By Tammie Souza, FOX 32 News Weekend Meteorologist - bio | email
CHICAGO (FOX 32 News) -
It's official. 2012 is the warmest year on record for the contiguous United States.
The announcement was made by NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) on Tuesday January 8, 2013. The average temperature in 2012 was 55.3 degrees F which is 3.2 degrees F above the long term average.
2012 was so warm that it eclipsed the former record set in 1998 by an entire degree, which is considered a large jump in temperature.
Over 40,000 daily temperature records were broken nationwide last year and 19 states--including Illinois--experienced their warmest year on record. Many climate scientists believe the extreme warmth is attributed to more than just a cyclic weather pattern.
"Climate change has had a role in this" said Jake Crouch, a climate scientist at NOAA's National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C.
He said it isn't clear yet exactly how much of the temperature record was due to climate change compared to natural variability, but that it's unlikely such a record would have occurred without the long-term warming trend caused in large part by emissions of greenhouse gases.
2012 was also ranked 2nd in terms of the most extreme weather. There were 11 natural disasters costing more than a billion dollars each including the drought, Hurricanes Sandy and Isaac, the July derechos, several tornado outbreaks and more than 51,000 wildfires.
Tuesday, January 22 2013 2:26 PM EST2013-01-22 19:26:59 GMT
Chicago ended an impressive 711 day streak without a sub-zero temperature Tuesday morning. That is the 4th longest such stretch since records began in 1871.
Chicago ended an impressive 711 day streak without a sub-zero temperature Tuesday morning. That is the 4th longest such stretch since records began in 1871.
Friday, January 18 2013 11:18 PM EST2013-01-19 04:18:05 GMT
Frigid Arctic air has been pent up across the Hudson Bay area for several weeks now stuck under the influence a strong polar area of low pressure also known as the "polar vortex."
Frigid Arctic air has been pent up across the Hudson Bay area for several weeks now stuck under the influence a strong polar area of low pressure also known as the "polar vortex."
Friday, January 18 2013 3:41 PM EST2013-01-18 20:41:23 GMT
The U.S. drought of 2012 is considered the worst since the 1950s, but there appears to be some brief relief.
The U.S. drought of 2012 is considered the worst since the 1950s, but there appears to be some brief relief thanks to recent soaking rains stretching from the south through the southeast and the Midwest to the Mid-Atlantic states.
Monday, December 3 2012 7:18 PM EST2012-12-04 00:18:16 GMT
Warm, moist air streamed into the Chicago area today and although we were blanketed in fog and clouds, the temperatures soared to record highs between 68 and 72 degrees.
Warm, moist air streamed into the Chicago area today and although we were blanketed in fog and clouds, the temperatures soared to record highs between 68 and 72 degrees.
