On September 15th Super Typhoon Sanba reached its maximum intensity with 150-knot (170 mph) winds and a central pressure of 900 mb (26.58”) according to the Tropical Cyclone Information center at the Japanese Meteorological Agency. It was the strongest tropical storm on earth since Typhoon Megi bottomed out at 885 mb (26.14”) in the open waters of the Western Pacific on August 17, 2010. Herein is a short blog listing all the known tropical storms on record (in the world) that have measured central pressures of 900 mb or lower.
weatherhistorian, • 9:15 PM GMT on September 28, 2012
Following the WMO rejection of Al Azizia, Libya as the location where the world’s hottest temperature was measured, the WMO concluded that the new world record for such has fallen by default to Greenland Ranch, Death Valley and its 134°F (56.7°C) on July 10, 1913. But what is the new African continental heat record? For the sake of convenience the WMO has, at least temporarily, established the 55°C (131°F) reading made at Kebili, Tunisia on July 7, 1931 as the current new African record pending certification.
weatherhistorian, • 6:08 AM GMT on September 22, 2012
Almost two years after my October 8, 2010 wunderground blog post, Questions Concerning the World Record Temperature of 58°C (136.4°F) at Al Azizia, Libya on September 13, 1922, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has come to the conclusion that the record, in fact, was invalid. Here is a personal account of how this decision came to be.
weatherhistorian, • 1:07 PM GMT on September 13, 2012
There is never a dull month when it comes to extreme weather and August 2012 was no exception. The month began with a massive flood in Manila, Philippines and an intense heat wave in the south-central U.S. Two very sharp heat waves affected much of Europe during the 2nd and 3rd weeks of the month smashing records from Spain to Poland and the Ukraine. Typhoons walloped coastal sections of China and Hurricane Isaac thrashed the U.S. Gulf Coast.
weatherhistorian, • 5:52 AM GMT on September 04, 2012