There were four months (January, March, July, and November) where all six states averaged above-normal temperatures. The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development provides this . As the weather . The 2023 supplies will range from 35% to 100%, depending on . The area of drought in southwestern Florida persisted until early June, while the area of drought in coastal Alabama lasted until late June. Most of the drought is focused on the central islands of Molokai, Maui, Kahoolawe, and Lanai with severe and extreme drought present. There were two months (March and November) where the entire region experienced a top-10 warmest month on record. To the north, in western Pennsylvania, three weak (EF-0 or EF-1) tornadoes damaged trees and buildings, the Pittsburgh International Airport recorded its second highest thunderstorm wind gust on record at 75 mph (34 m/s), and a hangar and plane were destroyed at the Arnold Palmer Municipal Airport. There is a distinct dry season from January to June, . May is the rainiest month in Virginia with 11.3 days of rain, and October is the driest month with only 7.7 rainy days. One of the wettest cites in Alaska, Yakutat, also had a dry year with 104.55 in (2655.57 mm, 67% of normal) making it the 6th driest on record. All nine Midwest states were above their 1981-2010 normal by 0.9 to 1.8 degrees F (0.5 to 1.0 C). Maine had its worst year for fires in 20 years with 1,000 wildfires as of September 24. Just a week later, on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, a storm system dropped as much as 6 inches (152 mm) of rain on the region, with several locations having one of their 10 wettest December days on record. During the fall, some Florida citrus growers reported extremely heavy fruit drop within their groves, which was partially attributed to premature blooming during the winter 20192020 season as well as a persistence of heavy rainfall throughout the year. On January 31st, Charlotte, NC continued its record of reporting at least a trace of snow in every winter season since 1878. On October 7, a derecho produced a 320-mile (515 km) long path of damage from central New York to eastern New England. The year started off on the warm side, with winter temperatures generally above normal, except for western areas of Colorado and Wyoming. Most of the islands saw below normal precipitation with the exception of Kauai and some of southern Hawaii. In August, every state except for Arkansas and Oklahoma experienced warmer than normal temperatures, while every state except for Oklahoma and Texas experienced wetter than normal conditions. There were road closures, cars trapped in floodwaters, and water rescues. More than 185,000 customers lost power in Pennsylvania. Drought conditions expanded or intensified across much of the western U.S. and southern to central High Plains throughout 2020 with persistent above-average temperatures and precipitation deficits in place across much of the West. Prior to this, there had only been four February tornadoes in Maryland between 1950 and 2019. The map of California shows how this water years precipitation compares to what has been observed historically. Maximum rainfall intensities to expect in one out of ten years are: .6 to 1.0 inch in one hour; 1.0 to 2.5 inches in three hours; 1.5 to 5.0 inches in six hours; and 2.0 to 7.0 inches in 12 hours. From November 8th through the 12th, Tropical Storm Eta produced 5 to more than 10 inches (127 to more than 254 mm) of rainfall across portions of west-central and southern Florida. View high, low and average temperatures within an area and the amount of cooling required (CDD), amount of heating required (HDD) and amount of rain in inches. Charleston, West Virginia, had its wettest May on record with 8.93 inches (226.82 mm) of precipitation and its wettest spring on record with 19.14 inches (486.16 mm) of precipitation. Click the map to enlarge. The warmth kicked off in January with Boston, Massachusetts; Providence, Rhode Island; and Bridgeport, Connecticut, having their warmest January day on record with highs near or above 70 degrees F (21 degrees C). Water restrictions were in place for hundreds of locations in New England, as well as some locations in New York and Pennsylvania. It was only the second time since 1885 that Philadelphia recorded no snowfall during spring. Livestock producers in Georgia had to travel far to buy hay since supplies were short from the drought conditions in autumn 2019. The map of California shows Unfortunately, in early June the total area experiencing at least abnormally dry conditions began to increase. impacting how we are able to capture and distribute water. More than 4.3 million acres were consumed across California during 2020. https://doi.org/10.1175/2021BAMSStateoftheClimate.1. Higher than normal The plot below aggregates this same data to show how the cumulative statewide snowpack is tracking relative