Weather event in the United States
The
2007 North American heat wave
started at the end of July and lasted into the first weeks of August. It was associated with severe drought over regions of the southeastern United States and parts of the Great Lakes region.
History
[
edit
]
The major heat wave of 2007
[1]
lasted from 3 to 25 August across eastern United States,
[2]
while a second wave hit the
Midwest
and California in October.
[3]
Temperatures surpassed 100 °F (37.8 °C) as far north as
Kansas City
,
MO
and
St. Louis
, MO. Dew points reached the mid-region of 70 °F (21.1 °C), creating
heat index
values of 108 or more in much of the affected areas. The accompanying high-pressure systems caused
drought
conditions, especially in areas that were already
experiencing drought conditions
, such as northern Alabama. It caused drought conditions in the
Ohio
and Mississippi River Valleys. The drought decreased soil moisture to below 98-99% of normal levels.
[4]
August 2007 turned out to be one of the 20 warmest
[5]
Augusts for the United States since 1895.
[4]
A heat-wave forecast was issued in June 2007 for the
Columbus, Ohio
area.
[6]
In
Indiana
, heat advisories were issued after at least four days of 90 °F (32.2 °C) days in early August.
[7]
In
Evansville, Indiana
, August had the highest average temperature recorded until that time, 96 °F (35.6 °C), surpassed in 2012.
[8]
Indianapolis
had a 14-day streak of temperatures of 90 °F (32.2 °C) or higher.
[9]
Paducah, Kentucky
had 28 straight days of 90 °F (32 °C)-plus temperatures, a record broken in 2010.
[10]
North Carolina
experienced temperatures over 100 °F (37.8 °C). In
Charlotte
, a record high of "104 °F (40.0 °C) degrees [was] set on 10 August 2007," that lasted until August 2012.
[11]
Ten years later, the
National Weather Service
labeled the August 2007 heat wave one of the "Historic Heat Waves in the Carolinas."
[2]
"Temperatures soared well into the 90s and 100s°F across almost all of North and South Carolina for three solid weeks, with all-time records for heat tied or broken in a number of locations," the NWS reported.
[2]
Record temperatures were recorded in
Rocky Mount, NC
, at 106 °F (41.1 °C),
Hamlet, NC
at 108 °F (42.2 °C),
Charlotte
at 104 °F (40.0 °C), and
Raleigh
at 105 °F (40.6 °C).
[2]
The
heat index
"exceeded 120 °F (49 °C) across portions of the North Carolina coastal plain."
[2]
Local utilities
Tennessee Valley Authority
and
Progress Energy Carolinas
recorded the highest energy usage ever, due to
air conditioning
use.
[2]
The
Piedmont region
experienced high temperatures, while
Eastern North Carolina
experienced low temperatures.
[2]
[12]
A new
heat island
was identified in
Shippensburg, Pennsylvania
through monitoring hourly temperatures from 27 May to 19 September 2007.
[13]
In California, "a record summer heat wave" dried out
tinder
and led to dry conditions and fires in October 2007, causing one death and thousands of people to be evacuated. Ultimately, a disaster declaration was made by President
George W. Bush
.
[14]
25 people in California died that year from heat-related causes.
[15]
Impact
[
edit
]
A total of 105 deaths in 2007 were blamed on the heat that year in the
United States
, including the deaths from the heat wave.
[15]
During the heat wave itself, more than 50 deaths were reported, in addition to cases of
heat exhaustion
and
heat Stroke
.
[4]
Most deaths (51%) occurred among those over 60 years of age and people who could not afford air conditioning due to their cost.
[15]
[16]
During the
Chicago Marathon
in October, temperatures hit a record 88 °F (31.1 °C), causing dozens of hospitalizations and one death.
[17]
In 2007, a total of 39 deaths were counted due to the heat from four adjoining states,
Illinois
,
Missouri
,
Tennessee
, and
Kentucky
.
[15]
In
Philadelphia
, the
Pennsylvania Medical Society
issued a health warning about the dangers and treatment of
heat stroke
.
[18]
Over "51 deaths, including 2 in South Carolina, were attributable to this heat wave."
[2]
In
Birmingham, Alabama
, there were 18 days with a "heat index greater than or equal to 100," lower than the index during the heat wave of 1980, while 13 heat-related deaths were attributed to the August 2007 heat wave, compared to over 100 in 1980.
[16]
The fewer deaths were attributed to the increased use of air-conditioning in 2007, especially among "shut in" elderly people.
[16]
Causes
[
edit
]
The heat wave was reportedly caused by several factors.
