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NOAA: 2014 Weather Highlights to Date

Nov 28, 2014

Maps on temperatures, precipitation; Updates on drought and El Niño.

Climate Highlights - January to October 2014

  • The year-to-date national temperature was 55.4°F, 0.5°F above average. The average maximum (daytime) January-October temperature for the contiguous U.S. was 67.7°F, 0.4°F above the 20thcentury average. The average minimum (nighttime) January-October temperature was 43.2°F, 0.5°F above the 20th century average.
  • The West continued to be much warmer than average, where eight states had a top 10 warm year-to-date. California was record warm for January-October, with a temperature 4.2°F above its 20th century average. It is virtually certain that 2014 will be California's warmest year on record. States in the Mississippi River Valley continued to be much below average. No state was record cold.
  • The year-to-date national precipitation total was 26.04 inches, 0.68 inch above the 20th century average. Above-average precipitation dominated most of the northern tier of states, where Wisconsin and Michigan each had one of their top 10 wet year-to-date periods. Below-average precipitation was observed in parts of the West and Southern Plains.
  • The U.S. Climate Extremes Index (USCEI) for the January-October period was the sixth highest in the 105-year period of record at roughly one-and-a-half times the long-term average. The elevated year-to-date USCEI value was partially due to extremes in both warm daily maximum and minimum temperatures. The component that examines extremes in one-day precipitation totals was the fourth highest for the year-to-date period. The USCEI is an index that tracks extremes (falling in the upper or lower 10 percent of the record) in temperature, precipitation, drought and land-falling tropical cyclones across the contiguous United States.
  • Based on REDTI, the contiguous U.S. temperature-related energy demand during January-October was 18 percent above average and the 35th highest in the 1895-2014 period of record.

     

    Major climate events NOAA is closely monitoring: 

    • Persisting drought in parts of the West: The drought across the West, Southwest and Southern Plains showed little improvement in October. The next few months are critical for Western snowpack, a vital component of Western water resources. More information is available from the U.S. Drought Monitor.
    • Chances of El Niño occurring this year continue to decrease:According to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center, there is about a 3-in-5 chance of at least a weak El Niño developing during winter and lasting into spring 2015. El Niño conditions could impact temperature and precipitation patterns across the U.S. More information is available from NOAA's Climate Prediction Center.

      

    NOAA also released new global mapshttp://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/global/2014/10 showing that 2014 is on track to be the warmest year on record - 1.22 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th century average. Check out this one on temperature. 

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