to the historical average. Normal annual snowfall exceeds 38 inches or 0.97 m in Chicago, while the southern portion of the state normally receives less than 14 inches or 0.36 m. The timing was particularly bad for farmers that were in the midst of harvesting a variety of vegetable crops bound for holiday tables, including sweet corn, green beans, lettuce, cabbage, and radishes. The Four Corners region began 2020 with a sizeable area of severe drought that has expanded and intensified with exceptional drought present in Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, and Colorado by the end of 2020. Baker City, in northeast Oregon, saw its warmest year on record going back to 1944 with an annual average temperature 48.3 F (9.1 C), 3.9 F (2.2 C) above normal. Annual precipitation totals were well above average across the Southeast region, with widespread areas of exceptional wetness occurring in every state and Puerto Rico. We continue to monitor conditions across California, and while recent rain and snow has been promising, it will take more than a single wet year for California to fully recover from the last three years the driest ever recorded in state history. Californias annual precipitation can vary greatly from year to year and region to region. Approximately four percent of Californias nearly 100 million acres were consumed by wildfires in 2020, which is the largest wildfire season on record for the state. In southeastern Pennsylvania, Chester Creek rose to its fourth highest water level on record, exceeding its previous fourth highest level set days earlier. For instance, California is the third largest state in the US and has an average annual rainfall of 18.5 inches, while Rhode Island is the smallest state and receives an average of 44.4 inches of rain per year. The U.S. Drought Monitor released on August 27 showed 37 percent of the Northeast in a severe or moderate drought and 23 percent as abnormally dry. Temperatures rebounded in the summer, with most states in the High Plains ranking in the top 15 warmest summers on record. In addition, almost 400,000 customers lost power. statistic alerts) please log in with your personal account. The highest winds, over 100 miles per hour (161 km per hour), were in central Iowa causing severe damage to crops and trees. For a small area of northwest Oregon, western Washington, and northern Idaho, drought conditions improved with removal of drought for these locations. The 2020 annual precipitation totals indicate that precipitation for the year was above normal for much of the Southern Region, with Tennessee experiencing its sixth-wettest year on record while the region as a whole received an average annual precipitation total of 328.59 inches (8346.19 mm), making it the eleventh-wettest year on record. On January 11th, a thunderstorm wind gust of 75 mph (34 m/s) in Greene County, AL blew a very large tree down onto the water main in Forkland, and many thousands of gallons of water spilled out of the water tower. The fewest number of reports occurred in South Carolina (510; 13 percent of total), while the greatest number was recorded in Georgia (873; 23 percent of total). Everywhere they occur, mountainseven just isolated ridges and plateausare wetter than their surrounding lowlands. For further details on the weather and climate events in the Midwest, see the weekly and monthly summaries in the. Of this 24-hour precipitation total, Key West observed 3.95 inches (100 mm) in a single hour, which is its second highest hourly rain rate ever recorded. The old record was 3.86 inches (98.04 mm) of precipitation on September 14, 1973. Allentown, Pennsylvania, and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, had their least snowy seasons (October through May) on record. In October, Hurricane Zeta caused additional cotton losses in Georgia and the Florida Panhandle, as heavy rainfall led to an increase in boll rot. Mean annual temperatures across the State range from 54.0 F in northern New Castle County to 58.1 F along the Atlantic coast of southern Delaware. Straight-line winds of up to 80 mph (36 m/s) caused extensive damage in several locations. Wind gusts of up to 50 mph (22 m/s) were recorded in several coastal locations of Maryland, Delaware, and New Jersey, where some coastal flooding occurred. For instance, the Perkiomen Creek at Graterford, Pennsylvania, reached 19.14 feet (5.83 m), nearly a foot (0.30 m) higher than its previous record from 1935. The year ended quite warm, with a continuation of much-above-normal temperatures in December for most of the region. Extreme (D3) and exceptional (D4) drought covered about 22 percent of the CONUS on December 29 the largest extent of D3 and D4 drought since August 2012 (24 percent). Alabama, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and Delaware each ranked warmest on record with six additional states' minimum temperatures ranking second warmest on record. On