Climate Monitoring / Climate of 2005 / February / Global / Help

Climate of 2005 - February in Historical Perspective


National Climatic Data Center
15 March 2005
Global Analysis / Global Hazards / United States / U.S. Drought / Extremes
Use these links to access detailed analyses of Global and U.S. data.

Global Highlights:

  • Based on preliminary data, global average combined land and sea surface temperature for December 2004 - February 2005 tied 1999 as the 4th warmest on record. February 2005 was 9th warmest on record.
  • December - February temperatures were above average from northern Europe into Siberia and also covered large parts of southern Asia, Africa, Australia and western Canada. Colder-than-average conditions occurred in much of eastern Canada, northwest Africa, parts of southern Europe and central Asia.
  • Precipitation during December - February was above average over the southwestern U.S., Alaska, and Scandinavia, with drier than average conditions over the majority of Australia, the Pacific Northwest of the U.S., and western Europe
  • Sea Surface Temperatures (SSTs) continued to be above normal in the central equatorial Pacific during February

Contents of this Section:
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The data presented in this report are preliminary. Ranks and anomalies may change as more complete data are received and processed. The most current data may be accessed via the Global Surface Temperature Anomalies page.
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Top of Page Introduction

The two maps below use anomalies that were calculated from the Global Historical Climatology Network (GHCN) data set of land surface stations using a 1961-1990 base period. During the boreal winter, there were above average temperatures across Scandinavia, Europe, western Russia, much of Africa, South America, China, Australia, and the majority of North America. Cooler than average temperatures covered much of central Asia, Spain, Algeria, and northeastern Canada. During February, there were above average temperatures over the entire continent of North America, southern Africa, Argentina, Scandinavia and northern Siberia and cooler than average temperatures across the Iberian peninsula, Mongolia, most of West Africa and Kazakhstan.
Current season's Temperature Dot map
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Current month's Temperature Dot map
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The mean position of upper level ridges of high pressure and troughs of low pressure (depicted by positive and negative 500 millibar height anomalies on the February 2005 and the December 2004 - February 2005 maps) are generally reflected by areas of positive and negative temperature anomalies at the surface, respectively. For other Global products see the Climate Monitoring Global Products page.

Images of sea surface temperature conditions are available for all weeks during 2005 at the weekly SST page

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Top of Page Temperature Rankings and Graphics

Current Month / Seasonal / Year-to-date
February Anomaly Rank Warmest Year on Record
Global
Land
Ocean
Land and Ocean 		+0.35°C (+0.63°F)
+0.42°C (+0.76°F)
+0.40°C (+0.72°F)		 34th warmest
2nd warmest
9th warmest		 1998 (+1.60°C/2.88°F)
1998 (+0.52°C/0.94°F)
1998 (+0.85°C/1.53°F)
Northern Hemisphere
Land
Ocean
Land and Ocean 		+0.27°C (+0.49°F)
+0.43°C (+0.77°F)
+0.37°C (+0.67°F) 		47th warmest
2nd warmest
17th warmest 		2002 (+1.99°C/3.58°F)
1998 (+0.54°C/0.97°F)
1998 (+1.09°C/1.96°F)
Southern Hemisphere
Land
Ocean
Land and Ocean 		+0.34°C (+0.61°F)
+0.44°C (+0.79°F)
+0.42°C (+0.76°F) 		18th warmest
7th warmest
5th warmest		 1983 (+0.902°C/1.62°F)
1998 (+0.55°C/1.00°F)
1983 (+0.60°C/1.08°F)

Global Land and Ocean Triad plot
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Global Hemisphere Triad plot
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December-February Anomaly Rank Warmest Year on Record
Global
Land
Ocean
Land and Ocean 		+0.63°C (+1.13°F)
+0.46°C (+0.83°F)
+0.51°C (+0.92°F)		 8th warmest
2nd warmest
4th warmest		 2002 (+1.07°C/1.93°F)
1998 (+0.56°C/1.01°F)
1998 (+0.70°C/1.26°F)
Northern Hemisphere
Land
Ocean
Land and Ocean 		+0.57°C (+1.03°F)
+0.50°C (+0.90°F)
+0.53°C (+0.94°F) 		16th warmest
2nd warmest
6th warmest 		2002 (+1.33°C/2.39°F)
1998 (+0.55°C/1.00°F)
1998 (+0.78°C/1.40°F)
Southern Hemisphere
Land
Ocean
Land and Ocean 		+0.70°C (+1.26°F)
+0.43°C (+0.77°F)
+0.48°C (+0.86°F) 		3rd warmest
5th warmest
5th warmest		 1983 (+0.73°C/1.31°F)
1998 (+0.57°C/1.03°F)
1998 (+0.60°C/1.08°F)

