Shelly sandstones in Utah represent vast tidal flats. Southwest Increased heat, drought, and insect outbreaks, all linked to climate change, have increased wildfires. Sun and storm in Weld County, in the Great Plains region of Colorado, 2015. The formation of precipitation also causes electrical charging of particles in the atmosphere, which in turn produces lightning. The Southwest contributes significantly to climate change. The white arrow is pointing to one of the leaflets of a compound leaf. Average yearly tornado watches in each county of the United States between 1993 and 2012. Ill be back on my regular beat in a couple of weeks with the September ENSO update. On the other hand, there is not much agreement among projections for future change in the monsoon, except for regarding the timingmost projections suggest that, under continued climate change, the monsoon will start later in the summer and end later in the fall than it currently does (3). The world warmed, and would stay warm through the Mesozoic. The monsoon's intensity waned by the early Jurassic, and the rivers and floodplains were replaced by even larger deserts. Image above: Sun and storm in Weld County, in the Great Plains region of Colorado, 2015. Volcanic activity was strong. (2011)PLoS ONE3(7): e2791(Creative Commons Attribution license, image reorganized and resized). The continued growth of Pangaea created an intense monsoonal climate, similar to that of Asia today, that affected large parts of the continent. The climate remained warm, despite large southern ice sheets, but it had grown much drier. These oases were fed by groundwater that originated in the higher country of what is now western Colorado. While two indicators in this report present information about unusually high or low temperatures and drought on a national scale (see the High and Low Temperatures indicator and the Drought indicator), this feature highlights the Southwest because of its particular sensitivity to temperature and drought. During the winter, moisture travels from the west, as storms from the Pacific Ocean move east. As average temperatures rise and the Southwest becomes drier with a longer annual fire season (season conducive to the ignition and spread of wildfires), the number and intensity of wildfires is expected to increase. In New Mexico, for example, the average difference between the daily high and low temperatures ranges from 14 to 19C (25 to 35F). Left photoandright photofrom NPS, courtesy David Bustos (public domain). The Cretaceous-Paleogene boundary at Trinidad Lake State Park, Las Animas County, Colorado. Photo by Daniel Mayer (Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported license, image resized). Taken on September 23, 2017. A lock (LockA locked padlock) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. The coldest periods will be in late November, mid- and late December, and mid-January. Home Regions Southwest Key Points: For southern and western Colorado, the intrusions of moist air are most common from mid July into September associated with wind patterns sometimes called the Southwest Monsoon. Photo by Stefan Klein (Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International license, image cropped and resized). Right:Dolichometoppus productus. Water, climate change, and sustainability in the Southwest. Ordovician deposits across the Southwest indicate warm, shallow seas rich in invertebrate life. 4. Here at the ENSO Blog, were always curious about the role of ENSO (El Nio/Southern Oscillation, the entire El Nio/La Nia system). The Southwest's Triassic to Jurassic dune deposits are some of the most extensive in the world, and the dune field that existed during the Jurassic may be the largest in Earth history. Temperatures in the southwest region average greater than states up North, because there isn't as much water vapor in upper level winds to screen direct sunlight. Volcanic activity intensified in the Southwest, and the Basin and Range region began to form, leading to the topography that is seen in those areas today (i.e., low valleys alternating with high mountain ranges). Fossil plants, Late Cretaceous Fruitland Formation, San Juan Basin, New Mexico. Thus, even a small increase in temperature (which drives evaporation) or a decrease in precipitation in this already arid region can seriously threaten natural systems and society. Famous sheriffs like Wyatt Earp and outlaws like Billy the . Most models predict a decrease in winter and spring precipitation by the middle of the century, and more frequent precipitation extremes during the last half of the century. Figure by Emily Becker. The distance between Santa Fe and Las Vegas, New Mexico, is about 65 kilometers (about 40.5 miles). As the Cambrian progressed, North America moved northward, and what would become much of the southwestern U.S. was located near the Tropic of Capricorn. Record high temperatures for the Southwest range from 53C (128F) in Arizona to 47C (117F) in Utah, while record low temperatures range from 56C (69F) in Utah to 40C (40F) in Arizona. Storms form when there is strong convection in the atmosphere. Reconstruction created using basemap from thePALEOMAP PaleoAtlas for GPlatesand the PaleoData Plotter Program, PALEOMAP Project by C. R. Scotese (2016); map annotations by Jonathan R. Hendricks & Elizabeth J. Hermsen for PRI's[emailprotected]project (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0license). Loess is often, though not exclusively, associated with dry areas around glaciers. Other elements involved in the ignition and growth of fires and the risks they pose to people living in the Southwest include (but are not limited to) forest management practices, development patterns, and human behavior (intentionally or unintentionally starting fires). This feature focuses on six states that are commonly thought of as southwestern and characterized at least in part by arid landscapes and scarce water supplies: Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. One recent study explored the relationship between the monsoon and wildfires in the Southwest and northern Mexico, finding that monsoon rains were important for ending wildfires. temperatures from Washington and northern Oregon along the northern tier of the. Parts of the Southwest are also experiencing long-term reductions in mountain snowpack (see the Snowpack indicator), which accounts for a large portion of the regions water supply. Map of the Gulf of Mexico region before the closure of the Isthmus of Panama. Taken on August 15, 2016. Photograph by "Cathy" (Flickr;Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommerical 2.0 Generic license). This planting zone combines saline water and alkaline soil with intense sunlight, high temperatures and varying elevations. In the early Carboniferous (Mississippian), ice capped the South Pole and began to expand northward. Photo by James Bo Insogna. A shift in plant type to those better adapted to drier conditions further suggests a change in climate during the Permian. On the other hand, New Mexico and northern Mexico are near or a bit below average. Photo of USNM PAL 165239 by Crinoid Type Project (Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, public domain). Photo by Archaeopoda (Wikimedia Commons,Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported license, image cropped, resized, and labeled). Columbian mammoth (Mammuthus columbi) tracks, Pleistocene, White Sands National Park, New Mexico. The strengthened Gulf Stream carried more warm, moist air with it into the northern Atlantic, which caused increased snowfall in high latitudes, leading to accelerating cooling. contiguous U.S. (CONUS) into the Northern Plains. By 2070, one can expect up to 38 more days of freeze-free weather each year. In the late Ordovician (about 460 to 430 million years ago), the Earth fell into another brief but intense ice age. For the climate on early Earth prior to 541 million years ago, see the Introduction to Climate section. Winter will be warmer than normal, with above-normal precipitation. Also, the occasional eastern Pacific tropical storm can increase monsoon moisture and rainfall. Mesohippusmeasured up to 70 centimeters (2 feet) at shoulder height. Tornado Alley is identified. Data: U.S. Energy Information Administration. The lack of moisture in the air allows heat trapped in the earth during daylight hours to rapidly radiate away, leading to cool evenings. Convection occurs when buoyant warm air rises (moves up) while denser cool air sinks (moves down). Summer temperatures in this region rarely rise above 60 F during the day, while winter temperatures hover around 30 F due to the temperate . The satellite loop in this post shows Gulf of Mexico moisture moving west into the monsoon region. But El Nio leads to more tropical storms than average, youre saying, because youre not new here. To provide more detailed information, each state has been divided into climate divisions, which are zones that share similar climate features. Thanks thats a big pool of warm water larger than the gulf of California and warmer than the greater Pacific Ocean. This salt is part of the Late Carboniferous (Pennsylvanian) Paradox Formation. Topics covered on this page: Present climate of the southwestern U.S.; Present temperature; Present precipitation; Severe weather; Regional climate variation; Past climate of the southwestern U.S.; Paleozoic; Mesozoic; Cenozoic; Future climate of the southwestern U.S.; Resources. NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). As a result of displacement due to continental rifting and seafloor spreading, sea level throughout the Cretaceous was much higher than it is today. It depends where you are! These changes to rain and snow-pack are already stressing water sources and affecting agriculture. Colorado has a generally cool and continental climate with low humidity. Utahs distance from both the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico prevents heavy precipitation, and much of the state is typically sunny year-round, with light to moderate winds. We can see some hints of this relationship in my scatter-plot here. Copyright 2021 Paleontological Research Institution. Four of western North America's major watersheds lie within its boundaries: the Colorado River basin, the Rio Grande basin, the Sacramento-San Joaquin watershed, and most of the Great Basin. Forecasts had all of this widespread flash flooding. Go to the full list of resources about the climate of the southwestern U.S. Go to the full list of general resources about climate. Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license, Scenarios for Climate Assessment and Adaptation, Image by The High Fin Sperm Whale, created from images by NOAA National Weather Service training material (Wikimedia Commons, public domain), Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International license, Modified from a map by Adam Peterson (Wikimedia Commons, Photo by Bob Wick, Bureau of Land Management (flickr, public domain), Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported license, Photo by Richard Stephen Haynes (Wikimedia Commons, Photo of USNM PAL 165239 by Crinoid Type Project (Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, public domain), Photos of YPM IP 529539 by Jessica Utrup, 2015 (Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History/YPM, CC0 1.0 Universal/Public Domain Dedication, Photo of USNM P 38052 by Frederic Cochard (Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, public domain), Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license, Cretaceous Atlas of Ancient Life: Western Interior Seaway, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International, Photo of USNM 166396 from the Cretaceous Atlas of Ancient Life, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International license, Inset image from the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (PIA03397), Photo by Jeffrey Beall (Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license, Photo by Kenneth Carpenter (Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommerical 2.0 Generic license, Photo by Center for Land Use Interpretation, Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 license, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license, Photo by Dr. David Goodrich, NOAA (NOAA Photo Library ID wea04192, NOAA's National Weather Service, via flickr, Images by Lauren Dauphin, NASA Earth Observatory, Photos by Lauren Dauphin, NASA Earth Observatory, NASA Earth Observatory image by Lauren Dauphin (NASA Earth Observatory, Photo by Santa Fe National Forest (National Interagency Fire Center on flickr, public domain), https://earthathome.org/de/talk-about-climate/, https://earthathome.org/de/what-is-climate/, https://earthathome.org/de/recent-climate-change/, https://earthathome.org/de/climate-change-mitigation/, https://earthathome.org/de/climate-change-adaptation/, https://earthathome.org/quick-faqs/#climate, Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International licenses. Frequent showers and thunderstorms continue well into the summer. Across New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah, summer rains originate from moisture brought into the area from the Gulf of Mexico. Accessed March 2021. www.ncdc.noaa.gov/cag. NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration). After the end-Cretaceous bolide impact, the climate may have cooled briefly, but it soon rebounded to a warmer state. (Prescribed burns are an important forest management tool; they are used to consume fuels like dry wood that can ignite and feed wildfires as well as maintain forest health.) The monsoon starts to develop in Mexico in June, and moves into the U.S. Southwest in July. Green areas mean drought is likely to end. By the late Carboniferous, North America had collided with Gondwana, leading to the formation of Pangaeaa supercontinent composed of nearly all the landmass on Earth. Fig. The event devastated the Southwest, shifting a densely forested landscape to one primarily covered with fast-growing herbs and ferns. Maps and data. Photo by Lane Pearman (flickr, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic license, image cropped and resized). The thunderstorm begins. The North Rim is 8000 feet (2438meters) to 9000 feet (2743 meters) above sea level. Photo by Udo S. Title: Monument Valley - Arizona / USA. The oceans between Gondwana and North America began to close. Skeleton of a juvenileCamarosaurs lentus, a type of sauropod, from the Carnegie Quarry, Jurassic Morrison Formation, Dinosaur National Monument, Utah and Colorado. Photo by Santa Fe National Forest (National Interagency Fire Center on flickr, public domain). According to the photographer, the largest stones were 1.5 to 2.5 centimeters (0.6 to 1 inch) size. In the Silurian and Devonian (430 to 359 million years ago), North America moved north across the equator, and the cycle of warming and cooling was repeated yet again. Its remnant exists today as the Great Salt Lake. Submitted by rebecca.lindsey on Thu, 09/30/2021 - 10:13. The Southwest is typically dry, hot, and humid. Historic data from Livneh et al. The map in Figure 1 shows how average annual temperatures in the Southwest from 2000 to 2020differed from the average over the entire period since widespread temperature records became available (18952020). Raucous summer thunderstorms characteristic of the monsoon season are spotty, while drizzly winter storms last longer and engulf large portions of the region. Agua Caliente solar farm, Maricopa County, Arizona. In general, it is expected that high alpine glaciers in the Colorado Rockies will disappear as the climate continues to warm. Large lakes covered parts of northern Utah and Colorado. however, the monsoons provide life-giving