The summer precipitation total for the CONUS was 9.48 inches, 1.16 inch above average, ranking eighth wettest in the historical record. To provide more detailed information, each state has been divided into climate divisions, which are zones that share similar climate features. This may be due to the growth of solar energy, and voluntary commitments to reduce emissions made by large utility companies in the state. Data for Figure 2 were provided by the National Drought Mitigation Center. This map shows how the average air temperature from 2000 to 2020has differed from the long-term average (18952020). The globe about 485 million years ago, near the Cambrian-Ordovician boundary. Drought continues to be quite severe over the southern Plains in Texas and Oklahoma due to hot and dry conditions. North American monsoon - Wikipedia All of these plants, animals, and people need water to survive. Data: U.S. Energy Information Administration. The formation of precipitation also causes electrical charging of particles in the atmosphere, which in turn produces lightning. Later in the Jurassic, the climate became more moderate; dune fields were replaced by rivers and floodplains populated by a rich dinosaur fauna (exemplified by the Morrison Formation) and large trees along rivers, streams, and grasslands. Photos of YPM IP 529539 by Jessica Utrup, 2015 (Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History/YPM,CC0 1.0 Universal/Public Domain Dedication, viaGBIF.org). (2019)Biology Letters15: 20190114(Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license, images cropped, reconfigured, resized, and relabeled). Here, oases with large trees, large colonies of burrowing animals, and reptile trackways punctuated the otherwise dry and sandy landscape. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. We are largely unaware of this precipitation because of the Southern California Chamber of Commerce and a lack of rain gauges. Temperature and Precipitation | CLIMAS Another player is land-surface feedbackswetter soils provide more moisture to the air through evaporation. It's made up of the states of Arizona, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. Here, the states varied topography leads to wide changes in climactic conditions that occur across short distances. Northwestern Mexico receives upwards of 75% of its average annual precipitation from it, and Arizona and New Mexico more than 50%, during JulySeptember. Average Annual Temperatures in the Southwestern United States. Climate Prediction Center - Seasonal Outlook - National Oceanic and Summer temperatures in this region rarely rise above 60 F during the day, while winter temperatures hover around 30 F due to the temperate . Funnel clouds (developing tornadoes) over El Paso County, Colorado, March 29, 2019. By early to mid-September, wind patterns have generally reverted back to the westerly pattern, bringing an end to the monsoon. Hailstones from a storm in Limon, Colorado, 2010. What Is The Climate Of The Southwest Region - BikeHike In the latest Cretaceous, sea level dropped again and the western Southwest became a broad coastal plain that hosted lush forests, abundant dinosaurs, and large swamps. Climate at a glance. The formation of precipitation also causes electrical charging of particles in the atmosphere, which in turn produces lightning. Cold continental conditions dominate the higher altitudes, especially within the Rocky Mountains. Increased heat in the Pacific Ocean has altered the weather patterns of Pacific storms, decreasing snowfall in the mountains of western Utah and Arizona. For example, parts of the Colorado Rockies experience cool annual temperatures and over 8 meters (25 feet) of snowfall every year, while the dry deserts in southwestern Arizona receive only about 8 centimeters (3 inches) of precipitation a year and can experience as much as a 15C (60F) degree temperature difference between night and day. Source:FEMA National Risk Index. Moving westward, Colorado's foothills and mountainous areas experience an overall cooler climate and higher levels of precipitation. Photo of USNM 166396 from the Cretaceous Atlas of Ancient Life(Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International license, image cropped). Photo source:National Park Service (public domain). Layers of gypsum, an evaporate, from the Permian Castile Formation, Eddy County, New Mexico. Southwest | U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit Likewise, its not yet clear how the monsoon is changing in the warming climate, or how it will in the future. 1. Left photoandright photofrom NPS, courtesy David Bustos (public domain). SUMMARY OF THE OUTLOOK FOR NON-TECHNICAL USERS. North America and Europe are part of Laurasia, and South America and Africa are part of Gondwana. 