The Weather and Circulation of September 1960*
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
SEPTENBER-DECEMBER1960 MONTHLY WEATHER REVIEW 353 THE WEATHER AND CIRCULATION OF SEPTEMBER 1960* Including a Discussion of Tropical Storm Activity C.F. TISDALE Extended Forecast Section, US.Weather Bureau, Washington, D. C. 1. WEATHER HIGHLIGHTS lation ol August [I], receded southeastward during Sep- September 1960 will be remembered by residents of the tember to it center north of Scandinavia, where 700-mb. Atlantic Seaboard, from Florida to Maine, as the month heightswere 300 ft. abovenormal (fig. 1). Along with and year of hurricane Donna. This severe tropical storm this development, a gradual contractionof the circumpolar dominatedweather headlines from its det,ection in the vortextook place duringthe month. This circulation tropical Atlantic on September 2 until it became extra- upheaval is indicated by the changes in monthly mean tropical in the Maritime Provinces of Canada on Septem- 700-mb. height departures from normal from August to ber 13. Preliminaryestimates of totaldamage mark September (fig. 2). Sotethe significant heightfalls Donna as the most destructive storm ever to strike the over the polar regions and tlle positive changes over the UnitedStates mainland. The number of fatalitiesand major portions of the United States, Canada, and middle injuries from Donna were slight in comparison with those latitudes of the Atlantic. The resulting mean circulation sustained from other, lesser storms in the past,, and this for September was predominantly one of high index from fortunateoutcome can be attributed in major part to the coast of Asia eastwardto t8he British Isles (fig. 1). widespreadand prompt dissemination of accurateand Planetary waves were of smallamplit'ude, and the axis timely warnings. of mean 700-lnb. zonal wind speed maxima was displaced Thesudden development of hurricaneEthel in the a substantial distance northof normal over North America central Gulf of Mexico on the 14th was cause forconsider- (fig. 3). Broad cyclonic curvaturecharacterized the able concern to residentsof Gulf coastal sections, especially central Pacific troughand its downstream counterpart those along the southwestern coast of Florida who had overt'he extreme eastern United States. The wave- justendured the fury of Donna.The intensiby of this length between these two systems was long by summer- newtropical threat fortunately decreased quite rapidly time standards and appears to have been sustained by before it reached the coast and moved inland into southernthe st'ronger than normal westerly circulation. The Mississippi on the 15th. trough normally active along the west coast of t'he United Septemberweather was also highlightedby extreme States was extremely weak, and positive height departures variability, specifically inrespect to the temperature from normal dominated pritct'ically the entire region from regimes exhibited over the country during the course of t8he northwestern LTnited States east,ward to the centra1 the month, as periods of marked cooling alternat'ecl with Atlantic. periods of summer-likewarmth in n~anysections. In Thesimple temperature and fairly well-defined pre- spite of this variability, temperatures for the nlont'h as cipitation patterns for the month of September (fig. 4) a whole averaged near to above normal over practically can be related quite well to the monthly mean 700-mb. the entire country. height, and anomaly pat'terns (fig. I), despite the changes The sharp contrast between record precipitation in tlle in tml-lesepatterns whichtook place duringthe month extremeSoutheast and Northeast and near to record (sect'ion 3). Temperaturesaveraged above normal in drynessin some interior and far western areas was an practicallyall sections of thecount'ry (fig. 4A) under additional highlight of September weather in the United predominantlyabove normal height's. Thewarm tem- Stat>es. peratures in t'he western plateau areas represented a sharp reversal fronl t8he cool weather experienced there during 2. MONTHLYMEAN CIRCULATION AND WEATHER August [I]. Thiswarmth was t~ consequence of upper- level ridge development over the Xort'hwest (fig. 2) and Strong polar blocking, which had dominated the circu- frequentanticyclonic passages in the vicinity of the Rockies (see Chart IX of which kept theregion mainly L'Articles on the weather and circulation of October, November, and Dcccmhcr 1960 [2]) will appear in the Review issues for January 1961, February 1961, and March 1'361, in southerly flow at sea level. It was the warmest Sep- respectively. This apparent lag is due to the change in monthly designation of the t8enlber of record Rt Ely, Nev. and the month wasalso Reviewbeginning with thecurrent issue. The calendnr date of publication is not affected. notably 1varn1 insome int'erior sections of California. Unauthenticated | Downloaded 10/01/21 02:41 PM UTC FIGUREl.