2007 North America South and Eastern heatwave

The 2007 North America South and Eastern heatwave was a continuation and eastward expansion of the 2007 Western North American heat wave which began in late June 2007. The heatwave expanded eastward starting at the very end of July and lasting into the first weeks of August. This heat wave as associated with severe drought over a large swath of the southeastern United States and parts of the Great Lakes region. It had a late season ending with temperatures continuing, although more sporadically, well into the 90s °F (30s °C) into September and October in the mid-Atlantic region.

Environmental impacts

The major heat wave of 2007 was from August 3 to 25 acorss a large part of the Eastern United States, while a second wave hit in October in the Midwest.

The primary heat wave was responsible for continued heat and building drought across the central and southern Midwest and into the southeast. Temperatures were frequently surpassed 100 °F (38 °C)s as far north as Kansas City, MO and St. Louis, MO. Dew points reached the mid 70s °F (24 °C), creating a Heat Index values of 108 °F (42 °C) or more in much of the affected areas. Nearly two dozen states were in either Heat Advisories, or Excessive Heat Warnings or Watches, with the area of most watch or warning coverage in the Mississippi River Valley region from Illinois and Missouri down to Louisiana and the Southeast Atlantic Coast, as well as parts of the Mid-Atlantic. The heatwave and the accompanying high pressure system area caused intensifying drought conditions, especially in areas that were already experiencing drought conditions, such as northern Alabama where the drought was exceptional even before the heat wave. It is also initiating drought conditions into the Ohio and Mississippi River Valleys. The persistent drought and heat wave decreased soil moisture to below 98-99% of normal levels.

13 new all-time maximum high temperatures were set, along with several hundred new daily high maximum temperature records. August 2007 turned out to be one of the 20 warmest Augusts for the United States since 1895.

The Ohio River valley was especially hard hit in the summer of 2007. A forecast of a heat wave was predicted in June 2007 for the Columbus, Ohio area. In Indiana, heat advisories were issued after at least four days of 90 F plus days in early August; temperatures were forecast to hit the mid-90s the following week. In Evansville, Indiana, August had the highest average temperature recorded, 96.0 F, which was beat in 2012. Indianapolis had a 14-day streak of high temperatures of 90 or higher. Paducah, Kentucky had 28 straight days of 90-plus temeratures, a record which was exceeded in 2010, a mere three years later.

Likewise, North Carolina experienced that heat wave with temperatures over 100 F. In Charlotte, the record high of "104 degrees [was] set on August 10, 2007." (This record also lasted only until August 2012.) Ten years later, the National Weather Service looked back and labeled the August 2007 heat wave one of the "Historic Heat Waves in the Carolinas." It started in "the first few days of August as a large ridge of high pressure built over the eastern third of the Nation." "Temperatures soared well into the 90s and 100s 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. Record high temperaturess were recorded in Rocky Mount, NC (106 degrees), Hamlet, NC (108), Charlotte (104), and Raleigh (105). The heat index possibly "exceeded 120 degrees across portions of the North Carolina coastal plain." Customers of the local utilities, Tennessee Valley Authority and Progress Energy Carolinas recorded the highest energy usaged ever, due to air conditioning use. Oddly, the Piedmont region experienced the highest high temperatures, while Eastern North Carolina experienced the highest low temperatures.

A new heat island was identified in Shippensburg, Pennsylvania after taking hourly temperature measurements from May 27 to September 19, 2007.

Deaths and health impacts

A total of 105 deaths in 2007 were blamed on heat that year in the United States. During this heat wave, more than 50 deaths were reported as well as cases of heat exhaustion and heat Stroke. Most deaths occurred amongst those over 60 years of age (51 %) and people who could not afford air conditioning due to high energy costs.

During the Chicago Marathon in October, temperatures hit a record 88 F, causing dozens of heat illnesses and one death. In 2007, a total of 39 deaths were counted due to the heat from four adjoining states: Illinois, Missouri, Tennessee, and Kentucky.

In Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania Medical Society issued a health warning about the dangers and treatment of heat stroke.

Over "51 deaths, including 2 in South Carolina, were attributable to this heat wave." In Birmingham, Alabama, there were 18 days with a "heat index greater than or equal to 100 degrees," but that was fewer than in the heat wave of 1980; 13 heat-related deaths were attributed to the August 2007 heat wave, compared to over 100 in 1980. The fewer deaths was thought to be related in part to increased use of air-conditioning in 2007, especially amongst "shut in" elderly.

Meteorological setup

The heat wave was triggered by several factors. First an unusually strong upper level ridge that has settled over the southern plains and southeast near the Ozarks. Another was the sharp troughing over the Pacific Coast and the 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 southeast there remained oppressive heat for at least several more days. Some more widespread relief came by the end of the September, but before long much warmer the normal conditions returned across eastern North America by the first week of October, this time shattering long held records through to the end of the end of that month and finishing as the warmest October in 5 states in the region.

Other 2007 heat waves in North America

In California, "a record summer heat wave" dried out tinder and lead to extremely dry conditions and huge fires in October 2007, causing one death and thousands of people to be evacuated, and ultimately a disaster declaration by President George W. Bush. 25 people in California died that year from heat-related causes.

External links

• NOAA or National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
• The National Weather Service Watch and Warning Map
• Climate Prediction Center Main Page
• Seasonal Drought Outlook, Updated Monthly
• Current Drought Status in Intensity

📰 Article(s) of the same category(ies)

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