Did you think last year’s weather was a bit of a challenge? It was! There were 3,527 monthly weather records broken for heat, rain, and snow in the US, according to information from the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC). In fact, 2012 has gone down in the record books as the warmest year ever recorded in the US, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) State of the Climate.
Last summer was the worst drought in 50 years across the nation¹s bread-basket, with over 1,300 US counties across 29 states declared drought disaster areas. 2012 recorded the hottest March on record in the contiguous US, and July was the hottest single month ever recorded in the lower 48 states.
The top ten states where new heat records were established included Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Maine, Minnesota, Nevada, Tennessee, Wisconsin and West Virginia.
Heat wasn’t the only factor in what proved to be a weather-devastating year. Wildfires burned over 9.2 million acres in the US, and destroyed hundreds of homes. Hurricane Sandy¹s storm surge height of 13.88 feet, broke the all-time record in New York Harbor, and ravaged com-munities across New Jersey and New York with floodwaters and winds.
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) revealed that 2012 surpassed the 3,251 weather records that were smashed in 2011, with record-breaking heat, rainfall and snow events catalogued by state.
NOAA has estimated that 2012 will surpass 2011 in aggregate costs for U.S. annual billion-dollar disasters, in large part due to the trails of destruction from superstorm Sandy and the yearlong drought.
2012’s Extreme Weather Map
Check out NRDC’s new interactive map to watch 2012’s extreme weather events across the country at: http://www.nrdc.org/health/extremeweather/default.asp
From April TPI e-newsletter