--Pvlean i00-mb. contours (solid) and height departures from normal (dotted) (both in t,eris of feet) for September 1960. Note contracted nature of circumpolar vortex with strong zonal flow over middle and high latitudesof North America. Some warmingwas also experienced in central portions inated during the month. This was the coolest Septem- of the country under above normal 700-mb. heights and ber since 1889 at Brownsville, Tex. abundantsunshine, with South Bend, Ind. experiencing Heavyprecipitation from Floridanorthwestward to the warmestSeptember since 1933. The cooling which eastern Tennessee (fig. 4B) resulted mostly from tropical occurred in the Middle Atlantic States from August to activitymoving inland during the month. It wasthe September can be attribut'ed to increased cyclonic circu- wet8testSeptember and month of record at Miami, Fla., lation aloft andto stronger onshore flow from the Atlantic. where rainfalltotalled 24.4 inches.Well abovenormal Near to below normal temperatures persisted in most of rainfall in the Xortheast occurred in conjunction with the theextreme Sout.heast and Gulf coastalsect'ions, where passage of Donnaearly in the month, coupled with below normal heights and easterly, anornalous Pow doni- scattwed showers and frontal rains later in t8he month. Unauthenticated | Downloaded 10/01/21 02:41 PM UTC SEPTEMBER-DECEMBER1960REVIEW WEATHER MONTHLY 355 FIGURE2.-Changes in700-mb. height departures from normal (tens of feet) from August 1960 to September 1960. Subst,antial height falls over polar regionsare especially noteworthy. FIGURE4.-(A) Departure of averagesurface temperature from normal (" F.) forSeptember 1960. Thepattern is noteworthy forthe prcdomitlance of abovenormal temperatures (shaded) over practicallythe entire nation. (B) Percentage of normal precipitationfor September 1960. (From [ll].) west8ward to thepdlandle areas of Texas and Oklahoma. Prcdomirmlce of eastcrly anom:rlous flow precluded the possibility of any sustained intrusions of moist, Gulf air northward into the mid-sections of the country, resulting in marld dryness from c1:Lstcr.n Oklahoma northeastward to western New Yorlc. It WIS the driest September and rnontll of record at Akron, Ohio, and the seconddriest Septetnlwr of record at,Detroit, Mich. ant1 Columbia, 110. Almvr normnlheights and strong zorlal flow col- FIGURE3.--?vIean 700-mb. isotachs (in meters per second) for Sep- 1:Lbor:ltetl in tjhe production of lit,tle to no precipitation tember 1060. Solid arrows indicatcx axis of wind s1:cc:d maxima, over most of North Utlkota :md Alontarla, whcre rainfall dashed arrows the normal for the rrlontll. The primary axis was deficiencies at Glasgow made this September t'he second north of normalover Korth A4mcrica. Subtropical ridge line is driest of record.Scattered showers, while accounting denoted by solid line cormecting ctntcw of slow wind spccd (S). for the heavy rainfall indicat,cd in north-ccnt~ral Nevada did lit'tle to alleviategeneral drought conditions which have persisted over the State for two years. New recordprecipitation amounts for September were That there was a marked predominance of ant,icyclorlic established at Wilmington,Del., Scranton, Pa., Albany, act'ivit'y in the month's weather, is clearly illustrated by N.Y., and Concord, N.H. Frequent outbursts of frontally the abundance of migratory anticyclones and the almost induced convective activit,ywere resporlsible for twice t,he completeabsence of migratory cyclones inthe United normal precipitationin southern Arkansas and sub- States, except alongext,rerne rlortllerrl border areas (Charts stantiallyabove normal rainfall from Wisconsin south- IX and X [2]). This is in good agreement with what one Unauthenticated | Downloaded 10/01/21 02:41 PM UTC Unauthenticated | Downloaded 10/01/21 02:41 PM UTC SEPTEMBER-DECEMBER1960 MONTHLY WE:\THER REVIEW 357 would expect under a high index regime with the westerlies Themost inlport'ant weather news of tbe week and north of normal and 700-rnb. heights above norrnal over nlonth was hurricaneDonna. Its entiretrack is given most of the country. in figure 8, and segments corresponding to the period of Below nornlal height's and cyclonic upper flow (fig. 1) each 5-day mean map are reproduced in figure 5. Mov- resulted incorrespondingly below norrndtemperatures ing on a general west-northwestward track (fig. 5A), this and above normal precipitation over most of Alaska during severe storm swept through the northern Antilles late on September. Ternperature ttnorrlalies of as much as -4O F. September 4 and passed just north of Puerto Rico on the and precipit,at'ion ttrnounts greater thm twice normal were 5th, withwinds est'irrlated at 140 m.p.11. 'raking