June 2008 National Climate Report

• For the contiguous United States, the average temperature for June was 70.4°F (21.3°C), which was 1.1°F (0.6°C) above the 20th century mean and ranked as the 27th warmest June on record, based on preliminary data.

• On the Regional level, much of the U.S. experienced warmer than normal temperatures during June. The Southeast region experienced much above average temperatures and only the Northwest and West North Central regions experienced below average temperatures.

• During June, nine states had much above normal temperatures, 23 had above normal temperatures, and only seven states had temperatures below normal.

• Using the Residential Energy Demand Temperature Index (REDTI - an index developed at NOAA to relate energy usage to climate), the nation's residential energy demand during June was approximately 7.5% above average consumption and ranked as the 6th highest June value in 114 years.

• This was the 43rd wettest June in the 1895—2008 record. An average of 3.0 inches (77 mm) fell across the contiguous U.S. this month, which is 0.2 inches (4 mm) above average.

• June was the 5th wettest on record for the East North Central U.S. and the 17th driest for the West.

• Precipitation throughout the U.S. on the state level was very diverse. Five states received much above normal precipitation during June and 16 received above normal precipitation amounts. In contrast, 11 states were below normal for the month and five were much below normal. Most notably, Iowa had the second wettest June on record and California had the fourth driest.

• Iowa experienced the wettest April—June on record. The state received an average of 20.4 inches (519 mm) of precipitation, 8.7 inches (222 mm) above average. Over the past six months, Iowa, Ohio, and Missouri were the wettest on record. Iowa also had its wettest July—June period in the 1895—2008 record.

• The wet first half of the year along with the record June rainfall caused devastating flooding in Iowa, Wisconsin, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri and numerous flash floods in Missouri and Ohio. More information about the exceptional flooding in June can be found below or at the special June Midwest Flooding page.

• By the end of June, numerous large wildfires were raging in northern California and Arizona, many due to lightning strikes. As of June 30th, more than 2.1 million acres burned so far this year in the U.S., according to the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC). The year 2008 now ranked third behind 2006 and 2002 in quantity of acreage burnt to date. For additional information on wildfire conditions, please visit the NCDC Wildfire Monitoring page.

• ENSO-neutral conditions were present in the equatorial Pacific Ocean by the end of June. Equatorial sea-surface temperatures (SSTs) in the central and east-central Pacific Ocean have returned to near-average while SSTs remained above average in the eastern Pacific. According to the CPC, recent SST trends and model forecasts indicate the continuation of ENSO-neutral conditions over the next several months. The weakening La Niña and ENSO-neutral conditions may result in wetter than normal conditions in New England and the Florida peninsula and drier than normal conditions in the northwestern U.S., as well as above average temperatures in the northeast and southwestern U.S. in the next three months. For additional information on ENSO conditions, please visit the NCDC ENSO Monitoring page and the latest NOAA ENSO Advisory.

• Alaska had its 38th warmest June since records began in 1918, with a temperature 0.3°F (0.2°C) below the 1971—2000 average.
  
  
• Alaska had its 39th warmest April—June on record, with a temperature 0.2°F (0.1°C) below the 1971—2000 average.
  
  
• Alaska had its 28th warmest January—June on record, with a temperature 0.07°F (0.04°C) below the 1971—2000 average.

For additional details about recent temperatures and precipitation across the U.S., see the Regional Highlights section below and visit the June Climate Summary page. For information on local temperature and precipitation records during the month of June, please visit NCDC's Extremes page. For details and graphics on weather events across the U.S. and the globe please visit NCDC's Global Hazards page.

• Monthly temperature averages flip-flopped for the 5th consecutive month. Temperatures in the Northeast were above normal in February, below normal in March, above normal in April, below normal in May and above normal in June. This months average of 67.4°F (19.7°C) was the warmest June since 2005, 1.1°F (0.6°C) warmer than June 2007, and 2.3°F (1.3°C) warmer than normal. It was the 2nd warmest June since 1895 in New Jersey and Rhode Island, the 3rd warmest in Delaware and the 5th warmest in Connecticut. The first heat wave of the year, from the 6th to the 10th, saw several new record maximum records set throughout the region. Bridgeport, CT reached 97°F (36°C) on June 9th, which is 6°F (3°C) above the previous record set in 1984. The next day, Milton, MA reached 98°F (37°C), 6°F (3°C) above the previous record from 1984.
  
