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Global average temperature for january highest on record, u.s. temperature near average for month |
| TheAllINeed.com |
(NC&T/NOAA) The combined global land and ocean surface temperature was 1.53 degrees F (0.85 degrees C) warmer than the 20th century average of 53.6 degrees F (12.0 degrees C) for January based on preliminary data, surpassing the previous record set in 2002 at 1.28 degrees F (0.71 degrees C) above the average. Last month's record was greatly influenced by a record high land-surface temperature, which was 3.40 degrees F (1.89 degrees C) warmer than average. Separately, the global ocean-surface temperature was fourth warmest in the 128-year series, approximately 0.1 degrees F (0.05 degrees C) cooler than the record established during the very strong El Niño episode in 1998.
A moderate El Niño episode that began in September 2006 continued into January but weakened during the month. The presence of El Niño, along with the continuing global warming trend, contributed to the record warm January. Monthly mean temperatures more than 8 degrees F above average covered large parts of Eastern Europe and much of Russia, and temperatures more than 5 degrees F above average were widespread in Canada. The unusually warm conditions contributed to the 2nd lowest January snow cover extent on record for the Eurasian continent.
During the past century, global surface temperatures have increased at a rate near 0.11 degrees F (0.06 degrees C) per decade, but the rate of increase has been three times larger since 1976, or 0.32 degrees F (0.18 degrees C) per decade, with some of the largest temperature increases occurring in the high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere.
The average January temperature for the contiguous U.S. was 31.8 degrees F (-0.1 degrees C), or 0.9 degrees F (0.5 degrees C) above the 20th century average of 30.9 degrees F based on preliminary data. In the central and eastern U.S., the pattern of spring-like temperatures that began late December, continued during the first two weeks of the year. For the month, 29 states were warmer than average east of the Mississippi River and in the northern High Plains. Alaska also was warmer than average at 0.9 degrees F above the 1971-2000 mean.
 | | 2007 global temperature anomalies. (Photo: NOAA) |
The same upper-level wind pattern responsible for the warmer-than-average temperatures in the East, brought colder-than-average temperatures to the southern Plains and much of the West in January. Hundreds of daily low temperature records were either tied or broken during a mid-January cold outbreak that extended snowfall as far south as Arizona and southern California. Below-average temperatures had spread across much of the country by the end of the month.
The warmer-than-average temperatures in the eastern half of the nation helped reduce residential energy needs for the nation as a whole. Using the Residential Energy Demand Temperature Index (REDTI—an index developed at NOAA to relate energy usage to climate), NOAA scientists determined that the nation's residential energy demand was approximately 3 percent lower than what would have occurred under average climate conditions for the month. This was much less than the estimated 20 percent temperature-related reduction in residential energy demand that occurred during the record warm January last year.
January 2007 precipitation for the contiguous U.S. was near average, with sharply contrasting conditions across the country. Near-average to drier-than-average conditions occurred along much of the East Coast, Southeast, Upper Midwest and the northern High Plains to the Pacific Northwest. Precipitation was above average from southern Texas and New Mexico to the Midwest and parts of the Northeast, while much-drier-than-average conditions were present in parts of the Intermountain West and California.
A series of snow and ice storms struck the central U.S. in January, with severe winter weather as far south as San Antonio and Houston. Three winter storms affected Oklahoma City. For much of the mountainous West, below-average seasonal snowfall totals persisted. Snowpack was below average throughout most of the West through early February, with only portions of the Northern Cascades and the Front Range of the Rockies in Colorado and New Mexico above average. Snowpack that normally builds during the winter is an important source of water for the western U.S., as spring and summer snow melt flows into reservoirs throughout the region. NOAA scientists caution that if rain and snow patterns don't change soon, more areas of the West could face below-average water supplies this year, despite the fact that reservoirs in the Northwest and California continue to benefit from more snow than average last year.
According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, drought covered 25 percent of the contiguous U.S. at the end of January. The most severe conditions were in areas of southern Texas, Wyoming, the western High Plains and northern Minnesota.
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