GLOBAL WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS

MARCH 2010


UNITED STATES

According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, nearly eight percent of the
U.S. (including Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico) was experiencing
moderate to severe drought as of March 23rd. Drought afflicted 57
percent of Hawaii's land cover, with the northern portion of the Big
Island moving into exceptional drought at the beginning of the month
for the first time since the inception of the USDM in 1999;
exceptional drought is the most serious category.

Following several winter storms in February, a nor'easter wreaked
havoc along the Atlantic seaboard in mid March. On March 13th,
torrential rains and strong winds killed at least 11 people and left
approximately 500,000 others without electricity in Pennsylvania, New
Jersey, New York, and Connecticut. New Jersey's largest utility
company stated that the storm was the worst in its history, with
420,000 power outages to customers. This major storm pounded the
region for three days. Rainfall amounts of six to ten inches (15-24
cm) were reported Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, and New Jersey,
while wind gusts topped more than 70 mph (113 km/hr) in many
locations. States of emergencies were declared in Massachusetts, Rhode
Island, and Connecticut.

ASIA

At the end of March, moderate to severe drought persisted in the
provinces of Yunnan, Guizhou, southern Sichuan, and northwestern
Guangxi in South China. Since fall 2009, drought conditions have
affected more than 60 million people and ruined billions of dollars
worth of crops in southwest China (Source: BBC News).According to a
director at the Yunnan
Land Resources Bureau, this is the worst drought in a century for
parts of this province.

Heavy rains combined with melting snow brought severe flooding to
southern Kazakhstan on March 12^th . At least 40 people were killed
and thousands of others were affected. Although springtime flooding is
not unusual in the region, this event was exacerbated by intense
snowfalls through the winter followed by uncharacteristically rapid
rising temperatures (Source: AP).

The strongest sandstorm of the year-to-date brought tons of sand to
Beijing, China on March 20th, turning the sky orange and leading
officials to rate the air quality as level 5 "hazardous the highest
ranking possible and a level rarely used (Source: AP). Record
pollution levels were recorded in Hong Kong, more than 1,200 miles
(2,000 km) to the south; under ideal conditions the sand can be
transported as far away as the western U.S. Overgrazing,
deforestation, urban sprawl, and drought have all contributed to an
increase in the number of sandstorms in this region. According to
Chinese Academy of Sciences, the number of sandstorms has increased
sixfold in the past half century to two dozen per year (Source: AP).
Approximately 250,000 people were affected by this storm.

AFRICA

On March 1st, after days of heavy rains, landslides buried three
mountainous villages in the remote eastern Ugandan region of Bududa
near the Kenyan border. At least 85 people were killed including about
50 students seeking shelter in a local hospital while more than 300
others were missing (Source: Relief Web). In the village of Nametsi,
mud and debris rose more than 16 feet (4.9 meters) in height,
completely covering most structures.

On March 24th, the harmattan (yearly trade wind) that carries dust
from the Sahara Desert across West Africa unexpectedly blew into
Nigeria, coating the country with a fine layer of dust and blotting
out the sun. The yellow haze from the storm reduced visibility to near
zero and caused flight cancellations. According to the Nigerian
Meteorological Agency, the harmattan typically ends by February.
Growing desertification due to rising temperatures is allowing the
Sahara to move closer toward Nigeria. The additional dust "adds fuel"
to the harmattan winds, said a climatology professor at Osun State
University.

AUSTRALIA

From a slow moving monsoonal system, for the 24-hour period ending at
9:00 AM local time on March 1st, the outback towns of Bedourie and
Birdsville in far western Queensland, Australia, recorded 7.4 and 6.6
inches (188 and 166 mm) of rain, respectively. Not only were these
daily rainfall amounts the highest recorded for these stations, they
also were nearly equal to the average annual rainfall in those areas.
As of March 4th, Birdsville received 14.8 inches (375 mm) of rain,
more than double its annual average for the entire year (Source:
Bureau of Meteorology.

Following on the heels of its driest summer on record (December,
January, and February in the Southern Hemisphere) with just 0.008
inches
(0.2 mm) of measured rainfall, a severe storm struck Perth, Australia
on
March 23rd, bringing heavy rains, flooding, wind gusts over 75 mph
(120 km/hr), and golf ball-sized hail. According to reports, a month's
worth of average rainfall (0.6 inches or 15.6 mm) fell in just seven
minutes at Perth Airport (Sourcee: AFP). Nearly 160,000 people lost
power and damages were initially estimated to be in the hundreds of
millions of dollars.

TROPICAL

Tropical Storm Hubert struck Madagascar on March 10th, killing at
least 36 people and rendering another 38,000 homeless. Madagascar lies
in the main storm path of the Indian Ocean basin and typically sees
three to four major tropical cyclones each year.

Tropical Cyclone Ului developed on March 9th in the South Pacific.
During a 24-hour period over March 13^th -14^th , Ului intensified
from a tropical storm to Category 5 status, tying Hurricane Wilma for
the fastest intensification of a system and making it the first
Category 5 storm of the season (Source: Earth Snapshot). During this
timeframe, maximum sustained winds increased from 65 mph (100 km/hr)
to 160 mph
(260 km/hr) while pressure at the center of the storm decreased from
982
mb to 918 mb. The storm rolled over the Solomon Islands as a Category
5, causing severe flooding and massive damage; no casualties were
reported.
The storm then weakened and made landfall on March 20th as a tropical
storm in Queensland, Australia near Arlie Beach. As much as 18 inches
(450 mm) fell in parts of the Mackay-Whitsunday region.

Located to the east of Ului, Tropical Cyclone Tomas, a category 4
storm at its peak, battered the South Pacific island nation of Fiji
March 13th -16th. Sustained winds of 132 mph (212 km/hr), with gusts
up to 161 mph (259 km/hr), tore through northern Lau and Lomaiviti
groups and the northern portion of Vanua Lau—the second largest
island. A storm surge of 23 feet (7 m) was reported as more than 14
inches (350 mm) of rain was dumped over some areas (Source: IOL). At
least one death was blamed on the storm and a state of emergency was
declared for the country's northern and eastern regions on March 16th.