NCDC: Climate of October 2000

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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Climate of 2000 - October
Global Analysis
National Climatic Data Center, 15 November 2000

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Climate of 2000: October
Detailed Climate Perspectives . . .
- Global Analysis
- Global Regional
- U.S. National
- U.S. Regional
- U.S. Drought
- Extreme Events
2000 Monthly Reports

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Global Temperature

Global surface temperatures continued to average much above the long-term mean (1880-1999) in October as shown in the figure above. The October 2000 combined land and ocean temperature was 0.35C above average, the eighth warmest October on record. Below average October temperatures have not been recorded on a global basis since 1978. Since that time, October global temperatures have risen at a rate of 0.15 per decade. The rate of temperature increase since 1880 is 0.05C per decade. Ocean temperatures were 0.34C above average, which tied 1990 as the 5th warmest on record, while land temperatures tied 1931 and 1897 as the 18th warmest at 0.36C above the 1880-1999 average.

The adjacent map, based on in-situ data alone, shows the spatial distribution of temperature anomalies throughout the world with respect to a 1961-1990 base period. Red dots indicate areas that were warmer than the 1961-1990 average, while cooler than average areas are indicated by blue dots. Regions with widespread above-normal temperatures included much of Scandanavia and central Europe, the central United States, southeast Brazil and parts of the Far East.

Global Temperature Anomalies, October 2000

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Areas of cooler than normal temperatures included much of central Asia and Mongolia, central Australia and scattered areas across the African continent. Temperatures were also cooler than normal in southern South America and across a large portion of the western United States. Additional details concerning U.S. temperatures can be found in the U.S. Regional Report .

MSU Temperature

Global Lower Tropospheric Anomalies, October 2000

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Data collected by NOAA's TIROS-N polar-orbiting satellites and adjusted for time-dependent biases by NASA and the Global Hydrology and Climate Center at the University of Alabama in Huntsville indicate that temperatures in the lower half of the atmosphere (lowest 8 km) were
near the 20-year (1979-1998) average in October. Temperatures were near average in both the Northern Hemisphere and south of the equator.

Global Precipitation

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The adjacent map, based on in-situ data stations shows precipitation anomalies for October. Brown dots indicate areas which were drier than normal, and green dots indicate those that were wetter than normal. Areas receiving above normal precipitation include much of the western United States, western Europe and parts of Argentina and the Far East. Heavy rainfall from several tropical systems brought flooding across southern China especially around Hong Kong during the month.

Much drier than normal conditions persisted in the southeast portion of the United States with drought conditions in many areas. A large region of below normal rainfall also stretched from central Europe into western Siberia. Below normal rainfall was also observed across portions of the Carribbean basin and in parts of northern South America.

For additional details on temperature and precipitation throughout the world, please see the October global regional page. A detailed discussion of U.S. precipitation for October can be found on the U.S. National page.

References:

Peterson, T.C. and R.S. Vose, 1997: An Overview of the Global Historical Climatology Network Database. Bull. Amer. Meteorol. Soc., 78, 2837-2849.

For all climate questions other than questions concerning this report, please contact the National Climatic Data Center's Climate Services Division:

Climate Services Division
NOAA/National Climatic Data Center
151 Patton Avenue, Room 120
Asheville, NC 28801-5001
fax: 828-271-4876
phone: 828-271-4800
email: ncdc.orders@noaa.gov

For questions about this report, please contact:

David Easterling
NOAA/National Climatic Data Center
151 Patton Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801-5001
fax: 828-271-4328
email: david.easterling@noaa.gov

-or-

Jay Lawrimore
NOAA/National Climatic Data Center
151 Patton Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801-5001
fax: 828-271-4328
email: jay.lawrimore@noaa.gov

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