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Written by: NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION

Published: 11 August 2024

Last month, areas of the U.S. sweltered through record heat and the impacts from raging wildfires, while others experienced the fury of Hurricane Beryl.

Also, through July, the U.S. has endured 19 separate billion-dollar weather and climate disasters — second only to 2023 for the highest amount for the first seven months of the year, according to experts from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information.

Below are more takeaways from NOAA's latest U.S. monthly climate report:

Climate by the numbers

July 2024

The average July temperature across the contiguous U.S. was 75.7 degrees F (2.1 degrees F above average), ranking as the 11th warmest in the 130-year record.

Temperatures were above average to record-warm across much of the contiguous U.S. California and New Hampshire had their warmest July on record, with 19 other states seeing their top-10 warmest July on record.

July precipitation across the U.S. was 3.04 inches – 0.26 of an inch above average – ranking in the wettest third of the historical record.

Precipitation was below average across much of the West, eastern parts of the Ohio Valley to the Mid-Atlantic, southern Florida and across portions of the Plains. West Virginia had its eighth-driest July on record. Conversely, precipitation was above average across much of the South, Southeast, Midwest, Great Lakes and northern New England. Illinois had its seventh wettest July, while North Carolina had its eighth wettest.

Year to date (YTD, January through July 2024)

The YTD average temperature for the contiguous U.S. was 54.4 degrees F (3.2 degrees F above average), ranking as the second-warmest YTD on record.

Temperatures were above average across nearly all of the contiguous U.S., while record-warm temperatures were observed in parts of the Northeast, Great Lakes, southern Plains and Mid-Atlantic.

New Hampshire and Vermont both saw their warmest January–July period. An additional 25 states had a top-five warmest year-to-date period. All states ranked in the warmest third of the historical record during this period.

The YTD precipitation total was 20.44 inches, 2.36 inches above average, which ranked 11th -wettest on record. Precipitation was above average across a large portion of the Upper Midwest, Northeast and Deep South, with Rhode Island, Minnesota and Wisconsin each ranking second wettest. Precipitation was below average across parts of the Northwest, northern Plains and west Texas during the January–July period.

Billion-dollar disasters (January–July)

There were 19 individual billion-dollar weather and climate events across the U.S. during the first seven months of 2024, including:

• One tropical cyclone event.
• One wildfire event.
• Two winter storm events.
• 15 severe weather events.

These events resulted in at least 149 fatalities and caused more than $49.6 billion in damages (Consumer Price Index (CPI)-adjusted). Since 1980, when NOAA began tracking these events in the U.S., the nation has experienced 395 separate weather and climate disasters, where overall damages/costs reached or exceeded $1 billion (based on the CPI adjustment to 2024). The total cost of these 395 events exceeds $2.770 trillion.

Other notable highlights from this report

• Beryl barrels into the record books: On July 1, Beryl became the earliest Category 5 hurricane and the second Category 5 on record during the month of July in the Atlantic Ocean.
• Wildfires scorching the West: The Park Fire, which started July 24, is currently the fourth-largest wildfire in California history, burning more than 429,000 acres. The Thompson Fire caused more than 13,000 people to evacuate around Oroville, California, from July 2-3.
• Bringing the heat: An early July heat wave broke records in the West: Palm Springs (124 degrees F on July 5); Las Vegas (120 degrees F on July 7); Redding, California (119 degrees F on July 6); Barstow, California (118 degrees F on July 7 and 8) and Palmdale, California (115 degrees F on July 6.)

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Written by: Jessica Barnett

Published: 11 August 2024

From Earth, one might be tempted to view the Sun as a unique celestial object like no other, as it’s the star our home planet orbits and the one our planet relies on most for heat and light.

But if you took a step back and compared the Sun to the other stars NASA has studied over the years, how would it compare? Would it still be so unique?

The Full-sun Ultraviolet Rocket SpecTrograph, or FURST, aims to answer those questions when it launches aboard a Black Brant IX sounding rocket Aug. 11 at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.

