22 July 2016
Temperatures in Iraq and Kuwait Flirt with World Record Heat at 54C
Posted by Dan Satterfield
From UK Met Office
The official hottest temp. ever recorded is 134 in Death Valley, California, but this record is not considered reliable by many meteorologists. Somewhere around 54C (or 129.2) is more likely, and we may have reached or passed it today in Kuwait and Iraq. More about this from Jason Samenow at Capital Weather Gang, and also from Jeff Masters at Weather Underground.
Below is global model data forecast of temps. for the region Friday. Notice it the forecast temps. are at the top of the chart! (NOAA Experimental FIM model)
Surface temps. from the NASA Terra Satellite at midday today. This image is not likely from the hottest point of the day, but you can see the hottest temps from Kuwait into Iraq.
Dan Satterfield has worked as an on air meteorologist for 32 years in Oklahoma, Florida and Alabama. Forecasting weather is Dan's job, but all of Earth Science is his passion. This journal is where Dan writes about things he has too little time for on air. Dan blogs about peer-reviewed Earth science for Junior High level audiences and up.