the 12th, Appomattox, VA (19372020) and Concord 4 SSW, VA (19502020) observed their second and third wettest day for any month on record, with 7.28 and 6.85 inches (185 and 174 mm) of precipitation, respectively. Just as precipitation patterns vary across the world, however, so do the precipitation effects of climate change. During the summer, drought conditions expanded to include over 70 percent of Wyoming and nearly all of Colorado. A few small pockets of moderate drought developed in north-central Puerto Rico during late December. Iowa ranked as the 30th driest in its history. Above-average conditions were observed across much of the North Slope, West Coast and the Aleutians, primarily due to the lack of coastal sea ice. The path taken by the storm system was one of the furthest to the west and north in history. Severe weather in the region was spread across many months, however the most newsworthy was a severe derecho on August 10th. Power outages affected millions in the region with many outages lasting days or even weeks in some cases. Caribou, Maine, tied its greatest number of June nights with a low of 32 degrees F (0 degrees C) or lower on June 1 and 2. Six of the 12 Northeast states also recorded their hottest July on record: Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, New Hampshire, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. The warmest temperature observed during the year was 102 degrees F (38.9 degrees C), which was recorded at several locations across the region, including Macon, GA (July 20th), Athens, GA (July 20th), and Norfolk, VA (July 19th, 21st, and 28th). Since 1901, global precipitation has increased at an average rate of 0.04 inches per decade, while precipitation in the contiguous 48 states has increased at a rate of 0.20 inches per decade. For instance, a roof was blown off a store in Cape May, New Jersey, and a cow barn was tossed into a power pole in Rockland, Massachusetts. Average Annual Rainfall. A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States. Precipitation was primarily wetter than normal (Texas was slightly drier than normal), with Mississippi and Tennessee experiencing their sixth-wettest and eighth-wettest winters on record, respectively. In the beginning of the year, roughly a third of the Southern Region was experiencing at least abnormally dry conditions. As much as 5 inches (127 mm) of rain fell in a two-hour period on September 10, leading to flash flooding in Washington, D.C., and surrounding suburbs. Due to reduced yields, farmers bought hay to feed livestock, but there were hay shortages and increased prices, with a Vermont farmer spending as much as $20,000 on feed. Home | Privacy & Cookies | Contact | About. The driest parts of the country are light green. The precipitation anomalies shown here were calculated based on monthly values from a network of long-term monitoring stations. Higher than normal Moderate drought first emerged in Minnesota in early June and by the end of July had touched parts of all nine Midwest states. Drought conditions exhibited a slightly cyclical pattern throughout the Southern Region during 2020, but conditions primarily deteriorated as the year progressed. To view WY 2021-22 data, visit. In addition, Baltimore, Maryland; Hartford, Connecticut; LaGuardia Airport, New York; Philadelphia and Scranton, Pennsylvania; Providence, Rhode Island; and Washington, D.C. recorded their greatest number of days with a high of at least 90 degrees F (32 degrees C) for any month on record. Many rural areas are still experiencing water supply challenges, especially communities that rely on groundwater supplies which have been depleted due to prolonged drought. Visibility: 10 mi. Data source: NOAA, 20222Web update: July 2022. The statewide precipitation rankings for the year are as follows: Arkansas (eleventh wettest), Louisiana (ninteenth wettest), Mississippi (eleventh wettest), Oklahoma (twenty-seventh wettest), Tennessee (sixth wettest), and Texas (fifty-fourth driest). Mitchell (139.94 inches, 3,554 mm). In fact, by the end of September, all of Rhode Island was in an extreme drought for the first time in the U.S. Drought Monitors history (since 2000). June and July were Puerto Ricos most significant drought months with over 50 percent coverage; Alaska was nearly drought free during most of 2020. Climate change has fundamentally altered our states hydrologic system intensifying severe weather as we swing from extreme dry to extreme wet situations. The total cost of U.S. billion-dollar disasters over the last five years (2016-2020) exceeds $600 billion. State of the climate in 2020. An early season freeze event occurred in the Upper Midwest on September 8th-11th. There were seven tropical cyclones that directly impacted the Southern Region in 2020. The center of low pressure for this storm is the lowest known pressure in or around Alaskan waters. In Alabama, greenhouses and plastic