“When we talk about ‘Sun as a star’, we’re treating it like any other star in the night sky as opposed to the unique object we rely on for human life. It’s so exciting to study the Sun from that vantage point,” said Adam Kobelski, institutional principal investigator for FURST and a research astrophysicist at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

FURST will obtain the first high-resolution spectra of the “Sun as a star” in vacuum ultraviolet, or VUV, a light wavelength that is absorbed in Earth’s atmosphere meaning it can only be observed from space. Astronomers have studied other stars in the vacuum ultraviolet with orbiting telescopes, however these instruments are too sensitive to be pointed to the Sun. The recent advancements in high-resolution VUV spectroscopy now allow for the same observations of our own star, the Sun.

“These are wavelengths that Hubble Space Telescope is really great at observing, so there is a decent amount of Hubble observations of stars in ultraviolet wavelengths, but we don’t have comparable observations of our star in this wavelength range,” said Kobelski.

Marshall was the lead field center for the design, development, and construction of the Hubble Space Telescope.

Because Hubble is too sensitive to point at Earth’s Sun, new instruments were needed to get a spectrum of the entire Sun that is of a similar quality to Hubble’s observations of other stars. Marshall built the camera, supplied avionics, and designed and built a new calibration system for the FURST mission. Montana State University (MSU), which leads the FURST mission in partnership with Marshall, built the optical system, which includes seven optics that will feed into the camera that will essentially create seven exposures, covering the entire ultraviolet wavelength range.

Charles Kankelborg, a heliophysics professor at MSU and principal investigator for FURST, described the mission as a very close collaboration with wide-ranging implications.

“Our mission will obtain the first far ultraviolent spectrum of the Sun as a star,” Kankelborg said. “This is a key piece of information that has been missing for decades. With it, we will place the Sun in context with other stars.”

Kobelski echoed the sentiment.

“How well do the observations and what we know about our Sun compare to our observations or what we know of other stars?” Kobelski said. “You’d expect that we know all this information about the Sun – it’s right there – but it turns out, we actually don’t. If we can get these same observations or same wavelengths as we’ve observed from these other sources, we can start to connect the dots and connect our Sun to other stars.”

FURST will be the third launch led by Marshall for NASA’s Sounding Rocket Program within five months, making 2024 an active year for the program. Like the Hi-C Flare mission that launched in April, the sounding rocket will launch and open during flight to allow FURST to observe the Sun for approximately five minutes before closing and falling back to Earth’s surface. Marshall team members will be able to calibrate the instruments during launch and flight, as well as retrieve data during flight and soon after landing.

Kobelski and Kankelborg each said they’re grateful for the opportunity to fill the gaps in our knowledge of Earth’s Sun.

The launch will be livestreamed on Sunday, Aug. 11, with a launch window of 11:40 a.m.– 12:40 p.m. CDT. Tune in on NASA’s White Sands Test Facility Launch Channel.

The FURST mission is led by Marshall in partnership with Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana, with additional support from the NASA’s Sounding Rockets Office and the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research’s High Altitude Observatory. Launch support is provided at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico by NASA’s Johnson Space Center. NASA’s Sounding Rocket Program is managed by the agency’s Heliophysics Division.

Jessica Barnett writes for NASA.

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Written by: Michael Hsu

Published: 10 August 2024

New UC Cooperative Extension director has worked extensively with Native American communities, youth groups

LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — Growing up in Upper Lake, along the Northshore of Clear Lake, Matthew Barnes lived near several of the Lake County region's seven federally recognized tribes.

Although he counted several Native Americans among his diverse circle of childhood friends, and was very familiar with those communities, Barnes was nonetheless quite nervous when he was appointed in 2009 as the inaugural executive director of the Boys & Girls Club of the Pomo Nation.

Barnes — a non-Native of European and Filipino descent — vividly remembers the tribal administrator paying him a visit on one of his first days on the job.

“He said, ‘Hey, you have two ears and one mouth, so listen twice as much as you speak and you'll be fine,'” Barnes recalled. “And that's definitely stuck with me.”

