Climate Change News: 2017 Has Been One Of The Hottest, Most Extreme On Record When It Comes To Weather

You may have noticed this spring felt a little warmer than usual even though summer is taking its time in some parts of the country. This spring, classified meteorologically as the months of March, April and May, was 2.6 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th-century average. The spring average temperature was 53.5 degrees Fahrenheit across the United States, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported.

While no state experienced a record-breaking spring for high or low temperatures, 19 states did see spring seasons that were much warmer average. The spring season also brought more precipitation than average across much of the country. The spring average precipitation was 1.45 inches above the 20th-century average. The averages are derived from data collected across the U.S., beginning in 1893.

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These conditions made for the eighth warmest spring on record and the 11th wettest. May by itself was pretty much on par with the average. The temperature was 0.4 degrees above average and the precipitation was 0.4 inch above average, NOAA reported.

However, May saw expanded drought conditions in Florida, and record and near-record-breaking precipitation totals along the East Coast, the Mississippi Valley and the southern Appalachians, which helped relieve dry conditions in some of those areas. Additionally, the Mississippi Valley saw record flooding.

The real anomalies are in the year-to-date average temperature and precipitation data. The year-to-date average temperature, meaning the temperature recorded from January to May for 2017, was the second warmest ever recorded. The average temperature for the U.S. during 2017 so far is sitting at 47 degrees Fahrenheit, which is 3.7 degrees above average.

The year-to-date average precipitation makes this year’s January-May period the third wettest on record. During that period, the average precipitation was 14.85 inches, 2.46 inches above average.

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Some of this is due to record-breaking temperatures felt across the country in April and above-average precipitation levels in California and along the west coast during January and February.

In terms of extremes, this spring was the 19th most extreme spring season on record, the U.S. Climate Extremes Index shows. That index evaluates factors like maximum and minimum temperatures, days with precipitation above average and days with temperatures above average. An extreme is considered anything in the upper or lower 10 percent of the record to date.

The Climate Extremes Index for the year so far ranks 2017 as the second most extreme year. The index number is more than double the average.

As climate change continues deviations from the average will most likely become more common as will extreme weather events and days with temperatures above 100 degrees