tropical storms

NOAA reported that the 2011 hurricane season ended on November 30 and produced a total of 19 tropical storms—well above the average of 11.

According to the newest State of the Climate by NOAA, September was 1.5°F warmer than average across the U.S. Average precipitation, on the other hand, was near normal with most of the eastern half of the U.S.

Meteorological and climatological flood-producing events operate at varying temporal and spatial scales.

The remnants of Hurricane Octave helped flood Tucson’s Santa Cruz River, shown here at St. Mary’s Bridge, on October 2, 1983. This storm was one of four remnant named tropical storms that affected the Southwest in 1983.

Although climate change projections are most reliable at the global level, people seeking to adapt and respond to the projected changes need to know about climate change impacts at the local level. Fortunately, increasing resolution and other advances in Global Climate Models (GCMs) are helping to improve regional scale modeling (Figure 1).