Maximum Worldwide Temp Extremes

[Isopycnic]

Is there a daily record for worldwide temp extreme differences?

June 4th's temps according to wunderground.com were -90f in Antartica and 116f in Mali. That is a difference of 206f.

[MN Transplant]

Not sure where to look for it. My first guess would have been to take the Vostok low and then compare to that day's high. I don't know where to look for it, but in mid-July, we are probably looking at 120 degrees somewhere, making a 250 degree spread possible.

http://www.usatoday.com/weather/resources/askjack/archives-weather-extremes.htm

Q: What is the Earth's average temperature range on a typical day? A: This is an interesting question, which I've never received before, or even thought much about. I couldn't find a direct answer in one of the best sources for information on climate extremes, the "Weather and Climate Extremes" booklet from the U.S. Army Topographic Engineering Center.

To find the cold end of the most extreme case, I looked up the average August low temperature at the Russian Vostok Station in Antarctica, which holds the record for the coldest official temperature on Earth, -129 F, recorded on July 21, 1983. The average low for August there is -103 F. The Antarctic Plateau, in the center of the continent where Vostok and the US South Pole station are located, has a "coreless" winter with the average high and low staying about the same from July into September. At this same time of the year, the average high temperature at Death Valley, Calif., is 116 degrees, giving a difference of 219 degrees. Some deserts near the equator in Africa, for which good weather records are not available, are surely hotter than Death Valley. Therefor, something like "220 Fahrenheit degrees" difference between the coldest and warmest parts of the Earth in August, seems reasonable.

[metalicwx366]

July 21, 1983

-129 in vostok and 98 in death valley.Difference of 227.

[A-L-E-X]

July 21, 1983

-129 in vostok and 98 in death valley.Difference of 227.

98 sounds rather cool for Death Valley in late July.

[Isopycnic]

98 sounds rather cool for Death Valley in late July.

98 seems low for everywhere.

[A-L-E-X]

98 seems low for everywhere.

Yeah, I thought that might be their min I've heard they're the only place in the world that can stay above 100 degrees at night.

[metalicwx366]

ActualAverage Record TemperatureMean Temperature79 °F-Max Temperature98 °F100 °F109 °F(2000)Min Temperature60 °F71 °F64 °F(1999)Cooling Degree Days14Growing Degree Days29 (Base 50)MoistureDew Point37 °FAverage Humidity18Maximum Humidity32Minimum Humidity13PrecipitationPrecipitation0.00 in-- ()Sea Level PressureSea Level Pressure29.88 inWindWind Speed5 mph (SSW)Max Wind Speed15 mphMax Gust Speed28 mph

http://www.wundergro...name=California

[A-L-E-X]

ActualAverage Record TemperatureMean Temperature79 °F-Max Temperature98 °F100 °F109 °F(2000)Min Temperature60 °F71 °F64 °F(1999)Cooling Degree Days14Growing Degree Days29 (Base 50)MoistureDew Point37 °FAverage Humidity18Maximum Humidity32Minimum Humidity13PrecipitationPrecipitation0.00 in-- ()Sea Level PressureSea Level Pressure29.88 inWindWind Speed5 mph (SSW)Max Wind Speed15 mphMax Gust Speed28 mph

http://www.wundergro...name=California

Hmmm, interesting that the record high and record low were a year apart and the record low was 60-- wow. Something which would probably be harder to find out is what was the largest difference on the same day in the same year? If you want to go even further you could throw in "at the same time"-- but that might be too much lol.

[MJW155]

98 seems low for everywhere.

I was in Death Valley in May about 5 or 6 years ago. It was over 100 degrees. 98 for July sounds really cool.

[A-L-E-X]

I was in Death Valley in May about 5 or 6 years ago. It was over 100 degrees. 98 for July sounds really cool.

Especially since their monthly record is like 134 lol and they've gone something like 60 days in a row with highs over 120 before.

[MJW155]

Especially since their monthly record is like 134 lol and they've gone something like 60 days in a row with highs over 120 before.

It's the only place I have ever been that I was nervous about my car breaking down. It was HOT. Could have been over 110, I don't remember.

[metalicwx366]

Hmmm, interesting that the record high and record low were a year apart and the record low was 60-- wow. Something which would probably be harder to find out is what was the largest difference on the same day in the same year? If you want to go even further you could throw in "at the same time"-- but that might be too much lol.

The record low for that day was 64 and the actual temperature was 60. Cool stuff.

On January 23rd and 24th, in Browning, Montana in 1916 the temperature fell from 44 above zero to -56 degrees in 24 hours. Its the largest 24 hour temp change.

100 degree temperature change.

