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.
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