On Feb 14, 1:02 pm, "Robatoy" wrote:
Up to my groin in snow.
Just a few drifts.
*poke, poke, poke*
"There's a car in here somewhere..."
http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2007/s2798.htm
GLOBAL AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR JANUARY HIGHEST ON RECORD, U.S.
TEMPERATURE NEAR AVERAGE FOR MONTH
Feb. 16, 2007 - The combined global land and ocean surface temperature
was the highest for any January on record, according to scientists at
the NOAA National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C. The most
unusually warm conditions were in the mid- and high-latitude land
areas of the Northern Hemisphere. In the contiguous United States, the
monthly mean temperature was near average in January. (Click NOAA
image for larger view of January 2007 global temperature anomalies.
Please credit "NOAA.")
Global Temperatures
The combined global land and ocean surface temperature was 1.53
degrees F (0.85 degrees C) warmer than the 20th century average of
53.6 degrees F (12.0 degrees C) for January based on preliminary data,
surpassing the previous record set in 2002 at 1.28 degrees F (0.71
degrees C) above the average. Last month's record was greatly
influenced by a record high land-surface temperature, which was 3.40
degrees F (1.89 degrees C) warmer than average. Separately, the global
ocean-surface temperature was fourth warmest in the 128-year series,
approximately 0.1 degrees F (0.05 degrees C) cooler than the record
established during the very strong El Niņo episode in 1998.
A moderate El Niņo episode that began in September 2006 continued into
January but weakened during the month. The presence of El Niņo, along
with the continuing global warming trend, contributed to the record
warm January. Monthly mean temperatures more than 8 degrees F above
average covered large parts of Eastern Europe and much of Russia, and
temperatures more than 5 degrees F above average were widespread in
Canada. The unusually warm conditions contributed to the 2nd lowest
January snow cover extent on record for the Eurasian continent.
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.
U.S. Temperatures
The average January temperature for the contiguous U.S. was 31.8
degrees F (-0.1 degrees C), or 0.9 degrees F (0.5 degrees C) above the
20th century average of 30.9 degrees F based on preliminary data. In
the central and eastern U.S., the pattern of spring-like temperatures
that began late December, continued during the first two weeks of the
year. For the month, 29 states were warmer than average east of the
Mississippi River and in the northern High Plains. Alaska also was
warmer than average at 0.9 degrees F above the 1971-2000 mean. (Click
NOAA image for larger view of January 2007 statewide temperature
rankings in the United States. Please credit "NOAA.")
The same upper-level wind pattern responsible for the warmer-than-
average temperatures in the East, brought colder-than-average
temperatures to the southern Plains and much of the West in January.
Hundreds of daily low temperature records were either tied or broken
during a mid-January cold outbreak that extended snowfall as far south
as Arizona and southern California. Below-average temperatures had
spread across much of the country by the end of the month.
The warmer-than-average temperatures in the eastern half of the nation
helped reduce residential energy needs for the nation as a whole.
Using the Residential Energy Demand Temperature Index (REDTI-an index
developed at NOAA to relate energy usage to climate), NOAA scientists
determined that the nation's residential energy demand was
approximately 3 percent lower than what would have occurred under
average climate conditions for the month. This was much less than the
estimated 20 percent temperature-related reduction in residential
energy demand that occurred during the record warm January last year.
U.S. Precipitation
January 2007 precipitation for the contiguous U.S. was near average,
with sharply contrasting conditions across the country. Near-average
to drier-than-average conditions occurred along much of the East
Coast, Southeast, Upper Midwest and the northern High Plains to the
Pacific Northwest. Precipitation was above average from southern Texas
and New Mexico to the Midwest and parts of the Northeast, while much-
drier-than-average conditions were present in parts of the
Intermountain West and California. (Click NOAA image for larger view
of January 2007 statewide precipitation rankings in the United States.
Please credit "NOAA.")
A series of snow and ice storms struck the central U.S. in January,
with severe winter weather as far south as San Antonio and Houston.
Three winter storms affected Oklahoma City. For much of the
mountainous West, below-average seasonal snowfall totals persisted.
Snowpack was below average throughout most of the West through early
February, with only portions of the Northern Cascades and the Front
Range of the Rockies in Colorado and New Mexico above average.
Snowpack that normally builds during the winter is an important source
of water for the western U.S., as spring and summer snow melt flows
into reservoirs throughout the region. NOAA scientists caution that if
rain and snow patterns don't change soon, more areas of the West could
face below-average water supplies this year, despite the fact that
reservoirs in the Northwest and California continue to benefit from
more snow than average last year.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, drought covered 25 percent of
the contiguous U.S. at the end of January. The most severe conditions
were in areas of southern Texas, Wyoming, the western High Plains and
northern Minnesota.
NOAA, 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 the 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.