There were many near record continental warm temperatures observed in December 2019. Australia and the Hawaiian Islands observed their warmest months of December on record. The global SSTA pattern were ceratinly very warm supporting the upper air patterns required to generate the warmth.

The Taal Volcano located on Luzon Island in the Philippines is considered one of the 10-most dangerous volcanoes in the world due its potential destructive eruptive power. Authorities are concerned that the spewing volcano could erupt “within a few hours or days” possibly reaching volcanic eruption index 4 based on the most recent 1977 and 1965 analogs.

Yet another historic extreme event…581 severe weather reports on January 11th! Possibly the strongest severe weather episode on record for January occurred yesterday as a deep upper trough in the jet stream pattern across the U.S. turned northeastward across the East-central U.S. inviting very warm and humid air northward from the warmer-than-normal subtropical East Pacific and western North Atlantic basin causing a buoyant and unstable atmosphere.

The incidence of drought/flash drought and flash flooding events has increased. To monitor where these episodes are most likely to occur knowledge of longer-term precipitation patterns is helpful. The International Research Institute for Climate and Society has identified regional dry and wet zones based on a ranking of monthly precipitation over the past 3 months.