GLOBAL WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS

OCTOBER 2011


PACIFIC

Months of deficient rainfall associated with the climate phenomenon La
Nina, in combination with well-water contamination from development
and population growth and unusually high tides that have mixed salt
water with ground water, led to a major water crisis on the small
South Pacific island nation of Tuvalu during early October. The
situation was so extreme that buckets of fresh water were rationed
daily to local families. La Nina conditions in the eastern equatorial
Pacific Ocean, which returned in September, continued to strengthen in
October and were forecast to gradually continue to strengthen through
the Northern Hemisphere winter 2011/12, according to NOAA's Climate
Prediction Center.
Average rainfall in Tuvalu ranges from about 8-16 inches (200-400 mm)
per month.

UNITED STATES

Wind gusts as high as 75 mph (121 km/hr), in combination with ongoing
drought conditions, led to the formation of an 8,000-foot (2,400-
meter) wall of dust that made its way to Lubbock, Texas on October
17th. Visibility dropped to near zero as the storm passed through.
While dust storms occur occasionally in Lubbock, the timing, strength,
and size of the storm was unusual, according to the National Weather
Service. The high winds were due to a strong cold front moving through
the region, while the drought led directly to less vegetation cover on
the ground and thus provided a larger potential source of dust than in
normal years. The storm damaged trees and buildings and sparked at
least three wildfires in the area.

Europe

On October 1st, the temperature reached 85.8F (29.9C) in Gravesend,
Kent, setting a new monthly October maximum temperature record for the
United Kingdom. The previous high temperature of 84.9°F (29.4C) was
recorded on October 1st, 1985 in March, Cambridgeshire. October 1st,
2011 was also the warmest October day ever recorded in Wales, as the
temperature reached 82.3°F (28.2°C), breaking the previous record of
79.5F (26.4C), also set on October 1st, 1985.

Very heavy rain fell across eastern and northern Ireland on October
24th, making this the wettest October day in Dublin, Ireland since
records began in 1954. A total of 3.2 inches (82.2 mm) of
precipitation was recorded in South West County Dublin, with most of
the rainfall (2.59 inches / 65.7 mm) occurring within a four-hour
period, which is an estimated 1-in-80 year event. Average monthly
rainfall for October is about 65 mm (2.6 inches). The torrential rains
led to widespread
The same storm system that affected Ireland also severely impacted
parts of Italy on October 25^th . Reportedly, up to 19.7 inches (500
mm) of rain fell within a 24-hour period in some locations. The
popular tourist destinations of the northwestern coastal region of
Liguiria and the central region of Tuscany were among the hardest hit.
At least nine people were killed and six were missing due to flash
flooding and landslides. Several town were isolated for days in the
aftermath of the storm as roads and bridges were washed away or filled
with debris.

AFRICA

In Algeria, days of heavy rainfall culminated in overflowing rivers
and floods at the beginning of October that killed 10 people near El-
Bayadh, several hundred miles south of the capital city of Algiers.
Hundreds of homes were also destroyed. Heavy rain and flooding is
common in Algeria during October.

CENTRAL AMERICA

Two separate storm systems (tropical depression from the Pacific and
another system from the Caribbean) wreaked havoc across Central
America, dumping nearly five feet (1520 mm) of rain in some areas
during October 11th-20th, according to officials. At least 105 deaths
were reported across Honduras, Costa Rica, Guatemala, El Salvador, and
Nicaragua. About one million people in total were affected by the
storms, which led to major flooding and landslides.

ASIA

Storms and heavy monsoon rains from late July to October contributed
to the worst flooding in Thailand since 1942, affecting about nine
million people. Floodwaters from the north in August slowly made their
way south toward the Gulf of Thailand while heavy precipitation
continued to fall. Some areas were under six feet (two meters) of
water. The ancient capital of Ayutthaya, a Unesco World Heritage Site,
was hit hard by the flooding in mid-October as the Chao Phraya River
that surrounds the island city
overflowed its banks. The death toll rose to at least 373. Twenty-
seven of the country's 77 provinces remained inundated near the end of
October, with four million acres (1.6 million hectares) submerged in
the north, northeast, and center of Thailand. Several large industrial
parks near Bangkok were impacted, idling hundreds of factories and
hundreds of thousands of workers, and disrupting global shipments
ranging from computer hard drives to automobiles. Damage estimates
varied in different media reports, but have been as high as $6 billion
U.S. dollars. Other countries in South Asia have also been affected by
the heavy rainfall. An estimated 240 people were killed in Cambodia
and at least 106 perished in Myanmar.

TROPICAL CYCLONES

Less than a week after getting hit by Typhoon Nesat Typhoon Nalgae
(locally referred to as Quiel) roared ashore in the Philippines on
October 1st. Similar to Nesat, the storm crossed the main island of
Luzon, making landfall in Isabela province. The storm reached its
maximum strength of one-minute sustained 150 mph (241 km/hr) windsâ
€”equivalent to a strong category 4 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson
hurricane wind scale. At least three people were killed before the
storm weakened and moved out into the South China Sea, heading for the
southern Chinese island of Hainan and then to Vietnam. The Philippines
experiences about 20 storms a year on average.

In the eastern Pacific, Hurricane Jova struck Mexico's western coast
near Manzanillo on October 12th with category 2 hurricane force winds
of more than 100 mph (160 km/hr). Jova weakened into a tropical
depression as it moved inland. At least six people were killed. Jova
was the 10^th named storm and ninth hurricane of the 2011 Eastern
Pacific hurricane season.

SEVERE WINTER WEATHER

Just two days after a record-high daily temperature of 80F (26.7C) was
set in Denver, Colorado on October 24^th , the first major snowstorm
of the season pounded the area. Several inches fell across Denver and
more than a foot of snow was reported in several locations, including
19.8 inches (50.3 cm) in nearby Boulder. Tens of thousands of
residents lost power as tree limbs crashed down on utility lines.
Minor injuries, but no fatalities, were reported.

Mother Nature played a trick on much of the mid-Atlantic and
northeastern U.S. states during October 29^th –30^th as an
unseasonably early, record-breaking nor'easter affected residents from
West Virginia to Maine, forcing the disruption of Halloween plans in
addition to many other major problems. Heavy, wet snow fell on tree
limbs with leaves yet to fall off, which caused the limbs to dip or
break off and snap power lines, leaving more than three million
residents lost power across the area and creating dangerous conditions
on the ground. Connecticut's governor said that this was the largest
power outage on record for the state with 800,000 residents left in
the dark for up to several days. Hundreds of flights were cancelled or
delayed for Philadelphia, Boston, Newark, and New York City airports
and some commuter train services were suspended. Jaffrey, New
Hampshire recorded the highest storm total of 31.4 inches (80 cm) with
well over a foot (30 cm) of snow reported in many other locations. In
Central Park, New York City, 2.9 inches (7.4
cm) of snow fell on October 29^th , the first time more than in an
inch
(2.5 cm) of snow has been observed here during the month of October
since records began in 1869. Across the region, at least 22 deaths
were blamed on the storm.