  
• Rainfall totals were quite variable throughout the Northeast, especially in Maine. Totals in the Vacation State ranged from 2 inches (51 mm) along the coast to over 9 inches (229 mm) in the northwest portion of the state. Overall, the Northeast averaged 4.62 inches (117 mm) of rainfall, which was 113% of normal. Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine were the wettest states, with 152%, 144% and 143% of the 30-year normal, respectively. New Jersey and Delaware were the driest states in the region, averaging 75% and 80% of the normal June precipitation. By months end, the US Drought Monitor indicated abnormally dry conditions in Rhode Island, southeastern Massachusetts, southern West Virginia, eastern Long Island, NY, and along the Pennsylvania-New Jersey-New York border.
  
  
• Unusually high temperatures, with heat indices in the upper 90s and 100s (35 to 40°C), overspread the Northeast from June 7-10. On the 10th, peak electricity demand hit a new record for the month in metropolitan New York as residents cranked up the air conditioning. During the heat wave, increased power demand resulted in a few power outages throughout the region. In addition, certain businesses profited: movie theaters, malls and ice cream stores saw a boost in sales as residents sought relief from the heat. The heat was too much for a few elderly residents. At least 21 died as a result of the high temperatures in New York, eastern Pennsylvania and Maryland. Elsewhere in the region, a few strong cold fronts generated severe thunderstorms as they passed through the Northeast. Hail from storms on June 16 damaged fruit and vegetable crops in at least 15 counties from Lake Ontario to the Hudson Valley in New York. The Farm Bureau indicated that at least one third of the apple crop was affected. Nationally, New York ranks 2nd in apple production. Other crops affected were peaches, strawberries, grapes, onions and corn.
  

• There was a strong northwest to southeast gradient in average temperature departures during June. Average temperatures ranged from 2-5°F (1-3°C) below normal in Minnesota to 2-3°F (1-2°C) above normal over eastern Ohio and western Kentucky.
  
  
• June was a very wet month across a significant portion of the Midwest, with numerous heavy rain events that helped produce record flooding in Iowa, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Illinois. Precipitation was more than 200% of normal across much of Missouri, Iowa, southern Wisconsin, central Illinois, southern Indiana, central Ohio, and northern Lower Michigan. June rainfall totals exceeded 12 inches (30.5 cm) in large portions of the region, with Martinsville, IN reporting a total of 20.11 inches (51.1 cm) of rain for the month. This more than doubled the old record of 9.47 inches (24.1 cm) in 1998. This is also the highest amount for any month in Martinsville, eclipsing the previous record of 13.71 inches (34.8) cm) in July 1992. Records for Martinsville date back to 1922. Preliminary data indicate that 66 locations in the Midwest set new June rainfall records, and another 104 locations had rainfall totals that ranked second to fifth highest. In addition, this was the wettest January-June period on record for 106 locations in the Midwest, and the second to fifth wettest for another 180 locations. While most attention was focused on the heavy rainfall during June, dryness persisted from southeastern Missouri east through southern Kentucky. Rainfall over southern Kentucky was less than 50 percent of normal for the month.
  
  
• The wet first half of the year along with the record June rainfall caused devastating flooding in Iowa, Wisconsin, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri and numerous flash floods in Missouri and Ohio. Persistent heavy rain resulted in record crests on the Cedar River in Iowa and many tributaries of the Mississippi River in eastern Iowa and southern Wisconsin. This resulted in record flooding on parts of the Mississippi River, even exceeding flood levels reached during the Great Flood of 1993 in some locations. At the end of June, streamflow was still very high and major flooding was still occurring in southern Wisconsin on the Rock River. Major to moderate flooding was occurring along the Mississippi River from Quincy, IL south to Chester, IL. Severe weather was reported in every state in the region during June, with the majority of the severe weather concentrated in the central portion of the region. There were 221 preliminary reports of tornadoes in the nine Midwestern states during June, much higher than the 119 preliminary reports in May. Four fatalities occurred at a Boy Scout camp near Blencoe, IA on June 11 when a strong EF3 tornado tore through the camp. Forty people were also injured from this storm.
  

• Average temperatures for June 2008 in Florida and across the Caribbean were close to normal. However, positive temperature anomalies for the month were greater at increasingly higher latitudes. Raleigh-Durham, NC set a new record average June temperature of 80.7°F (27.1°C), 6°F (3°C) above normal. Wallops Island, VA tied the 1989 June record of 75°F (24°C), nearly 4°F (2°C) above normal. Richmond, VA and Greenville-Spartanburg, SC had their second warmest June on record. The southern station of Pensacola, FL experienced its third warmest June. During the month, over 400 new records for daily high temperature were set in the Southeast. More than half of these were set during the second week of the month. Chesterfield, SC recorded a maximum of 106°F (41°C) and Raleigh-Durham had 4 consecutive days with temperatures of 100°F (38°C) or above—only the second time on record. Temperatures dropped during the third week of June and some stations, mainly in the mountains of the northwest part of the region, recorded overnight lows around 50°F (10°C).
  