moisture in a region that is always dry. A large, low-latitude desert formed along Pangaea's western margin, generating extensive dune deposits. (41-60 degrees.) Before the Isthmus closed, the Atlantic and Pacific oceans were connected. Data source: NOAA, 20214Web update: April2021, Key Points | Background | About the Data | Technical Documentation. The book was adapted for the web by Elizabeth J. Hermsen, Jonathan R. Hendricks, and Ingrid Zabel in 2022. Spring- The spring in the Southwest region is cool. Drought continues to be quite severe over the southern Plains in Texas and Oklahoma due to hot and dry conditions. Figure by climate.gov; data from CPC Unified data. Average annual temperatures for the southwestern U.S. While most of the evidence for cooling at the Eocene-Oligocene boundary comes from the deep sea, fossil mammals in the Rocky Mountains show clear evidence of a change from forests to grasslands, which is associated with global cooling. As the Triassic period began, the Southwest moved north from the equator. Flows in late summer are correspondingly reduced, leading to extra pressure on the states water supplies. 2010. Snowfall will be below normal in most areas that normally receive snow, with the snowiest periods in early to mid-January and early February. The Sonoran Desert is located in southwestern Arizona and adjacent regions of California and Mexico. Precipitation has become more variable from year to year, and heavy downpours across the U.S. have increased in the last 20 years. If you live in the U.S. Southwest or northwestern Mexico, you may already be familiar with the annual climate phenomenon called the North American Monsoon, especially since rainfall in some spots has been way above average this summer. Temperature and drought data come from a network of thousands of weather stations overseen by the National Weather Service. Official websites use .gov See you then! Some areas were more than 2F warmer than average (see Figure 1). Summer temperatures on the South Rim, at 7000 feet (2134 meters), are especially pleasant from 50 to about 85 F (10s to 20s C). Map made by Elizabeth J. Hermsen usingSimplemapprand modified in Photoshop. The new dry-land isthmus blocked the warm ocean currents that had been flowing east-to-west from the Atlantic to the Pacific for more than 100 million years, diverting them into the Gulf of Mexico and ultimately into the western Atlantic Gulf Stream. The Southwest's overall average high temperature of 19.2C (66.6F) and average low of 2.8C (37.0F) are indicative of a varied climate, one much less uniform than that found in many other parts of the United States. USA 107(50):2125621262. Roadcut exposing lake sediments of the Eocene Green River Formation, Duchesne County, Utah. The long-range forecast team breaks down region by region what to expect during the summer. The intensification recorded since about the 1970s has been partly driven by greenhouse gas emissions (medium confidence). In 8.4, What are the projected water cycle changes?, the summary statement is there is low agreement on a projected decrease of NAmerM precipitation, however there is high confidence in delayed onsets and demises of the summer monsoon.. In winter, rising temperatures have increased the number of frost-free days. Precipitation accumulation over the past 12 months, shown as a percent of the average mid-August through mid-August total. The risk of dangerous wildfires is currently very high in parts of the Southwest. Image by The High Fin Sperm Whale, created from images by NOAA National Weather Service training material (Wikimedia Commons, public domain). February 2023 ENSO update: the ENSO Blog investigates, part 3, How the pattern of trends across the tropical Pacific Ocean is critical for understanding the future climate, January 2023 La Nia update, and the ENSO Blog investigates, part 2, Albuquerque, NM National Weather Service office, ENSO does influence Pacific tropical storms, Tucson recorded its wettest month ever this July, Monsoon causes deadly flash flood in Arizona, Images of CO2 emissions and transport from the Vulcan project, TreeFlow: Streamflow Reconstructions from Tree Rings. By early to mid-September, wind patterns have generally reverted back to the westerly pattern, bringing an end to the monsoon. Left:Lake Bonneville's maximal extent during the Pleistocene. Modified from illustrations by Wade Greenberg-Brand originally published inThe Teacher-Friendly Guide to the Earth Science of the SouthwesternUS. At this time, the Southwest was still submerged. By comparison, the average high and low temperatures for the entire United States are 17C (63F) and 5C (41F), respectively. Here, oases with large trees, large colonies of burrowing animals, and reptile trackways punctuated the otherwise dry and sandy landscape. The more than 16 million residents of the Southwest use carbon-rich fossil fuels to provide electricity for lighting, cooling, and appliances, to fuel their transportation and industry, and to make the products they use. Climate changepast, present & future: a very short guide. Because high mountains to the west and north act as a barrier to cold Arctic air masses, most areas of Utah rarely experience temperatures below freezing or prolonged periods of extreme