2. And yet another element of the monsoon system that needs more study to resolve. Rugose corals or horn corals (Turbophyllum) from the Mississippian Great Blue Limestone, Cache Canyon, northern Utah, near the border between the Basin and Range and Rocky Mountain physiographic provinces. Some of these thunderstorms can be strong, delivering heavy rain and frequent lightning. Long-Range Weather Forecast for Desert Southwest - Almanac.com As a result of displacement due to continental rifting and seafloor spreading, sea level throughout the Cretaceous was much higher than it is today. The supercontinent was split by spreading along the mid-Atlantic ridge, initiating the formation of the Atlantic Ocean. The Southwest is typically dry, hot, and humid. Across New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah, summer rains originate from moisture brought into the area from the Gulf of Mexico. During winter months, daytime temperatures may average 70 degrees F, with night temperatures often falling to freezing of slightly below in the lower desert valleys." This page uses Google Analytics. Green areas mean drought is likely to end. Snowfall will be below normal in most areas that normally receive snow, with the snowiest periods in early to mid-January and early February. Climate Change in the Southwest - Potential Impacts - National Park Service Map of the modern Yucatn Peninsula region showing the location of the Chicxulub impact crater. Fossils of a cycad (Dioonopsis praespinulosa) from the Paleocene Castle Rock Flora, Colorado. The more than 16 million residents of the Southwest use carbon-rich fossil fuels to provide electricity for lighting, cooling, and appliances, to fuel their transportation and industry, and to make the products they use. Thanks for visiting the North American Monsoon region with me! Photo credits: 1916 photo from USGS (public domain), 2013 photo by daveynin (flickr,Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license, image resized). On the other hand, there is not much agreement among projections for future change in the monsoon, except for regarding the timingmost projections suggest that, under continued climate change, the monsoon will start later in the summer and end later in the fall than it currently does (3). While two indicators in this report present information about unusually high or low temperatures and drought on a national scale (see the High and Low Temperatures indicator and the Drought indicator), this feature highlights the Southwest because of its particular sensitivity to temperature and drought. Some earlier studies suggested that El Nio may be related to lower JulyAugust rainfall, and La Nia related to higher rainfall, due to large-scale atmospheric circulation changes. The Wave, a series of intersecting U-shaped troughs eroded into Jurassic NavajoSandstone within the Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness, Arizona. This section covers the climate of the southwestern U.S. through the Phanerozoic, from about 541 million years ago to the recent. Well those extra storms probably just go somewhere else because of the change in wind pattern that the El Nino brings, eh? Photo by James Bo Insogna. . Right:Graph of the lake's changing level over time. An ancient horse (Mesohippus),Eocene Florissant Fossil Beds, Teller County, Colorado. Light precipitation travels eastward over the Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountains after dropping heavy snowfall in areas of high elevation. Parts of the Southwest are also experiencing long-term reductions in mountain snowpack (see the Snowpack indicator), which accounts for a large portion of the regions water supply. Flows in late summer are correspondingly reduced, leading to extra pressure on the states water supplies. Submitted by rebecca.lindsey on Thu, 09/30/2021 - 10:14. Ideas and explanations found in these posts should be attributed to the ENSO blog team, and not to NOAA (the agency) itself. Modified fromFigure 11 in Kirby et al. While changes in the growing season can have a positive effect on some crops (such as melons and sweet potatoes), altered flowering patterns due to more frost-free days can lead to early bud bursts, damaging perennial crops such as nuts and stone fruits. Extensive Permian deposits throughout the Southwest are home to a host of fossils, including terrestrial amphibians, reptiles, and synapsids. Although the mountain building that occurred during this event was mostly far to the east, the Southwest was influenced by both fluctuating sea levels and a few significant tectonic changes. In the middle Cretaceous, oceans covered most of the Southwest, with the exception of parts of Arizona and New Mexico. Although there has so far been little regional change in the Southwests annual precipitation, the areas average precipitation is expected to decrease in the south and remain stable or increase in the north. A Closer Look: Temperature and Drought in the Southwest Photoandreconstructionby National Park Service/NPS (public domain). Roadcut exposing lake sediments of the Eocene Green River Formation, Duchesne County, Utah. Sprawling development of Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the Sonoran Desert, 