Contact: Stephanie Kenitzer FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Pat Viets June 10, 1997
Nationally, spring 1997 was the 26th driest and the 50th warmest March through May period since detailed records began in 1895. However, temperatures for only April through May were the ninth coolest on record, including near-record cold in the central and southeastern United States, according to preliminary data released by the Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The national average temperature for spring 1997 was 51.4 degrees Fahrenheit, based on preliminary data compiled by NOAA's National Climatic Data Center, in Asheville, N.C., and Climate Prediction Center in Camp Springs, Md.
The coolest spring on record occurred in 1917 with a national average temperature of 48.1 degrees Fahrenheit. The warmest spring on record, with a national average temperature of 54.7 degrees Fahrenheit, occurred in 1910. The 1961-1990 normal spring temperature is 51.6 degrees Fahrenheit.
Abnormally warm March temperatures counterbalanced abnormally cool April and May temperatures in the central and eastern states. Although it was the 50th warmest March-May period; the April-May period was the ninth coolest since 1895. For the nation, March 1997 was the 13th warmest month and April was the sixth coolest month on record. May 1997 was the 33rd coolest such month since 1895.
"This spring as a whole was pretty typical compared to NOAA's historical database," said William Brown, meteorologist from the National Climatic Data Center. "However, when you only average the months of April and May, it was a very cool period across much of the eastern two-thirds of the country."
"Sixteen states recorded one of their five coldest April through May periods on record," added David Miskus, meteorologist with the Climate Prediction Center. "The main reason behind the unusually low temperatures was the dominant April-May upper-air pattern of ridging or high pressure over the West and troughing or low pressure over the East. This allowed unseasonably cold Canadian air to frequently push much farther south than normal into the Nation east of the Rockies."
High pressure over the West kept that area dry and warm. This pattern also occurred during much of summer and winter 1996, added Miskus.
This was the fourth warmest March-May period for the West region states of California and Nevada. It was the 20th warmest spring for the Southwest region and the 23rd warmest spring in 103 years of record for the Northwest region. This year also marked the 16th coolest spring for the Central region, 18th coolest spring for the Northeast region, and the 21st coolest spring for the South region.
It was the 45th coolest spring for the Southeast region. Breaking this statistic down on a monthly basis, however, it was ninth warmest March, the 11th coolest April, and the second coolest May since records began in 1895. The two-month period, April-May 1997 was the third coolest such period on record in the Southeast.
It was the 16th coolest March-May period for the Central region. The Central region had the 27th warmest March on record, and the 10th coolest April and the third coolest May since 1895. The two-month period, April-May 1997, was the third coolest such period since records began for the region.
It was the 21st coolest March-May period for the South region, which had the 23rd warmest March, the third coolest April, and the tenth coolest May since 1895. The two-month period, April-May 1997, was the fourth coolest such period on record.
The national average precipitation for the 48 contiguous states was 6.97 inches compared to the 30-year average of 7.76 inches. The driest spring on record, in 1925, recorded 5.32 inches of precipitation while the wettest spring, in 1973, had 10.15 inches of precipitation. It was the fifth driest spring on record for the West region and the 12th driest Spring since 1895 for the East-North-Central region.
NOAA's National Climatic Data Center is the world's largest active archive of weather data. NOAA's Climate Prediction Center monitors, analyzes and predicts climate events ranging from weeks to seasons.
The preliminary temperature and precipitation rankings are available from the National Climatic Data Center at 704-271-4800 or on the World Wide Web at: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/publications/cvb/spring97.html
Graphics highlighting the state-by-state rankings is available from the Climate Prediction Center on the Internet at: http://nic.fb4.noaa.gov:80/products/analysis_monitoring/GLOB_CLIM/2monthtranks.gif
A summary of the April 6-May 27 cool period is also available at: http://nic.fb4.noaa.gov:80/products/analysis_monitoring/CLIM_HIGH/ecuscool.html3
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