National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

National Climatic Data Center, 13 March 2001

Contents of This Report:

• December 2000-February 2001 Statewide Ranks
• December 2000-February 2001 Regional Highlights
• December 2000-February 2001 Regional Ranking Table

Through climate analysis, National Climatic Data Center scientists have identified nine climatically consistent regions within the contiguous United States which are useful for putting current climate anomalies into an historical perspective.

Additional information about current climate anomalies can be found at the respective Web Pages of the Southern Regional Climate Center, Western Regional Climate Center, Midwest Regional Climate Center, Southeast Regional Climate Center, High Plains Regional Climate Center, and the Northeast Regional Climate Center.

December 2000-February 2001 Statewide Temperature and Precipitation

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Twenty-six states ranked within the cool third of the historical distribution during this winter season. Nevada was the only contiguous state to rank in the warm third, while Alaska had its warmest winter since 1918. No state experienced average winter temperatures in the much below normal category.

Eight states ranked within the top ten dry portion of the historical distribution for winter 2000-2001. North Carolina, Oregon and Washington experienced their second driest winter season since the winter of 1895-1896. For additional information on the unusually dry conditions in parts of the US, see the February Drought Page. Other ranks included: Florida - third driest Idaho - sixth driest Virginia - seventh driest South Carolina - ninth driest Georgia - tenth driest Ten states in the center of the nation ranked within the wet third portion of the distribution, including: Oklahoma - sixth wettest Iowa - seventh wettest Kansas - ninth wettest.

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It should be emphasized that all of the temperature and precipitation ranks on these maps are based on preliminary data. The ranks will change when the final data are processed.

Winter (December 2000-February 2001) Regional Temperature and Precipitation

Heavy early winter snows around the Great Lakes and in the Central Region were followed by drier conditions in January and February. Winter 2000-2001 was the second driest winter on record for the Northwest Region. This follows two winters that were above the long-term mean for precipitation. The 1980's were characterized by extremely dry conditions while the late 1990's have been extremely wet. No region experienced much above average precipitation during the Dec 2000 - Feb 2001 winter season.

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Preliminary data for the Southeast Region ranked winter 2000-2001 as the sixth driest such season since records began in 1895. This is the third consecutive winter season precipitation has been below the long-term mean. The 1997-1998 winter season was the wettest on record.

Based upon preliminary data, winter 2000-2001 was the seventeenth coldest winter season on record for the South Region. This follows six winters where temperatures have been near to above the long-term mean for this region.

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Preliminary data for the Central Region ranked winter 2000-2001 as the nineteenth coldest such season since records began in 1895. Nine of the last thirteen winter seasons have been near to above the long-term mean. No region was unusually warm during the Dec 2000 - Feb 2001 winter season.

View a temperature or precipitation time series for any region from the table below. Click on a region's precipitation or temperature rank to view the 1895-2001 time series.

It should be emphasized that all of the temperature and precipitation ranks are based on preliminary data. The ranks will change when the final data are processed.

References:

Thomas R. Karl and Albert J. Koscielny, 1982: "Drought in the United States: 1895-1981." Journal of Climatology, vol. 2, pp. 313-329.

Thomas R. Karl and Walter James Koss, 1984: "Regional and National Monthly, Seasonal, and Annual Temperature Weighted by Area, 1895-1983." Historical Climatology Series 4-3, National Climatic Data Center, Asheville, NC, 38 pp.

NOAA's National Climatic Data Center is the world's largest active archive of weather data. The preliminary temperature and precipitation rankings are available from the center by calling: 828-271-4800.

Historical precipitation and temperature ranking maps are also available on the Internet courtesy of the Climate Prediction Center.

NOAA works closely with the academic and scientific communities on climate-related research projects to increase the understanding of El Niño and improve forecasting techniques. NOAA's Climate Prediction Center monitors, analyzes and predicts climate events ranging from weeks to seasons for the nation. NOAA also operates the network of data buoys and satellites that provide vital information about the ocean waters, and initiates research projects to improve future climate forecasts. The long lead climate outlooks are available from the Climate Prediction Center.

For all climate questions other than questions concerning this report, please contact the National Climatic Data Center's Climate Services Division:

For further information on the historical climate perspective presented in this report, contact:

NCDC / Clim. Research / Clim. of 2000-2001 / Dec-Feb / US States & Regions / Search / Help