2009. While thats often the situation for the Indian monsoon, the monsoon in North America behaves a bit differently. Skeleton of a juvenileCamarosaurs lentus, a type of sauropod, from the Carnegie Quarry, Jurassic Morrison Formation, Dinosaur National Monument, Utah and Colorado. Arizona monsoon cloud with lightning striking the beautiful Sonoran desert in North Scottsdale. Map made by Elizabeth J. Hermsen usingSimplemapprand modified in Photoshop. The average annual temperature in most of the Southwest is predicted to rise 2.2 to 5.5C (4 to 10F) by 2100. Official websites use .gov Photo of USNM PAL 165239 by Crinoid Type Project (Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, public domain). Accessed March 2021. https://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/DmData/DataTables.aspx. He pointed out that ENSO does influence Pacific tropical storms, which can supply moisture to the monsoon. Average yearly tornado watches in each county of the United States between 1993 and 2012. These changes to rain and snow-pack are already stressing water sources and affecting agriculture. At this time, the Southwest was still submerged. Southwest Region of the US Facts: Lesson for Kids Its remnant exists today as the Great Salt Lake. 2021. Check out Toms recent post on the drought in Arizona to understand more about how drought works in this region. Figure by climate.gov; data from CPC Unified data. Agua Caliente solar farm, Maricopa County, Arizona. How would that result in less total JulyAugust rain? Good question! Climate models project a significant increase in the number of days over 95F per year across the Southeast. Resilient Bermudagrass is widely used in the region, but sufficient watering is essential in the desert climate . Average is based on 19792020 using CPC Unified data. Photo of USNM P 38052 by Frederic Cochard (Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, public domain). Climate Change in the Southwest - Introduction and Current Climate The impact vaporized both water and rock, blocking out sunlight for weeks to years, which led to a collapse of photosynthesis and food webs on land and in the oceans. Photo by Richard Stephen Haynes (Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International license, image resized). Used under a Creative Commons license. Bear Lake and Glacier Gorge, Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado, 2011. Forecasts had all of this widespread flash flooding. For the climate on early Earth prior to 541 million years ago, see the Introduction to Climate section. Streamflow totals for the decade of 2001-2010 in the Great Basin, Rio Grande, and Colorado River were between 5% and 37% lower than their 20. The Southwest relies on the slow melt of mountain snowpack throughout the spring and summer, when water demands are highest. Branches and leaves of an ancient conifer (Walchia dawsonii), Permian Hermit Shale, Arizona. What happened that make TS Nora so underwhelming? 2010. Since 800,000 years ago, an equilibrium has been reached between warming and cooling, with the ice caps growing and retreating primarily due to the influence of astronomical forces (i.e., the combined gravitational effects of the Earth, Sun, moon, and planets). The state's highest temperatures occur in the northeastern plains, where they can exceed 46C (115F). Against Expectations, Southwestern Summers Are Getting Even Drier The pyrocumulonimbus cloud shown at the arrow was created by heat from the fire. Lake Powell, the lake created by Glen Canyon Dam, at two points in time about four years apart. Record high temperatures for the Southwest range from 53C (128F) in Arizona to 47C (117F) in Utah, while record low temperatures range from 56C (69F) in Utah to 40C (40F) in Arizona. Left (1):Leaves of a seedling. Las Cruces is located in the Basin and Range region of New Mexico. Center:As warm air rises, cool air sinks. Like the summer monsoons, the milder storms . What is the weather like in the Southwest region in summer? A major contributing factor to this event was a geological change that occurred far to the south. Burning those fossil fuels releases carbon into the atmosphere, which warms the Earth. Fig. Calf Canyon-Hermit Creek Fire near Holman, New Mexico, on May 8, 2022. Average temperatures range from about 60 to 80 F in Paris, while in Nice and on the south coast they range from around 80 to 90 F. In recent years, heatwaves in Paris and elsewhere have brought record-breaking temperatures, sometimes exceeding 100 degrees F. Summer storm systems are common. The coldest periods will be in late November, mid- and late December, and mid-January. Seems likely that conditions in the GM may influence annual variations in the monsoon. Loess is often, though not exclusively, associated with dry areas around glaciers. New Mexico, Utah, and Colorado have also reduced their carbon dioxide emissions between 2008 and 2019. For many of us, the word monsoon conjures images of heavy rain lasting for months. Monsoon region averaged