate network failed to heat things up compared with where there
isn't such an effect. This is also in the context of sunspot minimum
and La Nina (which is currently weakening). What this shows of the
natural variability ENSO trumps solar effects. When La Nina was strong
in January the temperatures dropped and now that La Nina is weaker the
effects of CO2 are no longer masked even though the solar forcing is
currently at a low. One of the lines of the climate skeptics is that
global warming stopped in 1998. It should be noted that 1998 was the
El Nino of the century. Even so, 2005 beat out 1998 as the warmest
recorded year ever (since 1880) and 2007 tied it for second.

Rich Blinne

Member ASA

To unsubscribe, send a message to majordomo@calvin.edu with
"unsubscribe asa" (no quotes) as the body of the message.
Received on Sun Jun 15 20:02:26 2008