Fastest temperature rise was 49 °F in two minutes; On 1/22/1943 in Spearfish, South Dakota

-4 to 45 degrees. wow how is it possible?

[A-L-E-X]

It's the only place I have ever been that I was nervous about my car breaking down. It was HOT. Could have been over 110, I don't remember.

There's people that actually run a marathon there in July every year-- crazy stuff!

[A-L-E-X]

The record low for that day was 64 and the actual temperature was 60. Cool stuff.

On January 23rd and 24th, in Browning, Montana in 1916 the temperature fell from 44 above zero to -56 degrees in 24 hours. Its the largest 24 hour temp change.

100 degree temperature change.

Wow-- you should see some of the massive temp swings they have in Rapid City, SD, even in just a few minutes..... temp plummets dozens of degrees and then rises dozens of degrees-- all within a couple hours or less.

[MJW155]

There's people that actually run a marathon there in July every year-- crazy stuff!

Yea that's nuts. They do the same thing in Australia and the Sahara.

[MJW155]

Fastest temperature rise was 49 °F in two minutes; On 1/22/1943 in Spearfish, South Dakota

-4 to 45 degrees. wow how is it possible?

Yea that doesn't sound right. Can the mercury in a thermometer even move that fast in 2 minutes?

[downeastnc]

Yea that doesn't sound right. Can the mercury in a thermometer even move that fast in 2 minutes?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spearfish,_South_Dakota

World record temperature changeSpearfish holds the world record for the fastest temperature change. On January 22, 1943 at about 7:30 a.m. MST, the temperature in Spearfish was -4° degrees F (-20°C). The chinook wind picked up speed rapidly, and two minutes later (7:32 a.m.) the temperature was +45°F above zero (+7°C). The 49-degree rise (27°C) in two minutes set a world record that still holds. By 9:00 a.m., the temperature had risen to 54°F (12°C). Suddenly, the chinook died down and the temperature tumbled back to -4°F (-20°C). The 58-degree drop (32°C) took only 27 minutes.^[10][11]

[A-L-E-X]

http://en.wikipedia....h,_South_Dakota

World record temperature changeSpearfish holds the world record for the fastest temperature change. On January 22, 1943 at about 7:30 a.m. MST, the temperature in Spearfish was -4° degrees F (-20°C). The chinook wind picked up speed rapidly, and two minutes later (7:32 a.m.) the temperature was +45°F above zero (+7°C). The 49-degree rise (27°C) in two minutes set a world record that still holds. By 9:00 a.m., the temperature had risen to 54°F (12°C). Suddenly, the chinook died down and the temperature tumbled back to -4°F (-20°C). The 58-degree drop (32°C) took only 27 minutes.^[10][11]

That's what I was thinking too-- that damned snow eater wind lol. Anyone know why the effect is more extreme there than anywhere else?

[MJW155]

Imagine getting home from work at 7 AM and it's -4 degrees. You take a nap and wake up at 10 AM and the temp. is -4 but 2 feet of snow have melted and you have no idea how it happened. LOL.

[Riptide]

Yeah, I thought that might be their min I've heard they're the only place in the world that can stay above 100 degrees at night.

Washington DC is the new death valley.

[PottercountyWXobserver]

Imagine getting home from work at 7 AM and it's -4 degrees. You take a nap and wake up at 10 AM and the temp. is -4 but 2 feet of snow have melted and you have no idea how it happened. LOL.

lol suicide watch for snowlovers would be in effect

[MN Transplant]

July 21, 1983

-129 in vostok and 98 in death valley.Difference of 227.

Phoenix was 105° that day. I assume somewhere in the Middle East was much higher, hence my earlier guess at 120°.

[WxUSAF]

Yeah, I thought that might be their min I've heard they're the only place in the world that can stay above 100 degrees at night.

A couple times when I was in Iraq, our overnight low was 95-98F. But, that was during a nasty dust storm and the dust retains the heat and prevents much radiational cooling. Can't imagine that kind of overnight "low" with clear skies.

[metalicwx366]

Phoenix was 105° that day. I assume somewhere in the Middle East was much higher, hence my earlier guess at 120°.

I agree with the middle east thing because Riyadh, Saudi Arabia's average high is 108 and low is 83 in july if wunderground is correct.

Where does the 105 come from though? I found 98 that day.

[A-L-E-X]

A couple times when I was in Iraq, our overnight low was 95-98F. But, that was during a nasty dust storm and the dust retains the heat and prevents much radiational cooling. Can't imagine that kind of overnight "low" with clear skies.

Wow, that must've been amazingly difficult.... I saw a video of a dust storm going on out there and it looked like the video was taken on another planet..... maybe Mars

If I remember correctly, the Red Sea is the warmest large body of water.... average SST around 90 in the summer. I say "warmest large body of water" because there's a lake in one of the former Soviet Republics (can't remember which one) which is even hotter.

