Climate & Weather Review Year 2007
Hurricanes, Heat Waves, Wildfires, Flooding, & Drought in US, Canada
Dec 20, 2007
To read about weather hazards and climate extremes for January through April of 2007, click here.
May 2007 through December 2007
May 2007
The drought conditions in the Midwest, SW and SE continued. “On May 29, 50% of the western U.S. was in moderate to exceptional drought, 83% in the Southeast, and 34% for the contiguous U.S.”, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Wildfires in Georgia and Florida were sparked by extreme drought. Severe thunderstorms and tornadoes plagued the Great Plains. An E-F5 tornado, 1.7 miles wide, caused 10 deaths in Kansas, destroying an entire town. Subtropical storm Andrea developed off the SE coast, becoming the first named storm of the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season.
June 2007
The drought continued in Midwest, SW but lessened some in SE, due to precipitation from Tropical Storm Barry. Heavy rainfall caused flooding in Texas, leading to 5 deaths and destroying homes. Severe thunderstorms and tornadoes hit eastern Iowa, causing record damage. Severe thunderstorms caused up to 4 inches of hail on the ground and damaging winds in the upper Midwest .
July 2007
A heat wave in Western US, with some areas exceeding 104 degrees, broke several records for the highest maximum temperature. The heat wave led to wildfires in the Northwest. Tropical Storm Chantal developed in the North Atlantic producing large amounts of rain in Bermuda.
August 2007
Hurricane Dean, a category five storm, hit the Atlantic Basin, making landfall in Mexico. A severe heat wave hit the South and Midwest, “setting more than 2,500 new daily record highs” (NCDC, 2007). Thunderstorms caused flooding in the Midwest, with 18 deaths reported. Tropical Storm Erin produced heavy rainfall once on-land, to the Midwest regions hit by flooding earlier in the summer.
September 2007
A California heat wave, resulting in an “electrical emergency”, caused widespread outages. Severe thunderstorms and tornadoes in Florida caused damage but no deaths. Two hurricanes swirled around the Atlantic, causing wind damage and flooding:
- Hurricane Felix, a category 5 hurricane hitting the Yucatan Peninsula
- Hurricane Humberto, a fast-forming storm from the Gulf of Mexico, but remained a category 1 hurricane
October 2007
Severe wildfires in California, resulted from dry conditions and the Santa Ana winds, burning almost 1 million acres of land. Severe storms hit Texas, with damaging winds and rain, resulting in flooding. Severe thunderstorms and tornadoes hit Missouri and Florida. Tropical Storm Noel “became the deadliest storm of the 2007 season” making landfall in Haiti, causing flooding and landslides.
November 2007
New wildfires in Southern California, resulted in residents being evacuated after flames endangered thousands of homes. The intense Santa Ana winds drove smoke and fire to the West, blowing from the dry desert areas. According to scientists at UCLA, these winds develop in the winter or cool season, when the desert is cold. Hurricane Noel, a category 1 storm, hit Canada and Long Island with wind and heavy rain.
December 2007
Hurricane force winds and heavy rain hit the Northwest US, causing wind damage and flooding. A large snow and ice storm caused damage and power outages in the Midwest. La Niña was detected and monitored, due to continue and strengthen into early 2008.
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