Summer 2022 NH / Winter 2022 SH Discussion Thread.

The European heatwave is getting some media coverage here in AU.

Record-Breaking June Heat Hits Europe
( source: Weathezone )

Several European countries registered their highest June temperature on record over the weekend amid a gruelling and historic early-season heatwave.
A strong and slow-moving upper-level ridge drifting over Europe late last week allowed a pool of hot and dry air to develop near the ground. This surface heat was exacerbated by a process called atmospheric subsidence, which involves air becoming warmer as it sinks towards the ground from higher altitudes.
The broad-scale weather pattern than caused last week’s extreme heat in Europe is called an omega block, owing to the Ω shape of the upper-level winds surroundimg the pool of hot air. This same phenomenon was also responsible for a bout of extreme heat in western parts of the U.S. and Canada around this time last year.

The combination of abundant sunshine, strong atmospheric subsidence and the background influence of climate change caused extreme heat across parts of western and southern Europe late last week. In some countries, temperatures reach levels that had never been recorded this early in the season.
France experienced temperatures up to 43.4ºC on Saturday, June 18, with Biarritz’s 43.4ºC setting a new all-time record for the site.
According to Scott Duncan, a meteorologist based in Scotland, the following countries then equalled or exceeded their highest June temperatures on record on Sunday:
39.0ºC at Husinec, Czech Republic

38.3ºC at Slubice, Poland

36.9ºC at Beznau, Switzerland

Another historic day of heat in Europe. I can't believe it is only the 19th of June. Unprecedented to witness this level of heat so early in the year.
Many June records broken by large margins. Some June national records equaled or broken. pic.twitter.com/cpDySkCxhV
— Scott Duncan (@scottduncanwx) June 19, 2022

Sunday also saw Germany’s Cottbus soar to 39.2ºC, its highest outright temperature in records dating back to 1888, and less than half a degree below Germany’s national record for June. This blast of early-season warmth also caused the snow level at Germany’s Mount Zugspitze reach 0cm on Sunday, making this its earliest no-snow date since 1960.

Today 19 June the snow gauge on the top of Mt. Zugspitze in Germany (2960m asl) dropped to 0cm. It's the earliest snow melt since 1960,several weeks in advance of average. Last time snow failed to melt during a summer was in 2000. pic.twitter.com/Nj4zZPbPrg

— Extreme Temperatures Around The World (@extremetemps) June 19, 2022

While extreme heat is to be expected every summer in Europe, this is exceptionally early in the year for temperatures this high. Europe’s summer officially begins on the date of the winter solstice, which falls on June 21 this year.
Europe’s climate has been getting warmer at a fairly steady pace since about the 1980s, which is making heat extremes like the ones we saw this week more likely. According to the Copernicus Climate Change Service, the average temperature in Europe today is about 2ºC higher than it was in the latter half of the 19th century.

At approx 18:44 CST (+0.5 hours for EST and -1.5 hours for WST) today 21/06/2022 the sun is directly over the Tropic of cancer (23.4°N) marking the Winter solstice for the Southern Hemisphere which features the shortest day and longest night of the year. From that point forward days will slowly begin to increase in length. Strangely enough even though it is the shortest day and the sun is at its weakest, temperatures lag by about a month and the winter solstice rarely features the coldest day of the year. That day is typically seen in July.

Officially 100 F (37.8 C) here! First time since June 7, 2011 so 11 years since the last occurrence!




Also, Duluth Sky Harbor Airport is at 95 F (35 C) right now, at this time yesterday it was only 52 F (11.1 C).


w1.weather.gov/data/obhistory/KDYT.html

Even more impressive is the 18 F (10 C) jump between 1:15 PM and 1:35 PM. 70 F (21.1 C) to 88 F (31.1 C). 

Widespread flooding in Saskatoon today, the worst I've seen in a very long time. We supposedly got around 40mm (1.57") of rain in two hours this afternoon.

I live in a 3rd floor apartment so no flooding concerns within my home and thankfully my parking lot was accessible and not flooded after work, though a couple of intersections nearby were closed.

Got up to 100F here for the first time of the year yesterday. We've been in the upper 90's a number of times prior.

Upper 90's to low 100's forecast through Sunday. Thinking this June will end up being the hottest on record. 

La Nina Is Over...For Now
( source: Weatherzone )


The Bureau of Meteorology has today declared the end of the La Niña, but is this the last Australia will see of this rain-inducing climate driver in 2022?
The Bureau’s latest climate driver update, released on Tuesday, June 21, states that “the 2021–22 La Niña event has reached an end, with a majority of indicators currently at neutral levels.”
This ends a seven-month La Niña episode that was declared in November 2021 and went on to produce record-breaking rain and flooding in eastern Australia during late summer and autumn.


The end of a high-impact La Niña is likely to come as welcome news to many communities and industries in flood-weary areas of eastern Australia. However, this may not be the end of this story just yet.
While the Pacific Ocean has returned to a neutral state based on the Bureau of Meteorology’s criteria, sea surface temperatures across the equatorial Pacific are still in a La Niña-like state. Furthermore, a number of international forecast models suggest that La Niña may return later this year, most likely during spring.

The Bureau of Meteorology also acknowledge this potential in their latest climate outlook, stating that “some model outlooks suggest La Niña may re-form later in 2022. As a result, the Bureau's ENSO Outlook status has moved to La Niña WATCH. La Niña WATCH means there is around a 50% chance of La Niña forming later in 2022. This is approximately double the normal likelihood.”

Today's precip. Storms to the east, to the south and to the west, but nothing here.




Edit: just got woken up by thunder from a small, isolated cell that formed overhead. Some real bangers under this one!

Looks like we're having the driest June since 2005! Thank God for these "icy westerlies" (aka foehn winds).

Where has the rain gone in Sydney?



At the end of May, Sydney was having its wettest year-to-date on record. Now, the city is having one of its driest Junes in decades. So, what happened to all the rain? Most of NSW has received less than half of the average June rainfall so far this month. Many areas in the state’s east and northwest are currently setting below 20 percent of their monthly averages.

As of 9am on Wednesday, June 22, Sydney had only seen around 13 to 14mm of rain so far this month. This is the city’s driest June-to-date since 2005 and its 2nd driest since 1990. La Niña has been gradually weakening over the last several weeks and was declared over by the Bureau of Meteorology on Tuesday, June 21. The SAM also switched into a negative phase in early June, a phase that typically enhances westerly winds over NSW and causes drier weather on the eastern side of the Great Dividing Range.

As a result of this phase change in both La Niña and the SAM, rainfall has switched off over parts of NSW this month. This dry weather looks set to continue for much of the state during the rest of this week and into the first half of next week, aside from some showers in the state’s south with passing cold fronts. However, looking further ahead, some long-range forecast models suggest that La Niña may return later this year and we are also likely to see a negative Indian Ocean Dipole event later this winter and spring. This increases the likelihood of above average rain in NSW during the coming months, so best to enjoy the drier weather while it’s here.

www.weatherzone.com.au/news/where-has-the-rain-gone-in-sydney/646887