cold. Despite the areas arid climate, the dunes were surprisingly full of life, particularly in southeastern Utah. Not really sure if it's possible to even find that rabbit hole let alone getting to the end of it :) Good luck. The Southwest's overall average high temperature of 19.2C (66.6F) and average low of 2.8C (37.0F) are indicative of a varied climate, one much less uniform than that found in many other parts of the United States. Global temperatures fell further in the late Miocene thanks to the formation of the Himalayas. What is the weather like in the Southwest region in summer? Digital Encyclopedia of Earth Science: Why talk about climate change? The main features that influence the areas climate are latitude, regional topography, and a low atmospheric moisture content that leads to quick evaporation. For temperature, the 2020 monsoon was the hottest on record for the Southwest with an average temperature of 77.1 F, significantly beating the previous record of 76.8 F in 2011 (average is 74.3 F). This circulation brings thunderstorms and rainfall to the monsoon region, providing much of their annual total precipitation. Extensive Permian deposits throughout the Southwest are home to a host of fossils, including terrestrial amphibians, reptiles, and synapsids. In the latest Cretaceous, sea level dropped again and the western Southwest became a broad coastal plain that hosted lush forests, abundant dinosaurs, and large swamps. It smoldered beneath the ground as a dormant holdover, sleeper, or zombie fire until April, when it flared up and grew into a wildfire, an almost unprecedented occurrence in the Southwest. Since 1980, tree mortality in forests and woodlands across the Southwest has been higher and more extensive than at any time during the previous 90 years. PRI is a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. In fact, this monsoon may turn out to be the wettest on record for some places! Funnel clouds (developing tornadoes) over El Paso County, Colorado, March 29, 2019. For extended periods from 2002 to 2005 and from 2012 to2020, nearly the entire region was abnormally dry or even drier (see Figure 2). Likewise, its not yet clear how the monsoon is changing in the warming climate, or how it will in the future. Average annual preciptiation for the southwestern U.S. Left:Jaw with teeth. This feature provides a closer look at trends in temperature and drought in the southwestern United States. Sprawling development of Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the Sonoran Desert, 2009. Maps modified from maps by Wade Greenberg-Brand, originally published inThe Teacher-Friendly Guide to the Earth Science of the SouthwesternUS, after figure 3 in L. Grande (2013) The Lost World of Fossil Lake. Submitted by rebecca.lindsey on Thu, 09/30/2021 - 10:14. Large portions of the Southwest have experienced drought conditions since weekly Drought Monitor records began in 2000. Monsoon rainfall activity tends to be grouped into bursts, with periods of rainy days interspersed with drier periods, rather than rain every day. Petrified log at Escalante Petrified Forest State Park, Jurassic Morrison Formation, Garfield County, Utah. Paleontological Research Institution Special Publication 38, Ithaca, NY, 200 pp. Image adapted from an image by Scenarios for Climate Assessment and Adaptation, first published in The Teacher-Friendly Guide to the Earth Science of the Southwestern US. While this will help with the ongoing drought in the southwest, in many regions the precipitation deficit has been building for a long time. Zack and Mike described this years monsoon for southern Arizona as generational, meaning once in a generation. Natural variability, changes in irrigation practices, and other diversions of water for human use can influence certain drought-related measurements. That timeworn classic is only partially true--May and September can also be great summer months. Left:Trilobites identified asDolichometoppus productusandAlokistocare althea. Changes in atmospheric pressure during the late fall and winter can lead to an accumulation of haze. The daily range between maximum and minimum temperatures sometimes runs as much as 50 to 60 degrees F during the drier periods of the year. An increased frost-free season length also leads to increased water demands for agriculture and heat stress on plants. The Wave, a series of intersecting U-shaped troughs eroded into Jurassic NavajoSandstone within the Paria Canyon-Vermilion Cliffs Wilderness, Arizona. Moisture condenses out of the warm air as it comes into contact with cool air, forming clouds. This mortality is attributed to higher temperatures, drought, and the eruption of bark beetles that are able to survive through warmer winter weather. The Santa Catalina Mountains near Tucson, Arizona are surrounded desert in which saguaro cacti grow. Large lakes formed in low areas, and the Southwests most striking ice age feature was Lake Bonneville, a massive pluvial lake that covered much of Utah. Scale bar = 1 centimeter (about 0.4 inches). Acad. Wind moves the air, promoting mixing. Shiprock, a volcanic monadnock in San Juan County, New Mexico, rises roughly 483 meters (1583 feet) above the desert plain.
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