Thread: USA was warmer, wetter than average in 2013

USA was warmer, wetter than average in 2013

Doyle Rice, USA TODAY12:17 p.m. EST January 15, 2014

Seven separate disasters cost at least $1 billion in damages.



(Photo: NOAA)

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• California had its driest year on record
• Both Michigan and North Dakota saw their record wettest years
• The year was warmer than average but not as warm as 2012

The USA was warmer and wetter than average in 2013, according to a summary of the nation's weather and climate released today by scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The average temperature for the lower 48 during 2013 was 52.4 degrees, which was only 0.3 degrees above average, tying with 1980 as the 37th-warmest year in the 119-year period of record, NOAA reported.

Three of the seasons in 2013 -- the winter of 2012-13, summer, and autumn-- were warmer than average, while spring was cooler-than-average.

Although warmer than average, the year 2013 was notably cooler than 2012, which was the warmest year on record in the USA.

For the first time in over a decade, the number of record low temperatures was greater than the number of record high temperatures.

For the year, the average precipitation total for the lower 48 (also known as the contiguous U.S.) was 31.17 inches, which is 2.03 inches above the 20th century average. This made it the 21st-wettest year on record and the wettest since 2009.

California had its driest year on record, while Michigan and North Dakota were record wet. Alaska had its 3rd-wettest year.

In 2013, the U.S. had seven separate weather and climate disaster events with losses that exceeded $1 billion in damages. These events included five severe weather and tornado events, a major flood event, and the western drought / heat wave.

Overall, these events killed 109 people and delivered significant economic impact.

Global weather and climate data will be released by NOAA next week. Through November, the Earth was having its 4th-warmest year on record.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/weathe...-2013/4490871/

http://www.alipac.us/f19/%93-great-g...windle-295644/

"The average temperature for the lower 48 during 2013 was 52.4 degrees, which was only 0.3 degrees above average, tying with 1980 as the 37th-warmest year in the 119-year period of record, NOAA reported.

Three of the seasons in 2013 -- the winter of 2012-13, summer, and autumn-- were warmer than average, while spring was cooler-than-average.

Although warmer than average, the year 2013 was notably cooler than 2012, which was the warmest year on record in the USA.

For the first time in over a decade, the number of record low temperatures was greater than the number of record high temperatures."