bedding on vegetables were significantly damaged by Zetas high winds. Climate Normalsthe new official baseline for describing average U.S. climate. Some areas of the region, especially western and southern Colorado, had departures over 2.0 degrees F (1.1 degrees C), which led to many locations ranking in the top 10 warmest years on record. Conversely, Oklahoma had the fewest tornado reports (31), Tennessee had the fewest hail reports (60), and Louisiana had the fewest wind reports (256). Between 3 and 6 inches (76 to 152 mm) of rain fell in a two-hour period at rainfall rates of 3 or more inches (76 mm) per hour. Warm weather in February contributed to low snowfall totals in southern and eastern parts of the region. In Georgia, the blueberry crop was badly damaged by severe weather in April. Autumn was wetter and warmer than normal for most of the Southern Region. This value will be evaluated by the State Climate Extremes Committee later in 2021 to determine if a state record for lowest mean sea level pressure will be established. Back-to-back storms from February 5 to 8 brought an extreme mix of weather conditions to the Northeast. Below-average rain and snow fell from 2020 to 2022, leading to water cutbacks that varied from mild to severe in Stanislaus County. Published by Statista Research Department , Jan 3, 2023. This switch from wet to dry was so pronounced that some locations went from having a top 10 wettest year in 2019 to a top 10 driest year in 2020. 2020 was a year of transition for the High Plains region, as cool, wet conditions over the past two years gave way to a warmer and drier regime. The Roanoke River crested almost 6 feet (1.8 meters) above flood stage on May 21st, sending water rushing onto some roadways and making them impassable. These conditions improved slightly during the spring, but quickly gave way to further expansion and deterioration, particularly during the summer and fall. The result was strong wind gusts for the entire Northeast and a major late season snowstorm for parts of Maine and New Hampshire from April 9 to 10. The lowest annual precipitation total for any station (excluding CoCoRaHS) across the region was recorded in East Hill on St. Croix, USVI, which observed only 35.69 inches (907 mm) of precipitation. Drought stress also caused leaves to change color and drop earlier than usual in parts of the Northeast. As the storm rapidly strengthened, it set the record for the lowest February air pressure in Hartford (based on preliminary data) and produced damaging wind gusts of up to 80 mph (36 m/s), particularly in coastal areas. In New Zealand generally there are relatively small variations between summer and winter temperatures, although inland and to the east of the ranges the variation is . El Paso's average rainfall from the thirty year period (1981-2010) was 9.71". The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has for decades ignored its responsibility to enforce civil rights laws, as I argued last year in a First Opinion essay. Precipitation across the region ranged from 50 percent or less of normal to 130 percent or more of normal, with the driest areas in western Texas and the wettest areas across parts of every state. Prolonged dryness in April and May led to an outbreak of numerous wildfires across Florida. Kentucky was the wettest state with 9.97 inches (253 mm) above normal which ranked as the 8th wettest in its history. These regional summaries were provided by the six Regional Climate Centers and reflect conditions in their respective regions. A stream gauge near Colesville, Maryland, rose eight feet (2.4 m) in around an hour. Data source: NOAA, 20221Web update: July 2022. 102(8):SiS475. Although drought has impacted parts of the region in recent years, such as the 2017 Northern Plains drought, this is the most expansive drought in the region since 2012-2013. crcst test prep; crcst free test questions; paid test; crcst exam prep notes; subscribe Nearly half (138 of 299) of the tornadoes occurred during April, which had the third highest monthly count of tornadoes across the region behind April 2011 (226) and September 2004 (247). Rocky Mountain snowpack was below normal at the time of this writing. 