Global Land and Ocean Triad plot
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Global Hemisphere Triad plot
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January-February Anomaly Rank Warmest Year on Record
Global
Land
Ocean
Land and Ocean 		+0.68°C (+1.22°F)
+0.45°C (+0.81°F)
+0.52°C (+0.94°F)		 10th warmest
2nd warmest
7th warmest		 2002 (+1.46°C/2.63°F)
1998 (+0.53°C/0.95°F)
1998 (+0.74°C/1.33°F)
Northern Hemisphere
Land
Ocean
Land and Ocean 		+0.66°C (+1.19°F)
+0.47°C (+0.85°F)
+0.55°C (+1.00°F) 		17th warmest
2nd warmest
7th warmest 		2002 (+1.89°C/3.40°F)
1998 (+0.54°C/0.97°F)
2002 (+0.97°C/1.75°F)
Southern Hemisphere
Land
Ocean
Land and Ocean 		+0.68°C (+1.22°F)
+0.45°C (+0.81°F)
+0.49°C (+0.88°F) 		2nd warmest
6th warmest
5th warmest		 1983 (+0.76°C/1.37°F)
1998 (+0.55°C/1.00°F)
1998 (+0.57°C/1.03°F)

Global Land and Ocean Triad plot
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Global Hemisphere Triad plot
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The most current data may be accessed via the Global Surface Temperature Anomalies page.

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Top of Page Precipitation

The maps below represent anomaly values based on the GHCN data set of land surface stations using a base period of 1961-1990. During December 2004 - February 2005, above average precipitation fell across parts of Alaska, the Great Lakes region of the U.S., Japan and South Africa. Below average precipitation was observed in the Pacific Northwest and southeastern region of the U.S., the majority of Australia, western Europe, Thailand, and most of Brazil. During February, above average precipitation fell in southeastern China, southwestern U.S., Bolivia, eastern Europe and northern Mexico, while below average precipitation was observed in Australia, Indonesia, southern portions of Brazil and the Pacific Northwest of the U.S.

Precipitation Dot map in Millimeters for December-February
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Percent Precipitation in Millimeters for February
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Top of Page ENSO SST Analysis




Last week of the month's ENSO condtions Map
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  • SSTs continued to decrease in the eastern equatorial Pacific, but remained above normal in the central and western equatorial Pacific during February (shown in the adjacent animation of weekly sea surface temperature anomalies), as a weak warm phase ENSO (El Ni�o) continued . A comprehensive summary of February 2005 ENSO conditions can be found on the ENSO monitoring page. For the latest advisory on ENSO conditions go to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center (CPC) and the CPC ENSO Diagnostic Discussion

  • Images of sea surface temperature conditions are available for all weeks during 2005 at the weekly SST page

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Top of Page Troposphere

Current Month / Seasonal
The table below summarizes mid-tropospheric conditions for February 2005. These temperatures are for the atmospheric layer centered in the mid-troposphere (approximately 2-6 miles above the Earth's surface) which also includes a portion of the lower stratosphere. (The MSU channel used to measure mid-tropospheric temperatures receives about 25 percent of its signal above 6 miles).

Analysis of the satellite record that began in 1979 indicates that global temperatures are increasing in the mid-troposphere, but the magnitude of the trend differs based on the analysis methods used in adjusting for factors such as orbital decay and inter-satellite differences.

Scientists at the University of Washington {UW}, developed a method for quantifying the stratospheric contribution to the satellite record of tropospheric temperatures and applied an adjustment to the UAH and RSS temperature record that attempts to remove the satellite contribution (cooling influence) from the middle troposphere record. This method results in trends that are larger than the those from the respective source.

The UAH data indicate that February 2005 was the 11th warmest on record while RSS data indicate 7th warmest for February 2005. Both the UW-UAH and UW-RSS adjusted data indicate that February 2005 was the 6th warmest February on record. For boreal summer, UAH data indicate June-February 2005 as the 6th warmest while RSS, UW-UAH and UW-RSS data all indicate that the 2005 boreal summer was the 3rd warmest June-February on record. Records began in 1979.


