NOAA
2006-027 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: John Leslie 3/9/06 |
NOAA
News Releases 2006 NOAA Home Page NOAA Public Affairs |
The 2005-2006 Winter season was the fifth warmest December-February period on record for the contiguous United States, according to scientists at NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C. During the same time, drought conditions worsened in the Southwest and southern Plains, while the Northwest endured heavier-than-average precipitation. U.S.
Temperatures U.S.
Rainfall Exceptional drought was focused in an area from southern Texas through eastern Oklahoma, western Arkansas to southwest Missouri. As of March 6, Phoenix had reached 140 days without measurable rainfall, a string that eclipsed the previous record of 101 days, which occurred Sept. 23, 1999 through Jan. 1, 2000. Additionally, Tulsa, Okla., had its driest winter since records began in 1888, with just 1.59 inches of precipitation during the three-month period. The dryness exacerbated wildfire activity that burned over 500,000 acres across the country since January and approximately one million acres since the first of November, according to preliminary data from the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho. The vast majority of wildfire activity has been in the southern Plains, particularly Oklahoma and northeast Texas, where lack of precipitation and much warmer-than-average temperatures have prevailed this winter. By contrast, a series of powerful Pacific storms hit the Northwest and parts of the West during December and January and four western states (Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Nevada) were much wetter than average for the season. U.S.
Snow Several significant snow storms impacted the nation during the winter, including a powerful storm that hit the East Coast on Feb. 11-12. Areas of New Jersey, New York and Connecticut received more than 20 inches of snow during the event, which was classified as a Category 3 (“major”) snow storm by the new Northeast Snowfall Impact Scale. Also during the winter, Tropical Storm Zeta developed near the end of December becoming the 27th named storm during the record-setting 2005 Atlantic hurricane season. It weakened below tropical storm strength during the first week of January without making landfall. NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, 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 our nation’s coastal and marine resources. Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal partners and 60 countries to develop a global monitoring network that is as integrated as the planet it observes. Note to Editors: A digital version of the press release including links to data, graphics and analysis, in addition to further national and global data are online at: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/research/2006/feb/national.html On the Web: NOAA: http://www.noaa.gov NOAA
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