That approach is continuing to guide Barnes in his new role as University of California Cooperative Extension director for Lake and Mendocino counties. He will guide and support research, outreach and education activities to meet the area's agriculture, natural resources, and youth and community development needs.

Since starting in May, Barnes has been getting a crash course from UCCE advisors and staff on viticulture research, pest management practices, 4-H camps, and a host of other projects and programs — while also meeting with local communities on the region's most pressing challenges.

“What I've been doing — and will continue to do — is just to listen and learn, and when I can add value to a conversation or project, then I'll do that,” Barnes said. “But leadership to me starts with the relationships we build — with our staff and with the community.”

Bringing a range of experiences in youth programs, social services

One area in which Barnes will certainly add value is developing youth and community programs.

During his time with Boys & Girls Club of the Pomo Nation, it was one of only three Boys & Girls Clubs established on tribal land in California. In that role, Barnes faced the unique challenge of integrating the Boys & Girls Club curriculum into a community for which it was not originally designed.

By adapting the curriculum to include culturally relevant topics, Barnes transformed the program into a model that eventually aided in the creation of a Native American-focused branch, Boys & Girls Clubs of America Native Services.

“This initiative now serves as a national standard for Boys & Girls Clubs on tribal lands,” Barnes said.

He later became a director of California Tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF, a direct cash assistance and supportive services program for Native American families in 17 counties across the state.

During his decade of TANF work, Barnes launched career development programs, alcohol and other drug counseling programs, and cultural revitalization initiatives. Some of the programs are still running and serving communities to this day.

“The trick is making those programs something that participants can see the value in,” Barnes explained. “And to do that, you go into the communities and talk to people and listen to what they need — instead of you telling them what they need.”

Barnes' experience partnering with Native American communities is just one of the many strengths he will bring to UCCE and UC Agriculture and Natural Resources.

“We're very excited to have Matthew join the UC ANR family,” said Lynn Schmitt-McQuitty, UC ANR's director of County Cooperative Extension. “His personal knowledge of Lake and Mendocino counties and his previous work with Indigenous populations will be a tremendous asset to extending and elevating our work.”

Immediately prior to joining UC ANR, Barnes served as director of Lake County's Upward Bound program, which helps students from three local high schools experience and prepare for higher education.

“Overall, what drives me personally is the opportunity to make an impact on communities, on youth, and on people in general through program development and management,” Barnes said.

Inspiring young people as a mentor

Barnes' passion for youth development — and the impetus for his bachelor's degree in social work from Cal Poly Humboldt — can be traced to his AmeriCorps experience while he was attending Mendocino College. For two years, he worked as a tutor for young people, in Lake County and then in Sonoma County, and saw firsthand the difference educators and mentors can make in their lives.

“You could say I kind of caught the bug — just seeing the light bulbs go on when you're helping a youth of that age,” Barnes said.

From there, Barnes took a position directing teen programs for the Boys and Girls Club of Healdsburg, where he began to fully appreciate the importance of trusted adults simply “being there” for young people as a listening ear for whatever they want to talk about.

Among the many teens Barnes worked with, “Rodrigo” was a middle schooler who was pegged by his school and community as someone who could “slip through the cracks.” Rodrigo was the last to go home at the end of each day, and Barnes would chat with him — answering his questions about life or just talking about a new rap album.

“I realized I was ‘that person' for him — that person outside his house, outside his school,” Barnes said.

Even after Barnes left the Boys and Girls Club, Rodrigo — bound for university — invited him to his high school graduation. Barnes said it is tremendously gratifying to know he had a “small role” in shaping the path for Rodrigo — and countless others.

“Their success is still theirs; it's not necessarily because of me,” Barnes added. “My job is to do what I can in the moment to hopefully plant some seeds that may sprout in the future.”

Settled in Middletown, not far from his hometown, where he and his wife are raising two children, Barnes is now positioned to help nurture a flourishing Lake County and resilient Mendocino County.

“I feel like my past experiences, both in life and my career, have prepared me for this,” Barnes said.

Michael Hsu is senior public information representative for University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources.