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Selected National Highlights for January 2012

Climate Highlights — January
The average contiguous U.S. temperature in January was 36.3 degrees F, 5.5 degrees F above the 1901-2000 long-term average — the fourth warmest January on record, and the warmest since 2006. Precipitation, averaged across the nation, was 1.85 inches. This was 0.37 inch below the long-term average, with variability between regions. This monthly analysis is based on records dating back to 1895.
Warmer-than-average temperatures were widespread across the contiguous United States during January. Nine states — Arizona, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Wyoming — had January temperatures ranking among their ten warmest. Florida and Washington were the only states with temperatures near average, and no state was cooler than average.
Many locations across the Northern Plains exceeded all-time warm January maximum temperature records during the month, including Minot, North Dakota, which reached 61 degrees F on January 5^th. This surpassed the previous record of 59 degrees F for the city, set on January 28^th, 1906.
In contrast to the contiguous United States being much warmer than average, several towns across Alaska had their coldest average January temperatures on record — Nome (-16.6 degrees F), Bethel (-17.3 degrees F) McGrath (-28.5 degrees F), and Bettles (-35.6 degrees F).
Precipitation totals were mixed across the United States during January. The Southern Plains and the Great Lakes were wetter than average for the month, with Texas having above-average precipitation for the second month in a row. Texas had not experienced two consecutive months with above-average precipitation since January-February 2010.
Below-average precipitation was observed for the Central Plains, where Kansas had its third driest January, and Nebraska its eighth. The Southeast was also drier than average, where Florida had its eighth driest January on record. Many locations along Florida’s Atlantic coast, which usually average over 2.5 inches of precipitation during January, had little to no precipitation during the month.
Cities across the Northern Plains, Midwest, and Northeast had below-average snow fall during the month a result of warmer and drier than average conditions. According to data from the Rutgers Global Snow Lab, the average snow extent during January was 1.0 million square miles, which was 329,000 square miles below the 1981-2010 average. This marks the 3^rd smallest January snow cover extent in the 46-year period of record.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, as of January 31^st, 2012, about 3.3 percent of the contiguous U.S. was experiencing the worst category of drought, called D4 or exceptional drought, about the same as the beginning of the month. However, the percent area of the U.S. experiencing drought of any severity increased from 31.9 percent at the beginning of January to 37.9 percent at the end of the month. Most of the drought expansion occurred across the Upper Midwest and the western states.
The United States Climate Extremes Index (USCEI) and Regional Climate Extremes Index (RCEI) are sensitive to extremes in temperature, rainfall, dry streaks, drought, and tropical cyclones on the national and regional scale, respectively. During January, the USCEI was above average, driven by a large extent in warm maximum temperatures. The percent area of the U.S. experiencing extremes in warm maximum temperatures was 56 percent, which is the second highest value on record. Regionally, the West North Central, South, and West regions ranked 3^rd or 4^th highest for the extent of warm maximum temperature extremes.
A list of select January temperature and precipitation records can be found here.

Climate Highlights — Winter to Date (December 2011-January 2012)
The first two months of the winter season, December and January, have been much warmer than average for the contiguous United States. This two-month period was the fourth warmest on record with a season-to-date temperature 3.8 degrees F above average. Much of the warmth was anchored across the northern and eastern United States. Minnesota was record warm for the period, with a temperature 10.1 degrees F above average. A total of twenty-two states from Montana to Maine had December 2011–January 2012 temperatures ranking among their ten warmest.
Despite a large winter storm which impacted the western U.S. during January, much of the region was drier than average. California had its fourth driest December-January period, and Montana had its sixth. Wetter-than-average conditions were observed in a string of states from New Mexico to New York, with Texas having its eleventh wettest December-January period.

Climate Highlights — Last 12 months (February 2011-January 2012)
The 12-month period, ending in January, was the sixth warmest such period for the contiguous United States, with warmer-than-average temperatures dominating the eastern two-thirds of the nation. Seven states — Delaware, New Jersey, North Carolina, Maryland, Rhode Island, Texas, and Virginia — were record warm for the period, while an additional 18 states had 12-month temperatures ranking among their ten warmest. Oregon and Washington were the only states with below-average temperatures during the period.
The nationally-averaged precipitation total for the 12-month period was near average, masking regional extremes. The Ohio Valley and Northeast were record wet for the period, with seven states within those regions also being record wet. Dry conditions were present along the southern tier of the nation from New Mexico to South Carolina.

Selected Global Highlights for 2011

This year tied 1997 as the 11^th warmest year since records began in 1880. The annual global combined land and ocean surface temperature was 0.51°C (0.92°F) above the 20th century average of 13.9°C (57.0°F). This marks the 35^th consecutive year, since 1976, that the yearly global temperature was above average. The warmest years on record were 2010 and 2005, which were 0.64°C (1.15°F) above average.

Separately, the 2011 global average land surface temperature was 0.8°C (1.49°F) above the 20th century average of 8.5°C (47.3°F) and ranked as the eighth warmest on record. The 2011 global average ocean temperature was 0.40°C (0.72°F) above the 20^th century average of 16.1°C (60.9°F) and ranked as the 11^th warmest on record.

La Niña, which is defined by cooler-than-normal waters in the eastern and central equatorial Pacific Ocean that affects weather patterns around the globe, was present during much of 2011. A relatively strong phase of La Niña opened the year, then dissipated in the spring before re-emerging in October and lasting through the end of the year. When compared to previous La Niña years, the 2011 global surface temperature was the warmest observed during such a year.

The 2011 globally-averaged precipitation over land was the second wettest year on record, behind 2010. Precipitation varied greatly across the globe. La Niña contributed to severe drought in the Horn of Africa and to Australia?s third wettest year in its 112-year period of record.

Overview

The State of the Climate Report is a collection of monthly summaries recapping climate-related occurrences on both a global and national scale. The report is comprised of the following sections:

Global
Global Analysis — a summary of global temperatures and precipitation, placing the data into a historical perspective
Upper Air — tropospheric and stratospheric temperatures, with data placed into historical perspective
Global Snow & Ice — a global view of snow and ice, placing the data into a historical perspective
Global Hazards — weather-related hazards and disasters around the world
El Niño/Southern Oscillation Analysis — atmospheric and oceanic conditions related to ENSO

National
National Overview — a summary of national and regional temperatures and precipitation, placing the data into a historical perspective
Drought — drought in the U.S.
Wildfires — a summary of wildland fires in the U.S. and related weather and climate conditions
Hurricanes & Tropical Storms — hurricanes and tropical storms that affect the U.S. and its territories
National Snow & Ice — snow and ice in the U.S.
Tornadoes — a summary of tornadic activity in the U.S.
Synoptic Discussion — a summary of synoptic activity in the U.S.

Questions?

For all climate questions, please contact the National Climatic Data Center's Climate Services and Monitoring Division:

Climate Services and Monitoring Division
NOAA/National Climatic Data center
151 Patton Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801-5001
fax: +1-828-271-4876
phone: +1-828-271-4800
email: ncdc.info@ncdc.noaa.gov
To request climate data, please E-mail:ncdc.orders@ncdc.noaa.gov

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