JUNE TEMPERATURES HIGHER, PRECIPITATION NEAR AVERAGE July 14, 2005 � For June 2005, temperatures throughout the contiguous United States were higher than average, according to scientists at the NOAA National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C. Drier-than-average conditions prevailed from Texas to the Midwest and Northeast, while areas of the Southeast, northern Plains and West were wetter than average. Precipitation was near average for the nation as a whole. Also, the global land surface temperature was warmest on record for the month. (Click NOAA image for larger view of June 2005 state temperature rankings. Please credit “NOAA.”) U.S.
Temperatures: New York State had its warmest June on record, with 12 other states from Minnesota to Maine ranking much above normal for the month. Wisconsin, Michigan and Vermont had their second warmest June on record. Much of the anomalous warmth occurred in the second week of the month, when mean temperatures in parts of the Northeast quarter of the country exceeded 10 degrees F above average. The statewide temperature for Alaska was 3.0 degrees F (1.7 degrees C) above the 1971-2000 mean, the third warmest June since statewide records began in 1918. U.S.
Precipitation: By contrast, average-to-above-average rainfall in parts of the Pacific Northwest and northern Rockies provided additional relief to some areas, which have experienced drought for much of the past six years. As measured by the Palmer Drought Index, the percent of the West affected by moderate-to-extreme drought changed little since May, remaining at 11 percent. The area affected by moderate-to-extreme drought in the contiguous U.S. rose from 8 percent to 13 percent. June 2005 also became the most active early period on record for the Atlantic hurricane season, with four named storms (Arlene, Bret, Cindy and Dennis) forming by July 5. Globe: A heat wave, which began in May 2005 across areas of South Asia, continued into late June. Hundreds of people reportedly died as a result of temperatures reaching 113 degrees F to 122 degrees F (45 degrees C to 50 degrees C) in parts of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal. A heat wave in Italy in late June was the most severe in the northern part of the country since 2003 and drought conditions were widespread with the river Po at historically low levels. Conversely, seasonal flooding, which began in May 2005 across southern China, continued in June and impacted more than nine million people in sections of Hunan, Guangdong, Chongqing, Sichuan, Guizhou and Guangxi provinces. NOAA, an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce, is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and providing environmental stewardship of the nation's coastal and marine resources. Relevant Web Sites NOAA Drought Information Center NOAA National Climatic Data Center Media
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