US Heatwave In Southwest Par For The Course

By Paul Homewood

 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/story/2013/06/29/heat-wave-california-nevada-arizona.html

 

Should we be surprised at the heatwave currently hitting the southwest states? Despite CBC claims of record temperatures hitting Las Vegas and Phoenix, this sort of heatwave is neither unprecedented or unusual.

 

Let’s take a closer look at Arizona. Safford Agricultural Centre is a USHCN station, just to the southeast of Phoenix. It has a fairly complete temperature record, though it only dates back to 1948. According to WeatherUnderground, temperatures peaked at 109F on 27th June, with the forecast today of 108F.

How do these temperatures compare with historical ones? Since 1948, USHCN records show that the temperature of 109F has been equalled or beaten on 44 occasions, nearly once a year.

 

http://cdiac.ornl.gov/cgi-bin/broker?id=027390&_PROGRAM=prog.gplot_boxtclim_yr2012.sas&_SERVICE=default&param=TMAX&pyear=year&xyear=year&minyear=1948&maxyear=2012

 

The record temperature of 114F was set on 30th June 1994. Indeed, between 25th June and 1st July 1994, the maximum temperature did not fall below 110F.

 

http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/IPS/cd/cd.html;jsessionid=CA9DE17DF55B8557F4119D32455A7380?_page=0&jsessionid=CA9DE17DF55B8557F4119D32455A7380&state=AZ&_target1=Next+%3E

 

 

Buckeye is another USHCN station even closer to Phoenix, about 30 miles away. It has records back to 1893, though not always complete. WeatherUnderground give the highest temperature last week as 117F. Despite missing records, USHCN data shows that 117F has been equalled or beaten no less than 130 times, with the record of 125F set on 28th July 1995.

 

http://cdiac.ornl.gov/cgi-bin/broker?id=021026&_PROGRAM=prog.gplot_boxtclim_yr2012.sas&_SERVICE=default&param=TMAX&pyear=year&xyear=year&minyear=1893&maxyear=2003

 

Meanwhile the BBC tell us that :-

“Western US states are baking in an extended heat wave, with temperatures threatening to break the all-time high recorded on Earth.

In Phoenix, Arizona, the mercury hit 47C (116F) on Friday, and in the desert of Death Valley, California, the thermometer approached 51C,( or 124F).”

 

They admit further down the page that the world record, which was set in 1913, was actually 57C, so current temperatures are nowhere near. And a look at USHCN figures for Death Valley show that 124F has been equalled or exceeded 168 times, just since 1961, when the station opened.

 

http://cdiac.ornl.gov/cgi-bin/broker?id=042319&_PROGRAM=prog.gplot_boxtclim_yr2012.sas&_SERVICE=default&param=TMAX&pyear=year&xyear=year&minyear=1961&maxyear=2012

 

It looks like the Imams at the BBC had better get their prayer mats out.