over all land gridpoints, 20N37N, 102W115W. Water is already scarce in the Southwest, so every drop is a precious resource. The Southwest has a very unique culture, climate, and geography. Taken on August 15, 2016. Glaciers covered most of the world's southern landmasses, which were located over the South Pole. See you then! The Sonoran Desert is located in southwestern Arizona and adjacent regions of California and Mexico. Has hurricanes and tornadoes. The long-range forecast team breaks down region by region what to expect during the summer. Summer temperatures on the South Rim, at 7000 feet (2134 meters), are especially pleasant from 50 to about 85 F (10s to 20s C). Scale bar = 1 centimeter (about 0.4 inches). I listened to the Southwest Climate Podcast from CLIMAS, the Climate Assessment for the Southwest, to learn more about what affects the monsoon and its rainfall, and how Monsoon 2021 is shaping up, and reached out to the podcast co-hosts, Zack Guido and Mike Crimmins, for help with this post. Precipitation has become more variable from year to year, and heavy downpours across the U.S. have increased in the last 20 years. Large glaciers were found at higher elevations, and temperatures were cool. 2021. Some areas were more than 2F warmer than average (see Figure 1). This chart shows the percentage of land area in six southwestern states (Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah) classified under drought conditions from 2000 through 2020. Saguaro and cholla cacti in the Sonoran Desert National Monument, Arizona. Climate changepast, present & future: a very short guide. Sand dunes started to become widespread. This planting zone combines saline water and alkaline soil with intense sunlight, high temperatures and varying elevations. Regional overview Southwest. Moisture condenses out of the warm air as it comes into contact with cool air, forming clouds. Answer: Winter, June, July, and August. Typically, a storm blows itself out once the warm air has moved up and the cool air has moved down. Shallow seas invaded the continent, ultimately covering the whole area until the late Carboniferous. Columbian mammoth (Mammuthus columbi) tracks, Pleistocene, White Sands National Park, New Mexico. Left photoandright photoby NPS/Michael Quinn (Grand Canyon National Park via flickr,Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license, images cropped and resized). A car with a windshield damaged by hailstones, Limon, Colorado, 2010. Credits: Most of the text on this page comes from "Climate of the Southwestern US" by Ingrid H. H. Zabel, Judith T. Parrish, and Andrielle N. Swaby, chapter 8 in The Teacher-Friendly Guide to the Earth Science of the Southwestern US, edited by Andrielle N. Swaby, Mark D. Lucas, and Robert M. Ross (published in 2016 by the Paleontological Research Institution; currently out of print). The inner canyon temperatures are extreme and hot, with a lower elevation of about 2400 feet (732 meters). Cycads are a group of seed plants that look superficially similar to palms, but are not closely related to them and do not produce flowers. Low annual precipitation, clear skies, and year-round warm climate over much of the Southwest are due in large part to a quasi-permanent subtropical high-pressure ridge over the region. Figure by Climate.gov. During much of the year, the prevailing wind over northwestern Mexico, Arizona, and New Mexico is westerly (blowing from the west) and dry. The geography and climate of the southwestern U.S. east of the Rocky Mountains (in other words, in the Great Plains region in Colorado and New Mexico) are nearly ideal for their formation of thunderstorms and tornados, especially in the summer. In the Southwest, climate change may impact a variety of resources, including water availability in the form of snowpack and spring streamflow, the distribution and composition of plant communities, and fire regimes. According to the Kppen classification system, a system of climate classification using latitude band and degree of continentality as its primary forcing factors, Central Asia is a predominantly B-type climate regime. A large, low-latitude desert formed along Pangaea's western margin, generating extensive dune deposits. For southern and western Colorado, the intrusions of moist air are most common from mid July into September associated with wind patterns sometimes called the Southwest Monsoon. 