WARM SUMMER IN U.S. ENDS WITH RECORD HEAT IN SOUTH,
WIDESPREAD DROUGHT CONTINUES IN SOUTHEAST, WEST
The
June-August 2007 summer season ended with a long-lasting heatwave that
set more than 2,000 new daily high temperature records across the southern
and central U.S., according to scientists at NOAA’s National Climatic
Data Center in Asheville, N.C. The record heat helped make this the
second warmest August and the sixth warmest summer on record for the
contiguous U.S., based on preliminary data. At the end of August, drought
affected almost half of the continental U.S. The global surface temperature
was seventh warmest on record for the June-August period.
U.S.
Temperature Highlights for Summer
- For
summer 2007 (June-August), the average temperature for the continental
U.S., based on preliminary data, was 73.8 degrees F (23.2 degrees
C), which was 1.7 degrees F (1.0 dgrees C) above the 20th century
mean and the sixth warmest summer since national records began in
1895.
-
This was the warmest summer for Utah and Nevada and it ranked in the
top 10 warmest summers on record for 11 other states. Alaska had its
fourth warmest summer on record. Only Texas and Oklahoma were cooler
than average.
-
The much warmer-than-average conditions in the Southeast and throughout
the West contributed to above average residential energy demand for
the nation. Using the Residential Energy Demand Temperature Index
(REDTI
- an index developed at NOAA to relate energy usage to climate), the
nation's residential energy demand was approximately 8 percent higher
than what would have occurred under average climate conditions for
the season.
U.S.
Temperature Highlights for August
- For
the contiguous U.S., the average temperature for August was 75.4degrees
F (24.1degrees C), which was 2.7degrees F (1.5 degrees C) above the
20th century mean and the second warmest August on record, based on
preliminary data.
- A
severe heatwave persisted throughout much of the month across southern
and central parts of the nation. More than 30 all-time high temperature
records were tied or broken and more than 2,000 new daily high temperature
records were established.
-
Raleigh-Durham, N.C., equaled its all-time high of 105 degrees F Aug.
21. Columbia, S.C., had 14 days in August with temperatures over 100
degrees F, which broke the record of 12 set in 1900. Cincinnati, Ohio,
reached 100 degrees F five days during August, a new record for the
city.
-
This was the warmest August in the 113-year record for West Virginia,
Kentucky, Tennessee, the Carolinas, Georgia, Alabama, Florida and
Utah. For the Southeast, the length, severity and area of the heat
wave led to comparisons with events in 1983 and 1954.
U.S.
Precipitation Highlights for Summer
- Overall,
the summer was drier than average for the nation. Rainfall was below
average in the Southeast, mid-Atlantic, Ohio Valley, the northern
Plains and Northern Rockies.
-
Texas had its wettest summer on record and Oklahoma its fourth wettest.
The unusually wet period was punctuated by heavy and persistent rains
in June and July that produced devastating flooding in the region.
In the Southeast, this was the driest summer since records began in
1895 for North Carolina and the second driest for Tennessee.
- A
hot and dry July in the Northern Rockies contributed to a fast start
to the wildfire season, and August remained very active as warmer
and drier-than-average conditions persisted in many areas. By early
September, more than 7 million acres had burned across the nation,
most of it in the western U.S.
U.S.
Precipitation Highlights for August
- The
record warmth and below-average rainfall in August led to an expansion
of drought in the Southeast and parts of the mid-Atlantic and Ohio
Valley. At the end of August, drought affected approximately 83 percent
of the Southeast and 46 percent of the contiguous U.S., according
to the federal U.S. Drought Monitor.
-
Severe drought persisted throughout much of the West and an area that
stretched from northern Minnesota to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.
- Part
of the Midwest received record precipitation in August, as a persistent
frontal system provided a focus for heavy rain and thunderstorms.
Precipitation was two to three times normal for the month in a wide
band across the central Midwest, and major flooding occurred in parts
of a region that stretched from southeastern Minnesota to central
Ohio. Iowa had its wettest August on record.
-
Tropical
Storm Erin made landfall near Lamar, Texas, Aug. 16, bringing
heavy rains to areas already much wetter than normal for the year.
Widespread flooding ensued in southern Texas and Oklahoma.
Global
Highlights
- The
combined global land and ocean surface temperature for August was
the eighth warmest on record, 0.85 dgrees F/0.47 degrees C above the
20th century mean. The global surface temperature for June-August
(Northern Hemisphere summer) was the seventh warmest since records
began in 1880.
-
Separately, the global land-surface temperature was the third warmest
for August and the fifth warmest for boreal summer. The August ocean-surface
temperature was the ninth warmest in the 128-year period of record
as cooler-than-average conditions in the central and eastern equatorial
Pacific indicated the ongoing development of a La Niña episode.
- Hurricane
Dean, the first major hurricane of the Atlantic hurricane season made
landfall as a category 5 storm near Costa Maya, Mexico Aug. 21. This
was the first Atlantic Basin hurricane to make landfall as a category
5 storm since Hurricane Andrew struck Florida in August 1992.
-
Heavy monsoon-related rainfall that began in June continued to affect
parts of South Asia in August. Millions of people were affected by
flooding and thousands of flood-related deaths were reported.
The
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S.
Commerce Department, is celebrating 200
years of science and service to the nation. From the establishment
of the Survey of the Coast in 1807 by Thomas Jefferson to the formation
of the Weather Bureau and the Commission of Fish and Fisheries in the
1870s, much of America’s scientific heritage is rooted in NOAA.
NOAA
is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through
the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and
information service delivery for transportation, and by providing environmental
stewardship of our nation's coastal and marine resources. Through the
emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS),
NOAA is working with its federal partners, more than 60 countries and
the European Commission to develop a global monitoring network that
is as integrated as the planet it observes, predicts and protects.
Note
to Editors: August and June-August 2007 data, graphics and
analysis, are online at: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/research/2007/aug/aug07.html.
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