National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

National Climatic Data Center
Asheville, North Carolina
15 September 2004

August:


• August temperatures were cooler than average for the contiguous nation, with only the western regions having significantly warmer than average temperatures. Both Alaska and Hawaii were also warmer than average. For information on temperature records during the month, please go to NCDC's Extremes page.
  
  
• The precipitation signal was mixed with wetter than average conditions across much of the Northeast and Northwest and less than average precipitation in the Southwest and parts of the High Plains. For more information on drought during August, please visit the U.S. Drought page.
  
  Summer (June-August):
  
  
• June-August temperatures were cooler than average for the nation as a whole, with cooler than average temperatures in the middle of the nation and in the Northeast, while warmer than average conditions prevailed in the West and parts of the Southeast.
  
  
• The precipitation signal was mixed with wetter than average conditions from the Southern Plains to the Northeast and less than average summer precipitation from the Upper Mississippi Valley to the Southwest.
  
  
• Indices used to determine the state of ENSO suggest that the Equatorial Pacific was in a transitional phase, with Sea Surface Temperatures continuing above normal across the central and eastern equatorial Pacific during August. To see the latest NOAA advisory and typical impacts of a La Nina or El Nino episode for the U.S., go to NOAA's Climate Prediction Center.
  
  For additional details, see the Monthly Highlights section. For details and graphics on weather events across the U.S. and the globe go to NCDC's Global Hazards page.

National:


• August 2004 ranked as the 7th coldest August in the 1895 to present record. The preliminary nationally averaged temperature was 71.0°F (21.7°C), which was 1.8°F (1.0°C) below the long-term mean.
• August 2004 had above average precipitation, nationally, ranking 22nd wettest.
  
  For tables of national, regional, and statewide data from 1895-present, for August, last 3 months or other periods, please go to the Climate At A Glance page.
  
  
• June-August temperature was below average and ranked as the 16th coolest such period in the 1895 to present record. The preliminary nationally averaged temperature for June-August was 71.1°F (21.7°C) which was 1.0°F (0.6°C) below the long-term mean.
• June-August had much above average precipitation, ranking 10th wettest in the last 110 years.
  
  
• The September 2003-August 2004 temperature was above average and ranked as the 21st warmest such period in the 1895 to present record. The preliminary nationally averaged temperature was 53.5°F (11.9°C) which was 0.7°F (0.4°C) above the long-term mean.
• Precipitation was above average for September-August, ranking 27th wettest for the last 12 months based on a record of 109 such periods.
  
  Regional and Statewide:
  
  
• August 2004 temperatures ranked much below average for 15 states, including Minnesota, which had its coldest August on record. A further 16 states had below average temperature. Only Washington and Oregon had much above average temperatures in the contiguous U.S. for August 2004.
• Alaska temperatures will not be available until later in the month, but initial indications are that it was a very warm summer in Alaska, with a warm August following a record warm May, June and July for the state.
• August was much wetter than average for 6 states, including Washington, which had its second wettest August on record.
• The 3 month period, June-August, was much cooler than average for 8 states and significantly cooler than average for a further 22 states. Three western states were much warmer than average for the summer.
• June-August 2004 was dry for parts of the Southwest and northern Plains, while wetter than average conditions prevailed across much of the South to the Northeast. Seven states had much above average precipitation for the summer, including Texas, which had its second wettest June-August on record. The South region (TX, LA, MS, AR, OK, KS) had its wettest summer in 110 years of data.
• The last 12 months were much warmer than average for 7 western states. Much of the rest of the nation had near to above average temperatures.
• The last 12 months were record wet for Pennsylvania, with New York having its second wettest September-August. Dry conditions prevailed across parts of the Southeast, Southwest and High Plains.

  See NCDC's Monthly Extremes web-page for weather and climate records for the month of August.