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What will go down as the most extreme weather event of 2011?
I am going with the summer heat wave, for two reasons. First, the length of heat in Texas and Oklahoma was obviously quite severe. Almost 40 straight days of 100 degree weather in Dallas. Also, i think it is a very noteworthy story because so many areas got hit that aren't traditional hot spots. In Minnesota, parts of the state saw temps crack 100 degrees, with heat index reports of 119 degrees and higher. Heat indexes in NY, PA, MD, DC, etc... ranged between 115 and 120 degrees. Parts of Iowa saw heat indexes near 126!
I must agree with Joplin. It was a bigger news story event even though the heat wave affected more people for longer and record level drought in Texas with empty lakes and all just couldn't top Joplin.
The most severe single system tornado outbreak in US history completely destroying several towns in the US Midwest, such as Joplin.
178 tornadoes across 16 states, 43 deaths, and $600 million worth of damage
Agreed:
Easily the biggest weather story in North America in 2011 was the tornado outbreak and what happend in Joplin. I passed through Joplin one month after the tornadoes – and the devastation was still enough to silence a bus full of people. In terms of sheer terror – this was like Hurricane Andrew in southern Florida. Someone e-mailed this vid to my a few weeks ago; it is likely the most terrifying hing I've ever listen to (turn sound way up):
If I only remember one thing about the weather from 2011 in my location (unlikely, as it's been very odd almost from start to finish) it will be the whole month of April. The warmest, (the highs had an anomaly of +6C, the highest of any month here ever) sunniest and driest (rainfall 97% below average!) since records began, beating a record from 2007 which seemed exceptional at the time. Just day after day of unusually cloudless skies and summerlike afternoon temperatures without the discomfort we'd get from a similarly abnormally hot July. It seemed extra good to me with it being my first April living in London after having lived in a cooler, duller climate.
Also I'm not likely to forget the heatwave in late September/early October which saw 85F not far from me on October 1st and five consecutive all-time national heat records for the date either equalled or broken. Also if it doesn't snow here between now and the end of the year it will be a first, though not perhaps something that sticks in the memory.
For the UK, it has to be the heatwave in late September and early October which broke records all over the country. The temperature here reached 28C / 83F on the last day of September and first day of October.
On a more local level.. for Scotland, there is numerous things.. the extraordinarily wet summer, or the numerous wind storms which battered the country.. and for the English Midlands, probably the drought.
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