10 December 2015

U.S. Has Warmest Autumn on Record

Posted by Dan Satterfield

Temperatures across the U.S. (at 3 PM) were over 30 degrees above average in North Dakota this afternoon. With dozens of cities reporting temperatures of 12-28 degrees above average. The map below is based on the average weather (for 3 PM on December 9th) over the last 30 years.

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The maps below show the temperatures over the last 30 and the last 90 days compared to normal. The NOAA Climate Information Center reported today that this autumn was the warmest on record in the U.S. and it will very likely be the warmest on record globally. The year is also certain to be the warmest on record as well.

ncep_cfsv2_360_t2anom_usa

Image ctsy. Ryan Maue at WX Bell.

ncep_cfsv2_120_t2anom_usa

The Pacific NW has continued to see one El Nino type storm after another, and the loop below shows the total precipitable water. Notice the stream of moisture across the Pacific aimed at Washington and British Columbia. If this type of pattern continues, the needed snow pack in the California mountains will not be enough to make much of a difference in the drought, since that will only get better when the Central Sierra’s see heavy snows and rainfall.

MIMIC_TPW_EPAC_latest72hrs_Ending1700_08dec2015

Look at the full disk loop of the storms impacting the NW U.S. (Ctsy NASA Goddard and GOES West).

GOES-15 Video of Storms Buffeting the Pacific Northwest.mp4

A NASA Goddard compilation of images from NOAA’s GOES-West satellite shows the series of storms that buffeted the Pacific Northwestern U.S. from Nov. 29 to Dec. 9, 2015.