[A-L-E-X]

Even hotter than I thought..... close to 95 in the summer

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Sea

The Red Sea lies between arid land, desert and semi-desert. The main reasons for the better development of reef systems along the Red Sea is because of its greater depths and an efficient water circulation pattern, The Red Sea water mass exchanges its water with the Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean via the Gulf of Aden. These physical factors reduce the effect of high salinity caused by evaporation water in the north and relatively hot water in the south.

The climate of the Red Sea is the result of two distinct monsoon seasons; a northeasterly monsoon and a southwesterly monsoon. Monsoon winds occur because of the differential heating between the land surface and sea. Very high surface temperatures coupled with high salinities makes this one of the hottest and saltiest bodies of seawater in the world. The average surface water temperature of the Red Sea during the summer is about 26 °C (79 °F) in the north and 30 °C (86 °F) in the south, with only about 2 °C (3.6 °F) variation during the winter months. The overall average water temperature is 22 °C (72 °F). The rainfall over the Red Sea and its coasts is extremely low, averaging 0.06 m (2.36 in) per year. The rain is mostly in the form of showers of short spells, often associated with thunderstorms and occasionally with dust storms. The scarcity of rainfall and no major source of fresh water to the Red Sea result in the excess evaporation as high as 205 cm (81 in) per year and high salinity with minimal seasonal variation. A recent underwater expedition to the Red Sea offshore from Sudan and Eritrea[12] found surface water temperatures 28°C in winter and up to 34°C in the summer, but despite that extreme heat the coral was healthy with much fish life with very little sign of coral bleaching, and there were plans to use samples of these corals' apparently heat-adapted commensal algae to salvage bleached coral elsewhere.

[edit]

Salinity

The Red Sea is one of the most saline bodies of water in the world, due to high evaporation. Salinity ranges from between ~36 ‰ in the southern part due to the effect of the Gulf of Aden water and reaches 41 ‰ in the northern part, due mainly to the Gulf of Suez water and the high evaporation. The average salinity is 40 ‰. (Average salinity for the world's seawater is ~35 ‰ on the Practical Salinity Scale, or PPS; that translates to 3.5 % actual dissolved salts.)

[KokomoWX]

http://coolwx.com/extreme/

[iceman56]

A couple times when I was in Iraq, our overnight low was 95-98F. But, that was during a nasty dust storm and the dust retains the heat and prevents much radiational cooling. Can't imagine that kind of overnight "low" with clear skies.

I can vouch for the Death Valley 100+ minimums. I stayed in Furnace Creek for a week in July back in the mid 80s and measured a couple mornings

that were 100, 101, 102 at sunrise, cresting at 120-124 in the afternoons. Looking on the internets, July 5, 1918 had a low of 110 and July 22, 1917

had a low of 105. The ground gets so hot in the daytime, the nights aren't long enough to radiate the heat buildup even with a clear sky.

I know Phoenix gets lows in the mid 90's not that infrequently, so I'd guess even 100 there is possible. Don't have my Accuwx account anymore to check.

[WxUSAF]

Wow, that must've been amazingly difficult.... I saw a video of a dust storm going on out there and it looked like the video was taken on another planet..... maybe Mars

It really did look like Mars at times. The color of the dust would be different depending on the dust source as well. Some dust storms were very yellow and others were Martian red.

I can vouch for the Death Valley 100+ minimums. I stayed in Furnace Creek for a week in July back in the mid 80s and measured a couple mornings

that were 100, 101, 102 at sunrise, cresting at 120-124 in the afternoons. Looking on the internets, July 5, 1918 had a low of 110 and July 22, 1917

had a low of 105. The ground gets so hot in the daytime, the nights aren't long enough to radiate the heat buildup even with a clear sky.

I know Phoenix gets lows in the mid 90's not that infrequently, so I'd guess even 100 there is possible. Don't have my Accuwx account anymore to check.

Brutal. Our overnight lows in Iraq were typically in the upper 80s to around 90 on clear nights in summer.

[tamarack]

A couple times when I was in Iraq, our overnight low was 95-98F. But, that was during a nasty dust storm and the dust retains the heat and prevents much radiational cooling. Can't imagine that kind of overnight "low" with clear skies.

Siri Island, Iran, an oil port on the Arabian Gulf, has frequent summer minima in the 90s, though I don't think they've had 100+ as their maxima rarely get far into triples. Their claim to fame is dewpoint, which is often 85-90F, sometimes with "blowing sand" as the obs. Blecchhh!

The Vostok record used to be -127F, sometime in the 1960s, I think. Might be a greater spread from Death Valley on that date, or some other -120 days.