Wednesday, May 6, 2015

Florida Joins West Coast States With Record Heat, April 2015 NOAA Report Says

Jon Erdman
Published: May 6,2015 





 
January-April 2015 temperature departures from the 20th-century average in degrees Fahrenheit. (NOAA/NCEI)
(NOAA/NCEI)
The first four months of 2015 were the warmest on record in three western states, while Florida had its hottest April on record, according to a just-released report from NOAA.
Alaska, Arizona and California each shattered their record warmest January through April period in 2015. Nevada, Oregon and Utah experienced their second warmest opening four months of any year. Five other western states chalked up a top 10 warmest January through April:
- Washington, Idaho, Wyoming: Third warmest
- Colorado: Fifth warmest
- Montana: Sixth warmest
California topped its previous record warm January through April set one year ago by 1.1 degrees Fahrenheit, an impressive feat considering temperature data averaged over many locations statewide makes a few tenths of a degree difference significant.
(MORE: Wildfire Threat | California Drought Photos)
NOAA's National Climatic Data Center dataset dates to 1895.
Statewide April 2015 temperature rankings. Dark red shading denotes state (Florida) setting a record hot April. Orange shading denotes states much warmer than average.
In April, the Southeast joined the heat.
Florida sweated through its hottest April on record, topping its previous record warm April set in 1907, when Theodore Roosevelt was President.
"April felt a lot more like May or even June," according to a National Weather Service - Miami statement on South Florida's April heat. Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers, Vero Beach, Melbourne, Daytona Beach, Tallahassee and Tampa all set April monthly warm records.
On April 26, the Royal Palm Ranger Station in the Everglades hit 100 degrees, a first for April in South Florida, according to NWS-Miami.
The April warmth wasn't just confined to the Sunshine State. Georgia - seventh warmest - and South Carolina - 10th warmest - also reached their April top 10 warmest list.
(MORE: Earth's Warmest January-March... | ...and 2014)
The stubborn jet-stream pattern responsible for the persistent western warmth and northeast cold finally relented in April. But this didn't happen in time to avoid clinching one of the coldest first four months of 2015 in the Northeast. While most of the country was warmer than normal in April, the Northeast was merely near average in April after starting 2015 with three bitterly cold months.
Both Massachusetts and New York shivered through their coldest January-April period in over a century. Only the first four months of 1904 were colder than 2015 in each state.
Eight other states also managed a top 10 coldest January-April period in 2015:
- New Hampshire: Third coldest
- Connecticut and Vermont: Fourth coldest
- Rhode Island: Fifth coldest
- Maine and Pennsylvania: Sixth coldest
- Maryland and Ohio: Ninth coldest
Statewide January-April 2015 precipitation rankings. Dark brown shading denotes state (South Dakota) setting a record dry January-April. Yellow and brown shadings denote states drier than average. Green shadings denote wetter-than-average states.
The first four months have also been notable on the precipitation side of the ledger.
South Dakota set its record driest January-April, topping a record from a Dust Bowl year - 1934.
Ten other states from New England to the West Coast had their top 10 driest first four months of any year:
- California: Third driest
- New York: Fifth driest
- Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada and Vermont: Seventh driest
- Connecticut and Oregon: Eighth driest
- Idaho: Ninth driest
- North Dakota: 10th driest
April, however, was the second wettest on record in Kentucky, fourth wettest in West Virginia and ninth wettest in Louisiana.

MORE: 2014-2015 Warmest Winter on Record Cities

No comments:

Post a Comment