"Buresh Blog": 90 degree days so far... June global temps. - July 12th

July 12, 2017 — Spring was hot & mostly dry but a wet late May through June has led to a bit of a downturn in temps. through June.  We avg. 82 90-degree days each year in Jax & have had 37 so far - just a bit above the avg. through July 11th of 33 days.  So far @ JIA:

April: 3 (1)

May: 13 (8)

June: 10 (17)

July through the 11th: 11 (24 for entire month)

The map below from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet shows the number of 90 degree days across the U.S. through July 4th vs. avg:

The satellite-based instruments measure the temperature of the atmosphere from the surface up to an altitude of about eight kilometers above sea level.

Global Temperature Report: June 2017

Global climate trend since Nov. 16, 1978: +0.12 C per decade

June temperatures (preliminary)

Global composite temp.: +0.21 C (about 0.38 degrees Fahrenheit) above 30-year average for June.

Northern Hemisphere: +0.32 C (about 0.58 degrees Fahrenheit) above 30-year average for June.

Southern Hemisphere: +0.09 C (about 0.16 degrees Fahrenheit) above 30-year average for June.

Tropics: +0.39 C (about 0.70 degrees Fahrenheit) above 30-year average for June.

May temperatures (revised):

Global Composite: +0.44 C above 30-year average

Northern Hemisphere: +0.39 C above 30-year average

Southern Hemisphere: +0.49 C above 30-year average

Tropics: +0.41 C above 30-year average

(All temperature anomalies are based on a 30-year average (1981-2010) for the month reported.)

Notes on data released July 5, 2017:

Cooling in the Southern Hemisphere led to an average global temperature drop of about two tenths of a degree Celsius in June, according to Dr. John Christy, director of the Earth System Science Center at The University of Alabama in Huntsville. The global average of 0.21 C warmer than seasonal norms was the coolest value since July 2015 and the start of the 2015-16 El Niño Pacific Ocean warming event.

Compared to seasonal norms, the coldest place on Earth in June was in the eastern Antarctic near Dome C. Temperatures there averaged 4.43 C (about 7.97 degrees Fahrenheit) colder than seasonal norms.

Compared to seasonal norms, the warmest place on Earth in June was near the town of Inarigda in central Russia. Temperatures there averaged 3.07 C (about 5.53 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than seasonal norms.

Night skies for July/early Aug., courtesy Sky and Telescope:

July 13, 14 (dawn): Venus is 3° to the upper left of Aldebaran, the brightest star in Taurus.

July 20 (dawn): Find the slim crescent Moon about 3° or 4° to the lower right of Venus.

July 24 (dusk): Super thin crescent Moon cuts the sky 5° lower right of Mercury, very low in the west soon after sunset. 

July 27 (morning): The modest but long-lasting Delta Aquariid meteor shower peaks. 

July 28 (dawn): A thick waxing crescent Moon hangs 3° above Jupiter. Blue-white Spica twinkles about 8° to their left.

August 2 (evening): Golden Saturn gleams about 3° or 4° lower left of the waxing gibbous Moon. 

August 7–8 (evening & night): A shallow partial lunar eclipse is visible from Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia.

August 11–13 (night): The Perseid meteor shower peaks on August 12th. The waning gibbous Moon rises before midnight, however, so viewing conditions are not ideal this year.

Moon Phases
Full Moon July 9, 12:07 a.m. EDT (known as Buck Moon; also Thunder Moon)
Last Quarter July 16, 3:26 p.m. EDT
New Moon July 23, 5:46 a.m. EDT
First Quarter July 30, 11:23 a.m. EDT

EARTH GAUGE (NEEF):  "Citizen Science" can be a Walk in the Park, Sarah Blount:

As we settle into summer, take advantage of the warmer weather and longer days to get out to your local public lands. State and local parks can be treasure troves of diverse wildlife, cultural heritage, and unique landscape features—all right in your backyard! These areas are also prime locations to try your hand at citizen scienceand other educational opportunities, as you hone your observation skills and begin to identify some of your feathered, scaled, or leafy neighbors.

By participating in citizen science at your local and state parks, you’re helping highlight the natural marvels of your community. You don’t need a scientific degree to take part—just a strong interest in your surroundings. No one knows your home better than you do, and you can help share that information with scientists and researchers, so that everyone knows what makes your area special!

Here are a few projects you can participate in as a citizen scientist in state and local parks:

• Observe Wildlife: All you need is a smartphone or a computer to participate in iNaturalist(link is external), a crowdsourced species identification and organism occurrence recording tool. Take photos of plants, animals, fungi, and more that you come across in your park, and log your findings for scientists and your peers to help identify, contributing to the base of knowledge about our planet's biodiversity. Participate in missions run by other iNaturalist users, or help out a fellow citizen scientist by suggesting an ID for their spotting!(link is external)
• Record Bird Sightings: In the birding world, July is sometimes overlooked for birding coverage, meaning that there is even more to discover at this time of year when other ornithologists are taking a break. Swoop in to this opportunity to help collect clues about your region's avian population with eBird(link is external), a real-time, online checklist that feeds into one of the world's largest and fastest-growing biodiversity data resources. Your contributions will help scientists map the abundance and distribution of bird species across the world.(link is external)
• Document Changes in Plants and Animals: Did the park's wildflower fields bloom quite so early last year? You can contribute to climate change research by documenting phenological changes in flora and fauna in your area's parks, thereby helping policy makers, land managers, and scientists who want to learn more about seasonal changes observed in plants and animals across the country(link is external). This program is called Nature's Notebook, and it's managed by the USA National Phenology Network.

Cox Media Group