2012 North American heat wave
Start date | mid June 2012 |
---|---|
End date | August 2012 |
Peak temp. | 115 °F (46 °C) |
Losses | |
Deaths | 82 direct, 22 indirect |
Damages | $30 billion (2012 USD)[1] |
The Summer 2012 North American heat wave was one of the most severe
Cause
The heat wave formed when high pressure aloft over the Baja California, Mexico, strengthened and moved over the southern plains around June 20–23 and then spread east and northward, remaining fixed over the center of North America through July 2012.[9][10]
The direct cause of the heat is that, under high pressure, the air subsides (sinks) toward the surface. This sinking air acts as a dome capping the atmosphere. This cap helps to trap heat instead of allowing it to lift. Without the lift there is little or no convection and therefore little or no convective clouds (cumulus clouds) with minimal chances for rain. The result is a continual build-up of heat at the surface resulting in drought conditions over wide areas.[11]
This heat wave, like all extreme weather events, has its direct cause in a complex set of atmospheric conditions that produce short-term weather. However, weather occurs within the broader context of the climate, and many scientists agree that global warming has made it more likely that heat waves of this magnitude will occur.[12][13] A NASA-sponsored study[14] indicates an increase in the drying tendency from spring to summer over the U.S. Central Plains, especially during the transition from June to July. The intensified deficit in precipitation is accompanied by increased downward shortwave radiation flux, tropospheric subsidence, enhanced evaporative fraction, and elevated planetary boundary layer height, all of which can lead to surface drying. These conditions are similar to those accompanying the 2012 drought[15] and intense heat that occurred in mid-summer.
Timeline of impacts
Beginning of heat wave
The intense heat wave in the West was initiated around June 20–23 when the high pressure system centered over the Baja of California shifted upward into the plains[16] and caused temperatures to approach or even surpass 110 °F (43 °C) for the next several days, breaking many records for the area.[citation needed]
The heat spread east from the
Thousands of records were again broken on June 28. Fort Wayne, Indiana, tied its all-time record high with 106 °F (41.1 °C) while Indianapolis broke its monthly record at 104 °F (40 °C). More monthly records that day included St. Louis, Missouri, at 108 °F (42.2 °C) and Little Rock, Arkansas, at 107 °F (41.7 °C).[20] The heat resulted in two boys from Bradley County, Tennessee, dying of hyperthermia.[21]
In the Mid-South, from June 28 through June 30, many notable temperature extremes occurred. In Paducah, Kentucky, June 29 witnessed an all time official record of 108 °F (42.2 °C).[citation needed] In Bowling Green, Kentucky, the same day witnessed 109 °F (42.8 °C), one degree Fahrenheit (0.6 °C) short of the state's all-time record for June. Perhaps more remarkable, Tennessee observed a handful of all-time record highs. Nashville reached 109 °F (42.8 °C) on June 30, 11 °F (6.1 °C) higher than the previous record. Knoxville reached a high of 105 °F (40.6 °C), while Chattanooga reached 107 °F (41.7 °C), an all-time high, on both June 30 and July 1. And, although not officially verified by the National Weather Service at this time, Smyrna, Tennessee, recorded a reading of 113 °F (45.0 °C) on the 29th, which would in fact be the highest recorded temperature in the state.[22]
In
Spread to Southeastern U.S.
The high pressure ridge continued to slide eastward and centered itself over Tennessee, causing hundreds of records to be matched or surpassed for multiple states, including Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Georgia, North Carolina, and Washington, D.C., among others.[citation needed]
The scorching heat continued on June 29 when Athens, Georgia, and Columbia, South Carolina, set new all-time record high temperatures of 113 °F (45 °C). Washington, D.C., recorded its highest June temperature ever at 104 °F (40 °C), and Charlotte, North Carolina, and Raleigh, North Carolina, were warm enough to tie their all-time record highs at 104 °F (40 °C) and 105 °F (40.6 °C) respectively.[24] On June 30, Atlanta, Georgia, set a new all-time record high temperature of 106 °F (41.1 °C).[citation needed] A statewide record high was even set across the entire state of South Carolina.[25]
The
Northeast and Midwest
Chicago's
As of July 6, Chicago has had four official 100 °F (38 °C) or higher temperature readings, one on June 28, along with three in July, culminating with an official near-record shattering high of 103 °F (39 °C) at O'Hare on both July 5 and 6, reaching 106 °F (41.1 °C) near
The heat caused highways to buckle in Illinois, North Carolina, and Wisconsin.[34][35]
After a brief respite from the extreme heat, the
The Northeastern United States suffered the worst of the heat wave on July 7–8. Even normally cool plateau regions experienced highs over 90 °F. Laurel Mountain, Pennsylvania, near Johnstown, reached 95 °F (35.0 °C) on July 8, beating the previous all-time-record high by 2 °F (1.1 °C). Similarly, on July 7, daily record highs were broken in several cities in eastern Pennsylvania, including Harrisburg, Lancaster, and Chambersburg, which each reached 101 °F (38.3 °C).[38] Pittsburgh reached 98° on July 7, which, while not a daily record (101° in 1988), was the hottest temperature recorded there since it reached 100° on July 15, 1995. Cleveland, Ohio reached 101 °F on July 21. Akron-Canton airport said that it was its warmest year on record with an all time July record of 101 °F on July 7.[39] On July 8, the heat eased across the east as the high pressure center shifted west, causing hot weather once again build in the mountain states and the southwest U. S.[7][8][40]
Heat continues in Great Plains, spreads into New England
After some modification in the heat during the past week over the Midwest and Northeast, the jet once again moved further north into Canada allowing intense heat to build across eastern North America. On July 15, Temperatures reached 109 °F (42.8 °C) in Pierre, South Dakota.
