After we all but skipped winter, had an abnormally warm, balmy, and early spring, and then sweltered through one of the hottest summers in our local history, it should come as no surprise that we are on pace to have the warmest year ever…not just in our local records, but for the whole nation.  These national records go back to 1895 and our local records go back to the late 1880s, so for us to experience this type of climatic event is a huge deal.  Think of how many generations have come and gone in those 117 years and all of the weather data they’ve collected.  Our average temperatures in 2012 are warmer than any of them!  The National Climatic Data Center recently issued a statement on their webpage dealing with this warm subject, displaying a series of maps that reflect the unusual climate facts and figures for the various regions across the country and the nation as a whole.

Mean temperature averages in the red states (the majority of the US) are at record levels.

The outlook for the rest of our year continues to call for warmer than normal temperatures and drier than normal conditions.  However, it remains to be seen if that forecast will in fact verify and to what extent this warmth will continue to possiby lead us to round out the year as the number one ranked year in climate history (in terms of heat.)

Posted under climate