2022. Parts of northwestern Iowa remained in extreme drought as the year came to an end. Enter a 5-Digit ZIP Code (i.e. Three years of drought in California are putting a strain on groundwater wells. Mitchell, NC (19252020) recorded 0.2, 10.2, and 64.2 inches (5, 259, and 1,631 mm) of snowfall during the year, which is 17.9, 12.5, and 13.2 inches (455, 318, and 335 mm) below their long-term averages, respectively. Numerous roads in the urbanized corridor of southeastern Florida became impassable due to flooding, with many reports of stalled or submerged vehicles. Millions of acres of crops were flattened by the storm. Directly accessible data for 170 industries from 50 countries and over 1 million facts: Get quick analyses with our professional research service. Nevada and Utah ranked driest on record for 2020 with two additional western states ranking second driest. Ohio ranked as the 7th warmest in its history and Michigan ranked 10th. Through the end of summer, most of the Southeast region remained drought-free, except for a few short-lived pockets of moderate drought in portions of northern and coastal Virginia, Georgia, southeastern Alabama, and west-central Florida. In Spokane, which marks the eastern edge of the state, rainfall averages 15 to 30 inches (38 to 76 cm) a year. Portions of West Virginia and the Mid-Atlantic also saw freezing rain, with ice accumulations of up to 0.41 inches (10.41 mm), and sleet. One tornado in Delaware was on the ground for over 35 miles (56 km), the state's longest tornado track on record. In, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. During October, beneficial rainfall improved drought conditions in portions of New England; however, drought and abnormal dryness expanded or intensified in parts of New York and Pennsylvania. March was an exceptionally warm month for the region, as three states (Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas) experienced a top-5 warmest March on record, while Oklahoma experienced a top-10 warmest March on record. Wilmington, Delaware; Huntington, West Virginia; and Charleston, West Virginia, set/tied their greatest number of March days with measurable precipitation. Many of the same locations that saw above normal and record high temperatures also experienced below normal precipitation and in some cases record dryness. Several notable widespread wind events occurred in the Northeast this year. Summer rain is usually more intense as it falls after the summer heat leads to the build-up of thunderstorms. As soon as this statistic is updated, you will immediately be notified via e-mail. The map is a modification of the PRISM map developed by the PRISM Climate Group with precipitation expressed in inches/year rather than millimeters/yr and the October was mixed with respect to temperature, with three states (Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas) experiencing cooler than normal temperatures while three states (Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee) experienced warmer than normal temperatures. Multiple residences were destroyed by this fire, and many residents were told to evacuate the area. Average temperature has risen about 1C. while summer was slightly warmer than the long-term average in four states and slightly cooler in the other three. This figure shows how the total annual amount of precipitation in the contiguous 48 states has changed since 1901. Most wells are only measured twice a year, in the spring and fall. Corn and soybean crops in the Midwest had favorable conditions in 2020 except for the areas hit by drought and the derecho. No. Every state reported wetter than normal conditions. Get full access to all features within our Business Solutions. What is the average annual rainfall in New York State? The combination of heavy rain, melting snow, and wet antecedent conditions led to flooding in central/eastern New York, the eastern half of Pennsylvania, and Delaware. In this latest climate period (1991-2020), the annual rainfall in El Paso fell to 8.78" which is down nearly an inch. Soil moisture conditions in the fall and early winter are important for the High Plains region because, as soils freeze, available moisture is locked in place until spring. Fay made landfall near Atlantic City, New Jersey, on July 10 and dropped between 3 and 7 inches (76 to 178 mm) of rain on parts of Maryland, Delaware, eastern Pennsylvania, New Jersey, southeastern New York, and southwestern Connecticut. This allows us to see how well the snowpack is doing to date, as well as how much snow may still be needed to reach the average peak snowpack (i.e., April 1st snowpack). Few wells have monthly data. Flood Control District Advisory Commission Meeting. Climate Normals. Strong thunderstorm winds accounted for about 85 percent (3,256 of 3,843) of the severe weather reports and caused at least 10 fatalities and 34 injuries across the region. Doing nothing to protect minority populations from inequitable health harms resulting from the health care industry's greenhouse gas emissions constitutes environmental and institutional racism. A total of 85 long-term stations across the region, with at least five located in every state, observed annual precipitation totals that were ranked within their five highest values on record. Dam releases were performed in the Lamprey River watershed in New Hampshire, while a section of the Salmon River in New York was closed to fishing and Connecticut officials delayed restocking trout and salmon in the Farmington River. Power outages lasted five days in some locations. Everyone is welcome to research, learn, and stay at wells to the previous 10 years