2007 STARTS WARMER, DRIER THAN AVERAGE FOR MUCH OF U.S.,
GLOBAL AVERAGE TEMPERATURE SECOND WARMEST ON RECORD SINCE JANUARY
Warmer-
and drier-than-average conditions dominated much of the United States
during the first half of 2007, according to scientists at NOAA's National
Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C. The lack of precipitation
led to widespread drought, which triggered an early start to the wildfire
season, mounting crop losses and local drought emergencies. However,
drought in the southern and central Plains gave way to heavy and persistent
rains which led to devastating flooding from Texas to Kansas in June.
Meanwhile, the global average temperature was the second warmest on
record for the January-June six-month period.
U.S.
Temperature Highlights
-
Temperatures
were much warmer than average from the mid-Atlantic and Midwest
to the northern Plains and throughout the West. In the contiguous
U.S. only Texas was cooler than average, while near-average temperatures
were widespread across the South and Northeast. Alaska was 0.3°
F (0.2° C) below the 1971-2000 mean for the January-June period.
- June 2007 was
the 23rd warmest June on record, 1.4° F (0.8° C) above the
20th century average of 69.3° F. The warmer-than-average June
temperature helped increase residential energy needs 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 1.5 percent higher than
what would have occurred under average climate conditions for the
month.
U.S.
Precipitation Highlights
-
The
year began with widespread severe drought in the southern and central
Plains, Wyoming, the western High Plains, and northern Minnesota.
Above average precipitation helped ease or end drought in many of
these areas by mid year, but this was not enough to overcome an
extremely dry winter and spring throughout most of the West. Meanwhile,
much-below-average precipitation caused drought to develop in the
Deep South.
-
Four
of the first six months of the year were wetter, or much wetter,
than average in Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. The wet period was punctuated
by heavy and persistent rains in June that produced devastating
flooding in the region and the continued threat of flooding into
early July. Monthly rainfall totals exceeded one foot in some locations.
-
Much
of the West and the South suffered from extreme drought conditions
brought about by months of below average precipitation.
-
An
extremely low winter and spring snowpack throughout the West combined
with above average temperatures in the spring and early summer set
the stage for an early start to the wildfire season.
-
It
was the second driest January-June and driest April-June on record
in the Southeast. By the end of June, 65 percent of the region was
in drought. Alabama was hardest hit, with 86 percent of the state's
pasture and range lands in poor -- or very poor -- condition in
early July, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The
entire state was declared a drought disaster area.
-
The
combined global land and ocean surface temperature was the second
warmest on record for the January-June six-month period. Separately,
the global January-June land-surface temperature was warmest on
record, while the ocean-surface temperature was the sixth warmest
in the 128-year period of record.
-
For
June, the combined global land and ocean surface temperature was
the fourth warmest on record as neutral El Nino/Southern Oscillation
(ENSO)
conditions contributed to an overall lower global ranking for the
month.
NOAA
is celebrating 200
years of science and service to the nation in 2007. From the establishment
of the Survey of the Coast in 1807 by Thomas Jefferson to the formation
of the Weather Bureau and the Bureau of Commercial 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 70 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: More complete information, including links to
data, graphics and analysis, is online at: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/research/2007/jun/jun07.html.
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