Brutal heat building over the US Pacific Northwest and Western Canada right now will shatter many all-time heat records over the coming days.

The extent, intensity and longevity of this level of heat is absolutely mind-blowing.

THREAD
Yes, you are reading this correctly. Glowing white hot over +40°C (104°F) widely all along the western side of North America.

This is the animation in hourly detail. Let's not forget about how hot the nights will be.
The punishing heatwave has an incredible jet stream pattern.

The dome of heat will be encircled by the polar jet and this helps lift a sub-tropical jet branch almost into the Canadian Arctic.
An 'unfathomable temperature anomaly'.

'Approaching 25°C (>40°F) above normal for B.C.'

Parts of Washington State, like Seattle also looking at unprecedented anomalies. Places that don't necessarily have the infrastructure to deal with such heat.

The 'extreme forecast index' from @ecmwf tells us that this level of heat has never happened in their dataset.

The level of heat is off-the-scale.
Western Canada and US are losing glacier mass extremely quickly, one of the fastest changing environments on the planet.

More can be learnt about the change in glaciers across the globe here: wgms.ch/global-glacier…
The intensity of these heatwaves have the fingerprints of human-induced climate change written all over it.

This is how the average temperature of Canada 🇨🇦 and the USA 🇺🇸 have changed over the last 200 years or so.

Data via @BerkeleyEarth
We have to be careful how things are attributed. Would this level of heat be possible in our cooler previous climate?

I like this thread by @ClimateOfGavin explaining carefully how climate and extremes are connected.

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More from @ScottDuncanWX

22 Jun
Historic heat in the east and unseasonably cool in the west.

Europe has been split over the summer solstice, with enormous thunderstorms acting as the boundary between hot and cold.
A mesmerising meridional jet stream helps explain why the west-east contrasts exists.

Parts of Scotland had a frost last night while Finland nearly broke its all-time June heat record today.
Which side have you been on over the last few days?

Hot?
Cold?
Thundery?

GIF answers definitely accepted.

I will start...

London ⬇️
Read 5 tweets
21 Jun
The Arctic heatwave ongoing in Siberia is contributing to continued record-low sea ice extent in the Laptev Sea. It reached a staggering +31.4°C (88.5°F) at 73 degrees north.

NASA satellite imagery just in captures the break-up in exceptional detail.

THREAD ImageImage
This is the Laptev Sea ice extent up to 20 June 2021.

2020 was by far the most extreme melt season in the area. But this year continues to break that record comfortably. ImageImage
This is the weather observations from earlier today in the area.

For those interested, you can access these maps at: ogimet.com/cgi-bin/ogimet… ImageImage
Read 7 tweets
17 Jun
Heatwaves are hitting headlines all across the Northern Hemisphere right now but parts of the Arctic are about to get pummelled by ferocious heat.

This will accelerate ice melt in places already at record low levels.

THREAD
One of the places getting hit the hardest is around the Laptev Sea (north of Russia).

Air temperatures around the fringes of the Arctic sheets are expected to approach +30°C for consecutive days.

Note the open water already. This will allow for heat to become stored by the sea.
In the past, the Laptev Sea would be completely covered or mostly covered even towards the end of melt season.

This year has entered uncharted territory and this upcoming heatwave is likely to take the extreme further into the record books.

Read 7 tweets
16 Jun
Oman 🇴🇲 just recorded its hottest day in history.

Temperatures soared to +51.6°C (124.9°F). This is +0.8°C above the old all-time record for the country.

Numerous intense heatwaves unfolding across the Northern Hemisphere right now.
H/t @extremetemps who has been following the heatwave very closely. The previous record was tied on multiple dates.

Now we have a clear national record.

Interactive observations available on OGIMET: ogimet.com/cgi-bin/ogimet… ImageImage
Read 4 tweets
14 Jun
Dude, where's my car? 🤔

A car dramatically disappears into the ground in Mumbai's Ghatkopar 🇮🇳 after heavy rainfall.

A whole new meaning to underground parking.

Hats off to @trevorjdunn for that witty response.
The fact that the car manages to disappear entirely is actually terrifying.
Read 5 tweets
13 Jun
The two hottest Mays *on record* for Russia 🇷🇺 have occurred in the last two years.

Records go back to 1891. This is mind-blowing.

May 2021 was 2nd hottest behind 2020.

2020 2021
The temperature change in Russia over the last couple of centuries is staggering. Data via @BerkeleyEarth.

May 2020 and May 2021 also attached (global view) for comparison with data from @CopernicusEU
Read 4 tweets

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