The health of our waters is the principal measure of how we live on the land — Luna Leopold
@NOAA: National Climate Report – June 2017, hot and dry for #Colorado
Click here to go to the website. Click through for the links and the year to date summary. Here’s an excerpt:
Graphic via NOAA June 2017.
Climate Highlights — June
June 2017 average temperature departures.
June 2017 percent of average precipitation.
Temperature
June 2017 statewide temperature ranks.
The June average temperature for the contiguous U.S. was 70.3°F, 1.9°F above the 20th century average, and tied as the 20th warmest June in 123 years of record keeping.
Above-average temperatures were observed for locations from the West Coast to Rocky Mountains, with parts of the Great Plains, Great Lakes and East Coast also warmer than average. In the Southwest, much-above-average temperatures were driven by a record-breaking heat wave in mid-June. No state was record warm, but Arizona had its second warmest June on record.
Below-average temperatures were observed in parts of the Southeast, Lower Mississippi Valley and Ohio Valley. The below-average temperatures were mostly due to much-below-average maximum temperatures, particularly along the Gulf Coast where record and near-record precipitation kept afternoon highs below average. No state was record cold.
Alaska tied its 12th warmest June in the 94-year period of record with a statewide average temperature of 51.5°F, 2.3°F above average. Western areas of the state were warmer than average, with near- to below-average temperatures along the North Slope and in southern parts of the state. Utqia’vik (Barrow) had its first cooler-than-average month since December 2015.
The contiguous U.S. average maximum (daytime) temperature during June was 83.3°F, 2.0°F above the 20th century average, and ranked as the 20th warmest on record. Above-average maximum temperatures were observed across the West, Great Plains, and Mid-Atlantic. Arizona observed its warmest June maximum temperature on record at 97.3°F, 6.4°F above average. This bested the previous record of 96.6°F in 2013. Below-average maximum temperatures were observed from the Deep South to the Ohio Valley. Five states along the Gulf Coast had much-cooler-than-average maximum temperatures, with Louisiana tying the second coolest June maximum temperature on record at 86.3°F, 3.8°F below average. The record coldest June maximum temperature for Louisiana was 85.8°F set in 1903.
The contiguous U.S. average minimum (nighttime) temperature during June was 57.3°F, 1.7°F above the 20th century average, the 14th warmest on record. Above-average minimum temperatures spanned the West, South, Great Lakes and East Coast. Below-average minimum temperatures were observed in the Ohio Valley and parts of the Great Plains. In the Northern Plains and Central Rockies, some locations observed freezing overnight temperatures in June which is an unusual but not unprecedented occurrence.
During June there were 4,343 record warm daily high (1,848) and low (2,494) temperature records, which was nearly 2.5 times the 1,752 record cold daily high (974) and low (778) temperature records.
Based on NOAA’s Residential Energy Demand Temperature Index (REDTI), the contiguous U.S. temperature-related energy demand during June was 14 percent below average and ranked near the middle of the 123-year period of record. This was due to the temperature anomaly pattern of near to below-normal temperatures in the high population centers of the South and East and above-normal temperatures in the less heavily populated West and Plains.
Precipitation
June 2017 Statewide Precipitation Ranks via NOAA.
The June precipitation total was 3.01 inches, 0.08 inch above the 20th century average, and ranked near the middle value in the 123-year period of record.
Below-average precipitation was observed across parts of the Great Basin, Northern and Central Plains, and Mid-Atlantic. Nebraska had its second driest June and Maryland had its seventh driest. Some regions in the Southwest received no precipitation in June, which is typical of early summer. No state was record dry.
Above-average precipitation fell across the Gulf Coast and from the Great Lakes to northern Northeast. Tropical Storm Cindy dropped heavy rain and caused significant flooding across parts the Southeast to Midwest as the storm tracked northward after making landfall near the Louisiana/Texas Coast on June 22. Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Vermont were each much wetter than average. No state was record wet.
The Alaska June average precipitation total for June was 2.04 inches, 0.30 inch below the long-term average, and ranked as the 34th driest June since 1925. Northern and south-central parts of Alaska were drier than average with above-average precipitation in southwestern and southeastern Alaska.
According to the June 27 U.S. Drought Monitor report, 8.0 percent of the contiguous U.S. was in drought, up about 2.8 percent compared to the end of May. Drought improved across parts of the Southern Plains and Southeast. In the Southeast, drought conditions were nearly eradicated where torrential rainfall was observed over the past month, particularly along the Gulf Coast. Drought conditions expanded and worsened across the Northern to Central Plains where short-term and long-term precipitation deficits have been observed. Outside of the contiguous U.S., drought worsened for parts of Hawaii and western to central Alaska. Abnormally dry conditions improved in eastern Alaska.
June 2017 average temperature departures.
June 2017 percent of average precipitation.