  
• Florida, Puerto Rico and the Washington D.C. area were all relatively wet during the month, with precipitation amounts slightly above normal. Most other areas in the Southeast were below normal. Precipitation during June came almost exclusively from widely scattered showers. Thunderstorms were present across the region all month long. Although most stations had monthly totals below normal, some isolated stations received much above normal precipitation. On a state-by-state basis, this was most marked in North Carolina, where Andrews, in the mountains, received 10.7 inches (272 mm), 193% of normal. In contrast, Washington, NC, on the coast, recorded only 0.15 inches (4 mm), 3% of normal. Other notably dry stations include Atlanta, GA, with 0.58 inches (15 mm), 16% of normal, Greenville-Spartanburg with 3% of normal and the driest June on record, and Anniston, AL with 4% of normal.
  
  
• "Exceptional Drought" returned to much of the South Carolina upstate and western NC by the end of June as a result of the low rainfall totals. The Extreme Drought area expanded to include parts of northeast Georgia and broader areas of North and South Carolina. Only small areas of northern Virginia, south Alabama and central Florida were not experiencing dry conditions. The weather pattern during June 2008 was dominated by an upper level ridge that steered precipitation-producing systems west and north of the region. These systems, however, pushed several relatively weak cold fronts through the area during the month, bringing isolated to scattered thunderstorms. Eighteen preliminary tornado reports were made during June in the Southeast, which is near average. Most of these storms occurred on the northern edge of the region.
  

• June 2008 was a cool month across the majority of the High Plains Region. Large areas experienced temperatures 2-5°F (1-3°C) below normal. The exception to below normal temperatures occurred in areas of southern Kansas and Colorado. Those areas experienced temperatures as much as 3°F (2°C) above normal. The largest departures from normal in either direction occurred in west-central South Dakota (5°F/3°C below normal) and southeastern Colorado (4°F/2°C above normal).
  
  
• Precipitation over the High Plains Region took on a much different pattern than the temperatures. Areas of both well-above-normal (150%+) and well-below-normal (50% and below) precipitation existed across the region. No correlation between departure from normal temperature and percent of normal precipitation appears to be evident. The areas of above normal precipitation occurred in eastern North Dakota, central and western South Dakota, central and southeastern Nebraska, extreme northeastern Colorado, and central and southeastern Kansas. Areas with well-below-normal precipitation occurred across a majority of Colorado and Wyoming with other areas including western Kansas and northeastern Nebraska. Extreme precipitation totals for June across the region include 15.2 inches (385 mm) at Galesburg, KS, over 3 times the normal amount, and 0.2 inches (4 mm) at Crested Butte, CO, less than one-sixth the normal amount.
  
  
• A strong storm system which produced severe weather and tornadoes rolled through eastern Nebraska and western Iowa on June 11. The system dropped numerous tornadoes, one of which was rated EF3 and devastated the little Sioux Boy Scout Camp in Iowa, killing 4 scouts. On June 28th a storm system moved through the Fremont and Omaha, NE areas eastward into Iowa. This system was not a significant rain producer, but resulted in high winds. Widespread areas reported winds in excess of 80-90 mph (129-145 km/hr) and damaged trees and buildings as it moved through.
  

• In the month of June, average temperatures in the Southern Region were above but generally within a few degrees of normal, with the exception of Texas, southern Oklahoma, and Tennessee. In southern Oklahoma, temperatures averaged 2-4°F (1-2°C) above normal. Similar departures were observed in eastern and northwestern Tennessee. In Texas, much of the state averaged over 2°F (1°C) above normal, with the highest departures occurring in the central and western portions of the state. There, temperatures were 2-8°F (1-4°C) above the monthly average.
  
  
• In general, precipitation during June was below normal in most of the Southern Region. As expected for this time of year, there were small pockets of near-normal to above-normal rainfall. These areas were concentrated in northwestern Arkansas, northeastern and southeastern Oklahoma, and scattered through parts of west-central Texas. Monthly rainfall totals in parts of Oklahoma and Arkansas ranged from 130% to 300% of normal. Much of southern Texas was dry this month, with some areas receiving as little as 5% of the average June rainfall.
  
  
• June was a relatively quiet month for severe weather in the Southern Region. Although there were over one hundred reports of large hail, only three tornadoes were reported. One occurred in Fort Gibson, Oklahoma on June 6th, another in Turkey, TX on the 8th, and the third in Paducah, TX on the 19th. There were no indications of damage or injuries in any of the three reports.
  

