2012: The Hottest Year On Record

[Penny Lane 8,159]

http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/08/us/extreme-weather/index.html?hpt=hp_t2

The past year saw a mild winter give way to a balmier-than-normal spring, followed by a sweltering summer and high temperatures that lingered into the fall, all punctuated by extreme drought and intense storms.

Now 2012 is officially in the books as the hottest year on record for the continental United States, the U.S. government announced Tuesday. The year's average temperature of 55.3 degrees Fahrenheit across the Lower 48 was more than 3.2 degrees warmer than the average for the 20th century, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration reported.

That topped the previous record, set in 1998, by a full degree. Every state in the contiguous United States saw above-average temperatures in 2012, with 19 of them setting annual records of their own, NOAA said.

And the year's widespread drought, tropical storms and tornado outbreaks racked up a heavy toll around the country, pushing 2012 to the No. 2 ranking on the agency's Climate Extremes Index.

The United States saw a total of 11 disasters that topped $1 billion in losses, including a lingering drought that covered 61% of the country at one point, NOAA said.

That drought shriveled crops across the American farm belt and turned the forests of the Mountain West into stands of tinder that exploded into catastrophic wildfires over the summer, scorching millions of acres.

Though parts of the country like the Pacific Northwest and the Gulf Coast had wetter-than-average years, average precipitation was nearly 2.6 inches below normal -- the 15th driest since records started being kept in the late 19th century, according to NOAA.

The two remaining U.S. states, remote Alaska and Hawaii, saw a mixed picture in 2012.

Alaska was slightly cooler and wetter than normal, while nearly two-thirds of Hawaii's island chain faced moderate to exceptional drought conditions by December, NOAA said.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

US roasts to hottest year on record by landslide

WASHINGTON — America set an off-the-charts heat record in 2012.

A brutal combination of a widespread drought and a mostly absent winter pushed the average annual U.S. temperature last year up to 55.32 degrees Fahrenheit, the government announced Tuesday. That's a full degree warmer than the old record set in 1998.

Breaking temperature records by an entire degree is unprecedented, scientists say. Normally, records are broken by a tenth of a degree or so.

The National Climatic Data Center's figures for the entire world won't come out until next week, but through the first 11 months of 2012, the world was on pace to have its eighth warmest year on record.

Scientists say the U.S. heat is part global warming in action and natural weather variations. The drought that struck almost two-thirds of the nation and a La Nina weather event helped push temperatures higher, along with climate change from man-made greenhouse gas emissions, said Katharine Hayhoe, director of the Climate Science Center at Texas Tech University. She said temperature increases are happening faster than scientists predicted.

"These records do not occur like this in an unchanging climate," said Kevin Trenberth, head of climate analysis at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colo. "And they are costing many billions of dollars."

Last year was 3.2 degrees warmer than the average for the entire 20th century. Last July was the also the hottest month on record.

Nineteen states set yearly heat records in 2012. Alaska, however, was cooler than average.

U.S. temperature records go back to 1895 and the yearly average is based on reports from more than 1,200 weather stations across the Lower 48 states.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. last year also had the second most weather extremes on record, behind 1998. There were 11 different disasters that caused more than $1 billion in damage, including Superstorm Sandy and the drought, NOAA said.

The drought was the worst since the 1950s and slightly behind the dust bowl of the 1930s, meteorologists said. During a drought, the ground is so dry that there's not enough moisture in the soil to evaporate into the atmosphere to cause rainfall. And that means hotter, drier air.

The last time the country had a record cold month was December 1983.

http://xfinity.comcast.net/articles/news-national/20130108/US.SCI.Hottest.Year/

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

It's a tie!

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/408211-alaska-falling-behind-the-rest-of-the-nation/

[Penny Lane 8,159]

Well damn!

Mine has more comments, so I win

[Darnell 8,478]

Oh No !

Anxiously awaiting Kip's feedback on this one !

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Anxiously awaiting Kip's feedback on this one !

He is more interested in gay guns.

[james&olya 1,121]

Ah, Kip is just afraid Alaska is going to get so cold that when Kira is gone he may be forced to snuggle close to some guy to stay warm!!

[Ontarkie 13,913]

~~~~Thread merged and moved to OFF Topic ~~~~

Edited January 9, 2013 by Kathryn41

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

~~~~Thread merged and moved to OFF Topic as the Weather does what it pleases~~~~

So, the moderator staff does not believe in man made global warming? That would certainly explain Stephen's frustration.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

The moderation staff does not believe that a statement about the year being the hottest on record makes this a political or religious thread. This falls under the heading of science and meteorology, with which I will admit some politicians do seem to have problems. When the discussion devolves to 'politicians did this and shouldn't have so its their fault' or "politicians didn't do this and should have so its their fault' or 'God/religion did this and shouldn't have so it's their fault' or 'God/religion didn't do this and should have so it's their fault' then the discussion may fall into the environment (pun intended) of Politics and Religion. Until then, the reporting of factual information about the weather/environment does not make a thread political or religious.

Edited January 9, 2013 by Kathryn41

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

The moderation staff does not believe that a statement about the year being the hottest on record makes this a political or religious thread. This falls under the heading of science and meteorology, with which I will admit some politicians do seem to have problems. When the discussion devolves to 'politicians did this and shouldn't have so its their fault' or "politicians didn't do this and should have so its their fault' or 'God/religion did this and shouldn't have so it's their fault' or 'God/religion didn't do this and should have so it's their fault' then the discussion may fall into the environment (pun intended) of Politics and Religion. Until then, the reporting of factual information about the weather/environment does not make a thread political or religious.

I see. So the moderator staff does not believe in God made global warming either.

[Karee 4,189]

Ah, Kip is just afraid Alaska is going to get so cold that when Kira is gone he may be forced to snuggle close to some guy to stay warm!!

Image

[Darnell 8,478]

Where's Kip ? It's a new day; he wasn't made redundant today, was he ?

KIP!

[Darnell 8,478]

Followup..

Dear Kip - I'm so sorry you were made redundant today. It really sucks, but you knew it was coming.

I wish you the best, whatever yer doing.