of measurements for the wells. Average annual rainfall of the states of India. For the year, there were areas in all six states that averaged between 1 to 2 degrees F (0.56 to 1.11 degrees C) above normal, while parts of Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee averaged 2 to 3 degrees F (1.11 to 1.67 degrees C) above normal. Much of New England saw an unusually high number of fires or atypical fire behavior, with fires burning deeper and taking longer to extinguish. The data on the right show the number of monitoring wells that have water levels Prolonged saturated soil caused some farmers to abandon portions of their soybean and cotton fields. The two terms mean the same thing but different from annual rainfall. Popular places in the United States of America (Normals are available for individual weather stations in Alaska and Hawaii.) Please click here to see any active alerts. Spring and fall are particularly mild with hot and humid days in late summer and during winter months when temperatures occasionally dip into the teens or below, especially with wind chill. Below-average temperatures occurred across parts of the Southeast Interior region. This led to rapid rises and moderate flooding on some waterways. Statewide average precipitation is a little over 40 inches annually; this varies regionally, with mountainous regions of the state receiving more than 50 inches per year. Over the contiguous United States, total annual precipitation increased at an average rate of 6.1 percent per century since 1900, with the greatest increases within the East North Central climate region (11.6 percent per . Wildfire activity across Alaska was below average and consumed approximately 181,000 acres in 2020 only 15 percent of the 2010-2019 average. Upper Missouri Basin snowpack peaked in mid-April at just above normal above Fort Peck Reservoir and between Fort Peck and Garrison Reservoirs, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. There were 8 fatalities from Hurricane Zeta, including in Acworth, GA where a large oak tree was uprooted and fell onto a mobile home, killing a man. Summer temperatures in the low-lying Colorado Desert can reach as high as about 130 F (54 C), and annual precipitation there averages only 3 to 4 inches (75 to 100 mm). Meteorological Divisions. In addition, West Virginia had its eighth wettest year while Maryland had its ninth wettest. Average monthly hours of sunshine over the year On certain pages we also offer other historical weather data like humidity, wind speed and water temperature. This home features 3 bedrooms with one and half bath. One of the largest fires burned over 8,600 acres in Collier County and forced a portion of I-75 to close. Since 1901, global precipitation has increased at an average rate of 0.04 inches per decade, while precipitation in the contiguous 48 states has increased at a rate of 0.20 inches per decade. Five of the six warmest years on record at Hilo have occurred since 2015. Preliminary damage estimates in Delaware exceeded $20 million. Clear. Despite a cold start to the year in Alaska, the statewide average annual temperature was 27.5F, 1.5F above the long-term average and was the coldest year since 2012. Welcome to California Water Watch! B. Some parts of the United States have experienced greater increases in precipitation than others. Eight of the Northeast states were drier than normal while four were wetter than normal. Therefore, a warming climate is expected to increase precipitation in many areas. The most costly events of the year include: Hurricane Laura, the Western wildfires and the Midwest derecho. There were numerous road closures and several water rescues. With four distinct, yet temperate, seasons, Arkansas is the perfect year-round vacation destination. Through November 30, and the official end of the Atlantic hurricane season, several records were tied or broken. The southern region of the state has summers ranging from 90F to 100F, while the northern part has milder summers ranging from 72F to 82F. 2022. This indicator describes trends in average precipitation for the United States and the world. Californians must adapt to this new normal and adopt conservation as a way of life to make the most out of our limited water supplies across the state. The nationally averaged minimum temperature (overnight lows) during 2020 was 42.4F, 2.4F above average and also ranked sixth warmest in the 126-year record. January was warmer and wetter than normal across all six states, with Texas experiencing its tenth-warmest January on record while Oklahoma experienced its sixth-wettest January on record. Although the vast majority of the Midwestern derecho impacted areas to the east of the region, it is worth noting that this was an incredibly devastating storm that caused an estimated $7.5 billion in damage, according to NOAAs U.S. Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters event database.