[19]
First, an
upper level ridge
that settled over the
southern plains
and
southeast
near the
Ozarks
. Another cause was the troughing over the
Pacific Coast
and offshore
Atlantic
. This in turn created an
Omega block
pattern over the central US and caused extreme heat to build for weeks, in some cases. The ridge eventually moved back towards the west, which allowed some short-term relief for the
northeastern states
and
Mid-Atlantic
, but in the
Mississippi River Valley
and the southeast there remained strong heat for at least several more days.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Gregory B. Goodrich; J. Kyle Thompson; Stanley D. Wingard; Kylie J. Batson (2011). "The 2007 Mid-South Summer Drought and Heat Wave in Historical Perspective".
Southeastern Geographer
.
51
(3): 411?421.
doi
:
10.1353/sgo.2011.0031
.
S2CID
129686652
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
Armstrong, Tim (9 June 2017).
"Historic Heat Waves in the Carolinas: August 3 to August 25, 2007"
.
National Weather Service
, from
Weather.gov
. Retrieved
9 August
2018
.
- ^
Bosart, Lance F.; Moore, Benjamin J.; Cordeira, Jason M.; Archambault, Heather M. (2017).
"Interactions of North Pacific Tropical, Midlatitude, and Polar Disturbances Resulting in Linked Extreme Weather Events over North America in October 2007"
.
Monthly Weather Review
.
145
(4): 1245?1273.
Bibcode
:
2017MWRv..145.1245B
.
doi
:
10.1175/MWR-D-16-0230.1
.
EBSCO
host
123027141
.
- ^
a
b
c
"August 2007 Heat Wave Summary"
.
NOAA
. 11 October 2007. Archived from
the original
on 11 October 2007.
- ^
"Heat Wave across the United States"
.
earthobservatory.nasa.gov
. 2007-08-18
. Retrieved
2018-08-31
.
- ^
Wilkes, Brian (13 June 2007).
"After a milder Thursday a new heat wave is on the way"
. Retrieved
8 August
2018
.
- ^
Redfield, Jude (August 3, 2007).
"Indiana braces for heat wave"
.
WTHR
. Archived from
the original
on 8 August 2018
. Retrieved
8 August
2018
.
- ^
"2012 Record Summer Heat Wave"
(PDF)
.
National Weather Service
. 2012
. Retrieved
8 August
2018
.
- ^
"Hottest 8 Day Heat Wave In 70 Years! Finally Rain Cools Us If Only For A Little While"
. Justin's Indiana Weather blog. 24 July 2011
. Retrieved
8 August
2018
.
- ^
"Summer Heat 2010"
(PDF)
.
National Weather Service
. 2010
. Retrieved
8 August
2018
.
- ^
Sosnowski, Alex (5 July 2011).
"Heat Wave Smashing All-Time Records: All-Time Record Highs Set Saturday"
. Accuweather. Archived from
the original
on 9 August 2018
. Retrieved
8 August
2018
.
- ^
Furhrmanne, Christopher M.; Konrad, Charles E.; Kovach, Margaret M.; Perkins, D. J. (2011). "The August 2007 Heat Wave in North Carolina: Meteorological Factors and Local Variability".
Physical Geography
.
32
(3): 217?240.
doi
:
10.2747/0272-3646.32.3.217
.
S2CID
129717895
.
- ^
Doyle, Danielle; Hawkins, Timothy W. (2008).
"Assessing a Small Summer Urban Heat Island in Rural South Central Pennsylvania"
(PDF)
.
Gamma Theta Upsilon
. Retrieved
9 August
2018
.
- ^
"Californians flee as fires rage"
.
BBC News
. 23 October 2007
. Retrieved
8 August
2018
.
- ^
a
b
c
d
"2007 Heat Related Fatalities: 2007 Heat Related Fatalities by State and Location: 2007 Heat Related Fatalities by Age and Gender"
(PDF)
.
NOAA
. 13 May 2016
. Retrieved
9 August
2018
.
- ^
a
b
c
Pence, Kevin J.; Stefkovich, Jim (October 2008).
"A Comparison of the Alabama Heat Wave of August 2007 with that of June/July 1980"
.
National Weather Service, Birmingham Alabama
. Retrieved
9 August
2018
.
- ^
"Heat Shuts Down Chicago Marathon, Leaves One Runner Dead, Scores Hospitalized"
.
Associated Press
. 8 October 2007
. Retrieved
8 August
2018
.
- ^
"Keep A Cool Head On Hot, Humid Days To Avoid Heat Stroke"
.
Science Daily
. 28 June 2007
. Retrieved
9 August
2018
.
- ^
"August 2007 Heat Wave"
(PDF)
. 2007-08-31.
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