February Anomaly Rank Warmest Year on Record
UAH mid-trop +0.18°C/0.32°F 5th warmest 1998 (+0.65°C/1.17°F)
*RSS mid-trop +0.32°C/0.58°F 4th warmest 1998 (+0.71°C/1.28°F)
**UW-UAH mid-trop +0.27°C/0.49°F 5th warmest 1998 (+0.80°C/1.44°F)
**UW-*RSS mid-trop +0.42°C/0.76°F 5th warmest 1998 (+0.86°C/1.55°F)
*Version 02_1
UAH mid-trop image
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RSS mid-trop image
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UW-UAH mid-trop image
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UW-RSS mid-trop image
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December-February Anomaly Rank Warmest Year on Record
UAH mid-troposphere +0.12°C/0.22°F 8th warmest 1998 (+0.44°C/0.79°F)
*RSS mid-troposphere +0.27°C/0.49°F 5th warmest 1998 (+0.50°C/0.90°F)
**UW-UAH mid-troposphere +0.21°C/0.38°F 6th warmest 1998 (+0.59°C/1.06°F)
**UW-*RSS mid-troposphere +0.36°C/0.65°F 5th warmest 1998 (+0.63°C/1.13°F)
*Version 02_1


UAH mid-trop image
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RSS mid-trop image
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UW-UAH mid-trop image
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UW-RSS mid-trop image
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Mid-tropospheric and lower stratospheric temperature data are collected by NOAA's TIROS-N polar-orbiting satellites and adjusted for time-dependent biases by the Global Hydrology and Climate Center at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH). An independent analysis is also performed by Remote Sensing Systems(RSS) and the University of Washington.

**An adjustment on both the RSS and UAH datasets provided by Fu et al. (2004) (University of Washington) is accomplished by deriving separate weighting coefficients for the MSU T2 and T4 over the tropics (30N to 30S), northern and southern hemispheres, and for the global mean by fitting radiosonde troposphere anomalies to radiosonde-simulated T2 and T4 anomalies over the period from 1958-2004 as

T850-300 = a0 + a2*T2 + a4*T4

where T850-300 is the radiosonde 850-300 hPa layer; T2 and T4 are the radiosonde simulated MSU brightness temperature anomalies; and a0, a2, and a4 are the coefficients derived from this linear regression.

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Top of Page Stratosphere

Current Month / Seasonal
The table below summarizes stratospheric conditions for February 2005. The stratosphere is located between 10-14 miles above the Earth's surface. Over the last decade, stratospheric temperatures have been below average in large part due to the depletion of ozone. The large increase in temperature in 1982 was caused by the volcanic eruption of El Chichon in Mexico, and the increase in 1991 was a result of the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo in the Philippines. Therefore the base period used is 1984-1990 which was chosen to avoid contamination by these eruptions.


February Anomaly Rank Warmest Year on Record
UAH stratosphere -0.35°C (-0.63°F) 8th coolest 1983 (+1.17°C/2.11°F)
*RSS stratosphere -0.33°C (-0.59°F) 12th coolest 1983 (+1.03°C/1.85°F)
*Version 02_1
UAH lower-strat image
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RSS lower-strat image
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December-February Anomaly Rank Warmest Year on Record
UAH stratosphere -0.44°C (-0.79°F) 9th coolest 1983 (+1.20°C/2.16°F)
*RSS stratosphere -0.36°C (-0.65°F) 10th coolest 1983 (+1.07°C/1.73°F)
*Version 02_1
UAH lower-strat image
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RSS lower-strat image
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Mid-tropospheric and lower stratospheric temperature data are collected by NOAA's TIROS-N polar-orbiting satellites and adjusted for time-dependent biases by the Global Hydrology and Climate Center at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH). An independent analysis is also performed by Remote Sensing Systems(RSS) and the University of Washington.

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For additional details on precipitation and temperatures in February, see the Global Hazards page .
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Top of Page References

Peterson, T.C. and R.S. Vose, 1997: An Overview of the Global Historical Climatology Network Database. Bull. Amer. Meteorol. Soc., 78, 2837-2849.
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For questions about this report, please contact:

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NOAA/National Climatic Data Center
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fax: 828-271-4328
email: Jay.Lawrimore@noaa.gov
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NOAA/National Climatic Data Center
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email: David.Easterling@noaa.gov
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Climate Monitoring / Climate of 2005 / February / Global / Help