NOAA says December temperatures warmest on record in 'The South' - Alabama's State Clima
121 = record warmest temperature according to NOAA and includes Alabama, Mississippi, and Florida
By Leigh Morgan It was a warm December — the warmest on record in Alabama.
That's according to NOAA, which released a nationwide analysis of average December temperatures this week.
A climate report released by NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information said that December 2015 was also record warm in the continental U.S. The average temperature was 38.6 degrees Fahrenheit, which was 6 degrees above the 20th century average.
The previous record was 37.7 degrees in 1939.
The weather pattern in December made for record warmth across most of the eastern half of the nation while keeping the West at average or below-average temperatures, the NCEI said.
Alabama was one of 29 states that experienced its warmest December on record. All of those states were in the eastern half of the nation.
Alabama's statewide average temperature in December was 56.4 degrees, 10 degrees above average, according to the NCEI. The data period is 1895-2015.
Alabama's previous warmest December was in 1984, when the average statewide temperature was 55.1 degrees.
However, that is not the only opinion on the matter.
Alabama State Climatologist Dr. John Christy said that data collected from the University of Alabama in Huntsville may beg to differ about a 2015 being the hottest December.
"The UAH satellite data measures the temperature of the deep atmosphere," he said.
"Over Alabama, December 2015 was very warm, but it was actually hotter in December 1984."
Why was last month so warm?
"Weather patterns shift all the time, and this time it was our turn to be in the warmest (relatively speaking) region of the planet," Christy said this week via email. "January won't be that way as you can tell."
1-8 state avg precip.jpg Alabama had its second-wettest December on record, according to a NOAA group. Two states had their wettest Decembers on record: Iowa and Wisconsin. (National Centers for Environmental Information) Christy said the ongoing El Nino, thought to be one of the strongest on record, also had an influence on December's temperatures.
December was also particularly soggy in Alabama, according to the NCEI.
2015 ranked as No. 2 for precipitation when looking at data from 1895 through 2015, the agency said.
The statewide average for precipitation last month was 10.64 inches, which was 5.45 inches above average.
The wettest December on record in Alabama was in 1961, when the statewide average precipitation was 12.21 inches, more than 7 inches above average.
Click link below for more graphics and information:
Comments