On July 17, the temperature at Detroit, Michigan Metro Airport climbed to 102 °F (38.9 °C), the third plus 100 degree day thus far in July. The average July maximum temperature is 83 °F (28.3 °C). On the same date Toronto, Ontario, Canada reached 36.8 °C (98.2 °F), by July 23 it recorded its fourth daily record high temperature for the month.
The Northeastern states also experienced a second round of heat, with temps again returning to the 90's. Atlantic City, New Jersey, reached 101 °F (38.3 °C) on July 18, a daily record high. The same day, Newark, New Jersey, reached 104 °F (40.0 °C), a daily record.[37] Teterboro Airport, NJ recorded a monthly record high of 103 °F (39.4 °C). Philadelphia, PA hit a temperature of 108 °F (42.2 °C). Triple-digit temperatures even reached Hartford, Connecticut, where, on July 18, the city reached 100 °F (37.8 °C), which was a monthly record high.[37]
As of July 25, St. Louis, Missouri endured its 16th straight day of plus 100 °F (37.8 °C) heat with 27 of the past 28 days exceeding this temperature, with high 90s forecast over the next few days. 24 deaths have been attributed to the heat in St. Louis metro area.[41]
Heat wave continues in the Southwest
As of August 13, 90 to 100-degree plus heat was still occurring in the desert Southwest and in many western states, associated with the same upper-level ridge of high pressure. The heat wave continued at one location or another within the
Other impacts
Wildfires raged across the western United States during the time of the heat wave,
The heat wave also contributed to the record-shattering
Severe storms
On June 29–30, 2012, the heat and humidity from the heat wave caused a small thunderstorm in Iowa to develop into a violent and unprecedented derecho, which tracked across the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States while causing 80 miles per hour (130 km/h) or higher winds, doing hundreds of millions of dollars in damage, and downing trees and power lines, leaving four million people in the eastern U. S. without power.[45]
See also
- 2012 North American drought
- Heat Dome
- June 2012 North American derecho
References
- ^ Extreme Weather and Climate Change, Center for Climate and Energy Solutions
- ^ "Americans get relief from heat, but severe storms loom". msnbc.msn.com. Associated Press. 2012-06-30. Archived from the original on 2012-07-15. Retrieved 2012-07-07.
- ^ Bruce Schreiner; Roxana Hegeman & Seth Borenstein (2012-06-28). "Nation bakes as serious heat wave hits early". Yahoo! News. Retrieved 2012-07-07.
- ^ Ian Simpson (2012-06-30). "Storms leave 3.4 million without power in eastern U.S." Chicago Tribune. Reuters. Archived from the original on 2012-07-03. Retrieved 2012-06-30.
- ^ "Over 115 million bake in heat, with more scorching temps to come". CNN.com. July 7, 2012. Retrieved 2012-07-07.
- ^ "US to get a reprieve from hot temperatures". The Wall Street Journal. Associated Press. 9 July 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
- ^ a b Nelson, Laura J. (2012-07-07). "Heat relief is on way for East, Midwest, as high temps shift west". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-07-30.
- ^ a b "U.S. News | National News - Latest Headlines, Videos, Photos - ABC News". Abcnews.go.com. 2006-05-04. Archived from the original on July 12, 2012. Retrieved 2012-07-30.
- ^ "Record-setting heat wave could break soon for millions". Usatoday.com. July 5, 2012. Retrieved 2012-07-30.
- ^ Burt, Christopher. "The Amazing June Heat Wave of 2012. Part 1: The West and Plains June 23-27". wunderground.com. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
- ^ "Heat Index". US National Weather Service.
- ^ a b "NASA Maps Heat Wave Fueling Wildfires in the Rockies". NASA. Retrieved 2012-07-07.
