US Climate Perspective: January - March Precipitation
Anomalies
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Based on preliminary data, January-March 1998 ranked as the wettest
such year-to-date in the 104-year national record, with an
area-averaged precipitation of 8.95 inches. This is a departure of
2.43 inches from the 1961-1990 normal of 6.52 inches. The second
wettest Jan-Mar: 1979 with 8.41 inches.
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values
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March 1998 ranked as the 15th wettest March in the 104-year
national record, with an area-averaged precipitation of 2.94
inches, based on preliminary data. This is a departure of 0.47
inches from the 1961-1990 normal of 2.47 inches. The wettest March
on record occured in 1973 with 3.89 inches. The second wettest
March was in 1983 with 3.54 inches.
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Based on preliminary data, January through March of 1998 ranked as
the sixth warmest such year-to-date in the 104-year national
record, with an area-averaged temperature of 39.00 degrees F. This
is a departure of 3.46 degrees F from the long-term mean.
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Based on preliminary data, March 1998 ranked as the 48th coolest
March in the 104-year national record, with the area-averaged
temperature of 42.0 degrees F. This is a departure of -0.39 degrees
F from the 1961-1990 normal of 42.39 degrees F. The warmest March
on record was in 1910 with an area-averaged temperature of 50.2
degrees F. The second warmest were March, 1921 and March, 1946 with
47.6 degrees F.
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Based on land-surface temperature observations going back to 1880,
the global area-averaged mean temperature for January-March 1998 is
the warmest on record. This period for 1998 is indeed slightly
warmer than the previous record high in 1990. But the global
area-averaged January-March 1998 temperature is definitely much
warmer than that of earlier decades. Early indications suggest that
when ocean data are included, the January-March 1998 period was
also the warmest for both land and ocean. See
below.
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The global mean temperature anomaly for March 1998 is the second
warmest on record at 0.79 degrees C above the 1961-1990 mean. As
data are being received, scientists at The National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration's National Climatic Data Center are
automatically updating
The Global
Historical Climatology Network data base to maintain a
global climate perspective in near real-time.
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These results, partially driven by the powerful El Nino
conditions, follow the record warmth of 1997 and near-record
conditions (0.77 degrees C above normal) for January 1998 and
record-breaking 1.38 degrees C above normal for February.