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Subj: 5th Warmest Spring Announced
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WIDESPREAD WARMTH LEADS TO THE FIFTH WARMEST SPRING FOR UNITED STATES,
DRIEST SPRING ON RECORD ACROSS THE SOUTHEAST WORSENS DROUGHT
June 14, 2007
The fifth warmest spring on record for the contiguous United States
occurred in 2007, according to scientists at the NOAA National Climatic
Data Center in Asheville, N.C. A severe-weather outbreak in the nation’s
midsection brought devastating tornadoes in early May, while a record-dry
spring in the Southeast led to worsening drought conditions. Continued
extreme dryness in May east of the Mississippi River and in the Far West
expanded the drought area. The global land-surface temperature was the
highest for the month of May, as well as for boreal spring. The combined
global land- and ocean-surface temperature was fourth warmest for May, and
tied with 1998 as the warmest January-May period.
U.S. Temperature Highlights for May
For the contiguous United States, the average temperature for May was
63.14 degrees F (17.30 degrees C), which was 2.08 degrees F (1.16 degrees
C) above the 20th century mean and the 11th warmest May on record, based
on preliminary data.
In May, most of the contiguous United States was warmer-than-normal with
only Texas and South Carolina colder-than-normal for the month.
Alaska had its 16th warmest May since official records began in 1918, 1.40
degrees F (0.78 degrees C) above normal. However, spring overall was the
38th coolest for the state, 1.73 degrees F (0.96 degrees C) below normal.
Warmer-than-average May temperatures in the northern United States
combined with cooler-than-average temperatures in the Southeast and parts
of Texas created milder overall conditions and helped decrease 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 4.4 percent lower than what would have occurred under
average climate conditions for the month.
U.S. Temperature Highlights for Spring
For spring 2007 (March-May), the average temperature for the continental
United States was 54.38 degrees F (12.43 degrees C), which was 2.49
degrees F (1.38 degrees C) above the 20th century mean and the fifth
warmest spring on record, based on preliminary data. The four warmest
springs in order are 1910, 2004, 2000 and 1934.
This was the third warmest spring for Wyoming and Missouri, while it was
the fourth for Illinois and Nevada. This was the fifth warmest spring on
record for the Central and Western North-Central regions of the country.
Spring energy demand was closer to normal nationwide based on the REDTI
(approximately 1 percent lower than average). The effect of near-average
to cooler-than-average spring temperatures on energy demand for heating in
the heavily populated Northeast and parts of the South was offset by
warmer-than-average temperatures in the central and western United States.
U.S. Precipitation Highlights for May
For May, the average precipitation for the continental United States was
2.65 inches (67.31 mm), which is 0.22 inches (5.67 mm) below the 20th
century mean, but near the long-term average, based on preliminary data.
May 2007 was the driest on record for Georgia, while it was third driest
for Ohio and Alabama, and the Southeast Region overall. By contrast, parts
of the High Plains and Southwest were wetter than normal in May. Texas,
New Mexico, North Dakota, and South Dakota all much wetter-than-normal for
the month. (Click NOAA image for larger view of May 2007 statewide
precipitation rankings.
The average spring precipitation for the contiguous United States was 6.91
inches (175.51 mm), which was 0.80 inches (20.24 mm) below the 20th
century mean and the 23rd driest spring in the observed climate record
dating back to 1895.
This was the driest spring on record for Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama
and Georgia. On the regional scale, the middle third of the United States
was wetter or much wetter-than-normal, while the Southeast Region had its
driest spring on record.
Approximately 34 percent of the contiguous United States was in
moderate-to-exceptional drought in early June, according to the federal
U.S. Drought Monitor.
Drought impacts have included low streamflows and mountain snowpack,
parched soils and pastureland, and numerous wildfires. The dry conditions
across the Southeast worsened wildfire activity during May across Florida
and southern Georgia.
Severe-to-extreme drought conditions were felt across the Southeast, with
drought spreading across parts of Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia,
Tennessee, Florida, and North Carolina.
The past 12 month period was driest on record for California and Nevada.
The abnormally dry conditions have led to severe-to-extreme drought from
the southern California coast eastward to Arizona and north along the
Sierra Nevada Mountains into the Great Basin.
Global Highlights
The combined global land and ocean surface temperature for May was the
fourth warmest on record, 0.95 degrees F/0.53 degrees C above the 20th
century mean. The global surface temperature for the combined January-May
period tied with 1998 as the warmest January-May on record.
Separately, the global land-surface temperature was the warmest on record
for May, as well as for boreal spring (March-May) and the year-to-date
period. The May ocean-surface temperature was the ninth warmest in the
128-year period of record as near-average to cooler-than-average
conditions were present across the equatorial Pacific.
During the past century, global surface temperatures have increased at a
rate near 0.11 degrees F (0.06 degrees C) per decade, but the rate of
increase has been three times larger since 1976, or 0.32 degrees F (0.18
degrees C) per decade, with some of the largest temperature increases
occurring in the high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S.
Commerce Department, is celebrating 200 years of science and service to
the nation. From the establishment of the Survey of the Coast in 1807 by
Thomas Jefferson to the formation of the Weather Bureau and the Commission
of Fish and 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 60 countries and the
European Commission to develop a global monitoring network that is as
integrated as the planet it observes, predicts and protects.
Media Contact:
John Leslie, NOAA Satellite and Information Service, (301) 713-1265
www.noaa.gov
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