• June 2008 temperature departures were almost perfectly split with the northern half of the 11 western states 2-4°F (1-2°C) below normal and the southern half 2-4°F (1-2°C) above normal, with the 41st parallel roughly dividing the region. Hawaiian temperatures were near normal while Alaska was slightly below. For only the 7th time since 1952, Anchorage had yet to reach 70°F (21°C) for the season by the end of the month. On the north coast of California, Eureka had only one day the entire month with above normal temperatures while on the south coast of California, Santa Maria recorded it all time highest temperature with 110°F (44°C) on the 20th. Boise, ID, recorded a maximum temperature of 105°F (40.5°C) on the 29th, tying as the 2nd highest June temperature in 68 years.
  
  
• Precipitation was characteristically sparse to nonexistent in the Southwest and most of the intermountain region. Pockets of Montana and the Pacific Northwest had above normal precipitation for the month, but otherwise most of the West had below normal rainfall. Of special note, the governor of California proclaimed a statewide drought after 2 consecutive years of below normal rainfall. At the end of the precipitation season widely used in California (July 1, 2007 to June 30, 2008) much of the state had received only 75 percent of normal. The previous year had between 20-60% of normal, accumulating the impacts of the drought in some areas. Many locations in California have received less rain in the past 24 months than the typical annual average. In contrast, the cool conditions over the past three months have greatly reduced the melt rate of the snowpack in the Pacific Northwest. Many streams are running at all-time record high flow levels for this time of year in western Washington.
  
  
• Some notable June weather events in the West included a late season snowstorm in the Northwest on the 10th and 11th. Meacham, OR, measured 14 inches (36 cm) on the 10th while the mountains of northwest Montana received up to 27 inches (69 cm) on the 11th. Great Falls, MT, measured 6.8 inches (17.3 cm) on the 11th, the greatest measurable snowfall this late in the season and second greatest June total ever. At Mt. Rainier, WA, over 45 (114 cm) inches of snow fell for the month, eclipsing the previous June record of 21.5 inches (54.6 cm) set in 2001. In contrast, southern California suffered through record heat from June 19-22. Dry lightning on June 21 over much of the northern half of the state sparked over 800 fires, producing very thick smoke. Unhealthy air quality persisted through the end of the month in numerous California, Oregon and Nevada locations.
  

• June was cooler than normal across the Alaskan panhandle. The month started off at or below normal for daytime highs everywhere while nighttime lows were at or slightly above normal. Not until the beginning of the third week did daytime highs approach higher-than-normal values. Several new low temperature records were set during June at Juneau, Ketchikan, Klawock, and Haines. High temperatures throughout the panhandle were 3-4°F (1-2°C) below normal for the month. The interior part of the state experienced near-normal temperatures during the month of June. Farther north, Barrow experienced its 10th warmest June on record. The monthly temperature was 37.2°F (2.9°C), which was 2.2°F (1.2°C) above normal.
  
  
• In southern Alaska, McGrath received 3.0 inches (75 mm) of rainfall during June 2008, tying as the 4th wettest June on record. The panhandle was drier than normal in northern and central locations, while southern locations were above normal for precipitation. The little rain that fell was distributed in a weak bimodal fashion during the first and last weeks of the month. Significant rain fell during the first week in northern portions of the panhandle, which helped alleviate the ongoing and significant precipitation deficit in this area. However, the far northern panhandle still lagged far below normal (15 inches/380 mm) in terms of the year-to-date accumulated precipitation. Rainfall amounts in the panhandle were 25%-54% below normal during the month. In central Alaska, June rainfall amounts were highly variable due to the scattered nature of most precipitation. Fairbanks received 2.1 inches (53 mm) of rainfall, 0.7 inches (18 mm) above average. This was their 16th wettest June on record and the wettest June since 1994. The year-to-date precipitation total of 5.1 inches (130 mm) made this the 6th wettest January-June in Fairbanks since 1950.
  
  
• The interior of Alaska experienced unusually low wildfire activity for June. At the end of the month, Fairbanks had yet to experience even a hint of smoke this summer. Despite the presence of boreal summer, snow was recorded at several locations in Alaska during June. In the south, Cold Bay set a daily snowfall record on the 5th when 0.2 inches (0.5 cm) fell, breaking the previous record of 0.1 inches (0.3 cm) set in 1962. On June 7, 0.4 inches (1 cm) of snowfall was recorded in Nome, breaking the previous record of 0.3 inches (0.8 cm) from 1973. Four days later, Nome received a record-breaking 2.4 inches (6.1 cm) of snow, far surpassing the previous record of a trace set in 1973. The unseasonable June snowfall pushed the 2007-2008 seasonal total to 112.5 inches (286 cm), making this the second snowiest season on record in Nome. This total is over 16 inches (41 cm) behind the 1994-95 season record of 128.9 inches (327 cm).