- ^ "Has global warming brought an early summer to the US?". New Scientist. 28 March 2012. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
- ^ Wang et al. (2015; JGR) DOI: 10.1002/2014JD023013 - http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/2014JD023013/full
- ^ "Could the 2012 drought in central U.S. have been anticipated? - A review of NASA working group research." http://cliserv.jql.usu.edu/paper/WG_2012Drought_paper.pdf Archived 2015-09-25 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION - 159 PM CDT WED JUN 20 2012". NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BROWNSVILLE TX. June 20, 2012. Retrieved 2012-08-24.
- ^ Murphy, Kevin (2012-06-28). "Extreme heat spreads across U.S., breaks records - Yahoo! News". Yahoo! News. Retrieved 2012-07-07.
- Accuweather. Retrieved 2012-07-07.
- ^ "Hill City high temperature hits 115 again Wednesday". The Kansas City Star. Associated Press. 2012-06-27. Retrieved 2012-07-07.
- ^ "STORM2K - RECORD HIGHS JUNE 2012". Storm2k.org. Retrieved 2012-07-07.
- ^ "Heat Caused Death Of Two Young Boys In Bradley County - 07/06/2012". Chattanoogan.com. 2012-06-07. Retrieved 2012-07-07.
- ^ Burt, Christopher (2012-07-01). "The Amazing June Heat Wave of 2012 Part 2: The Midwest and Southeast June 28-30". wunderground.com. Retrieved 2012-07-21.
- ^ a b c d "Daily Data | Canada's National Climate Archive". Climate.weatheroffice.gc.ca. 29 May 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-12-16. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
- ^ Samenow, Jason (2012-06-29). "Washington, D.C. shatters all-time June record high, sizzles to 104 - Capital Weather Gang". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2012-07-07.
- ^ https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/monitoring-content/extremes/scec/reports/20121217-South-Carolina-Maximum-Temperature.pdf
- ^ "NOWData - NOAA Online Weather Data". National Weather Service Wakefield, VA. Retrieved 2014-06-02.
- ^ "Weather Source". Archived from the original on 2014-04-07. Retrieved 2014-06-02.
- ^ "Streak of 100-degree weather in St. Louis area hits five days". StLToday.com. 2012-07-03. Retrieved 2012-07-07.
- ^ "Midwest Can't Get Any Relief from Oppressive Heat". weather.com. Retrieved 2012-07-07.
- ^ "Tim's Weather World: Is this heat wave Chicago's worst - Chicago Weather Center". Blog.chicagoweathercenter.com. July 6, 2012. Archived from the original on July 6, 2012. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
- ^ "Oppressive heat spills into Friday with the hottest temps since Chicago's deadly July 12-16, 1995 heat wave 17 years ago - Chicago Weather Center". Blog.chicagoweathercenter.com. July 6, 2012. Archived from the original on July 6, 2012. Retrieved July 7, 2012.
- ^ "Intense heat in Chicago a factor in two deaths, many disruptions". Chicago Tribune. July 6, 2012. Retrieved 2012-07-07.
- ^ "Heat related death noted in Rock County". Beloit Daily News. Retrieved 2012-07-07.
- ^ Temperatures across US cool slightly but still hot July 8, 2012
- ^ Kesling, Ben (2012-07-09). "Unwavering Heat Wave Grips U.S. - WSJ.com". Online.wsj.com. Retrieved 2012-07-30.
- ^ "Update: Heat-Related Deaths Rise To 9 In Md". WUSA (TV). 6 July 2012. Archived from the original on 8 July 2012. Retrieved 7 July 2012.
- ^ a b c "NCDC Record Extremes". Archived from the original on 2012-07-20. Retrieved 2012-07-21.
- ^ "Wunderground U.S. Records". Archived from the original on 2012-07-20. Retrieved 2012-07-21.
- ^ "NCDC Record Extremes in Northeast Ohio".
- ^ "Heat's impact hits roads, thermostats". WRAL.com. 2012-06-29. Retrieved 2012-07-30.
- ^ "Cooler weather could bring relief to St. Louis-area consumers hit hard by utility bills". Stltoday. 2012-07-26. Retrieved 2012-07-30.
- ^ "Western states bake under extended heat wave". Rapid City Journal. 13 August 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
- ^ "Wildfires rage amid heat wave in western United States". The New York Times. July 8, 2007. Retrieved 2012-08-24.
- ^ Suhr, Jim (17 July 2012). "U.S. drought worst since mid-'50s". The Seattle Times. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
- Newsday.com. Associated Press. 30 June 2012. Retrieved 2012-07-07.
External links
- Scorching Heat Roasts Eastern U.S. July 3, 2012 Scientific American
- For the Sweltering, Little Relief in Sight July 19, 2012 The New York Times
- Weather Extremes Leave Parts of U.S. Grid Buckling July 25, 2012 The New York Times
- The Age of Scarcity July 26, 2012 BusinessWeek