NOAA: June 2016 hottest June on record for U.S. By Dalia Ibrahim
Tuesday, July 19, 2016, 9:03 - El Nino may have dissipated, but above-average temperatures continue to dominate coast to coast. According to NOAA’s latest monthly climate report, June 2016 was the warmest June on record for the contiguous United States dating back to 1895. The June temperature for the contiguous United States soared in at 71.8°F, or 3.3°F above the twentiethcentury average, surpassing the previous record of 71.6°F set in 1933, experts noted. The year-to-date (January-June) temperature, meanwhile, was 50.8°F, 3.2°F above the twentieth-century average, making it the third warmest on record. The map below shows June temperatures for all climate divisions in the Lower 48 states. Places where average temperatures were above 50°F are shown in shades of orange and red.
In May, high-elevation climate divisions in the Northern Rockies were colored in shades of blue, indicating average temperatures below 50°, but by June, no hint of those cooler colors remained, noted climatologists. The warm and dry conditions across the West created ideal wildfire conditions with several large fires impacting the region, stated the agency. The Erskine fire charred nearly 48,000 acres in Southern California, destroying more than 280 homes and killing two people. According to the June 28 U.S. Drought Monitor report, 16.2 percent of the contiguous U.S. was in drought, up about 3.5 percent compared to the end of May. Drought conditions worsened across parts of the Southeast, Northwest and Northeast with drought developing in the Northeast and parts of the Upper Midwest and Northern Plains. Drought conditions remain entrenched across much of California.
A whole new level of global heat Tallying up global temperatures so far for the year, 2016 is revealing a whole new level of heat that our planet is experiencing.
2016 monthly temperatures compared to the previous 7 record-setting years. Credit: NOAA Rather than showing month-by-month temperatures, the above graph tracks the year-to-date temperatures - first January, then January-February, then January-March, and so on, until the latest January-June entry. Based on this, 2016 is well above the previous hottest years, and regardless of the switch to ENSOneutral conditions in the Pacific, and the likely development of a La Niña in the equatorial Pacific Ocean by sometime in the summer, this year is still on track to be the next hottest year in the record books.
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