94, 95, 96 Each assessment has consistently identified drought, water shortages, and loss of ecosystem integrity as major challenges that the Southwest confronts under climate change. In southern New Mexico, Pleistocene fossil mammals are found that now live at higher elevations in the mountains of northern New Mexico, indicating cooler temperatures and more available moisture in the area during the late Pleistocene. Reconstruction created using basemap from thePALEOMAP PaleoAtlas for GPlatesand the PaleoData Plotter Program, PALEOMAP Project by C. R. Scotese (2016); map annotations by Jonathan R. Hendricks and Elizabeth J. Hermsen for PRI's[emailprotected]project (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0license). The North American monsoon, variously known as the Southwest monsoon, the Mexican monsoon, the New Mexican monsoon, or the Arizona monsoon is a pattern of pronounced increase in thunderstorms and rainfall over large areas of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, typically occurring between June and mid-September.During the monsoon, thunderstorms are fueled by daytime heating . Despite the monsoon rainfall this year, much of the region is still in a precipitation deficit. (2) In fact, comparing 1955, a year with very similar total rainfall in Tucson as this year, to this year shows temperature between July 1 and August 23 were on average more than 2 degrees F warmer. Some regions have received more than 200% of the average rainfall, and Tucson recorded its wettest month ever this July. Photo by James St. John (flickr, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license). Glaciers in the Colorado Rockies are sustained largely by avalanches and wind-blown snow. Asia, Climate of Southwest | SpringerLink Also, the occasional eastern Pacific tropical storm can increase monsoon moisture and rainfall. Trees killed by bark beetles at Cameron Pass, Colorado, 2011. Climate Impacts in the Southwest | Climate Change Impacts | US EPA This mortality is attributed to higher temperatures, drought, and the eruption of bark beetles that are able to survive through warmer winter weather. The satellite loop in this post shows Gulf of Mexico moisture moving west into the monsoon region. Fossil ammonoid (Nigericeras scotti) from the Late Cretaceous Greenhorn Limestone, Baca County, Colorado. Photo by Kenneth Carpenter (Wikimedia Commons,Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International license, image cropped and resized). Climate change in the Southwest The global rise in temperatures will affect different locations on earth in unique ways. . Summer temperatures on the South Rim, at 7000 feet (2134 meters), are especially pleasant from 50 to about 85 F (10s to 20s C). Another factor besides latitude and elevation that influences temperature in the Southwest is its arid climate. Winter- The winter in the Southwest region is mild, and hot. Ill be back on my regular beat in a couple of weeks with the September ENSO update. Photo by Eltiempo10 (Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International license, image resized). Lake Mead, the lake created by the Hoover Dam, at two points in time about 21 years apart. Photograph by Bill Morrow (Flickr;Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license). The Climate of the U.S. Southwest | CLIMAS Summer- The summer in the Southwest region is hot and desert-like. Modified from illustrations by Wade Greenberg-Brand originally published inThe Teacher-Friendly Guide to the Earth Science of the SouthwesternUS. Page snapshot:Introduction to the climate of the southwestern United States, including present, past, and future climate. A value between -2 and -3 indicates moderate drought, -3 to -4 is severe drought, and -4 or below indicates extreme drought. The strengthened Gulf Stream carried more warm, moist air with it into the northern Atlantic, which caused increased snowfall in high latitudes, leading to accelerating cooling. The Great Plains receive warm, moist air moving north from the Gulf of Mexico, and cold, dry air moving in from the Rocky Mountains and the northern U.S. Where these air masses meet, vigorous mixing causes thunderstorms. Topics covered on this page: Present climate of the southwestern U.S.; Present temperature; Present precipitation; Severe weather; Regional climate variation; Past climate of the southwestern U.S.; Paleozoic; Mesozoic; Cenozoic; Future climate of the southwestern U.S.; Resources. After the end-Cretaceous bolide impact, the climate may have cooled briefly, but it soon rebounded to a warmer state. Hey! The American Southwest might evoke images of a hot, dry landscapea land of rock, canyons, and deserts baked by the sun. In a broad sense, the Southwests climate is mostly dry and hot, with much of the region characterized as arid. Since then carbon dioxide emissions have been on a downward trend. In chapter 8.3, How is the water cycle changing and why?, the report states In summary, both paleoclimate evidence and observations indicate an intensification of the NAmerM in a warmer climate (medium confidence). Data source: NOAA, 20212Web update: April2021. Rainfall associated with the monsoon is very important for the region. The monsoon's intensity waned by the early Jurassic, and the rivers and floodplains were replaced by even larger deserts. Reconstruction created using basemap from the PALEOMAP PaleoAtlas for GPlatesand the PaleoData Plotter Program, PALEOMAP Project by C. R. Scotese (2016); map annotations by Jonathan R. Hendricks for PRI's[emailprotected]project (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0license).