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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Climate of 1999 - June-August U.S. Regional and Statewide Analyses National Climatic Data Center, 15 September 1999

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Climate of 1999: August Overview Climate of 1999: June-August Overview Detailed Climate Perspectives . . . Global Analysis Global Regional Analyses U.S. National Analysis U.S. Regional/Statewide Analyses Drought in the U.S. Extreme Events 1999 Monthly Reports

Through climate analysis, National Climatic Data Center scientists have identified nine climatically consistent regions within the contiguous United States which are useful for putting current climate anomalies into an historical perspective.

Additional information about current climate anomalies can be found at the respective Web Pages of the Southern Regional Climate Center, Western Regional Climate Center, Midwest Regional Climate Center, Southeast Regional Climate Center, High Plains Regional Climate Center, and the Northeast Regional Climate Center.

Additional drought information can be found at the Web Page for the National Drought Mitigation Center. The Center monitors current droughts both in the United States and worldwide.

Table 1 shows precipitation and temperature ranks for each of the 9 regions and the nation for the Summer Season (June-August) 1999, based on the period 1895-1999. 1 = DRIEST/COLDEST, 105 = WETTEST/WARMEST

        REGION                PRECIPITATION  TEMPERATURE
        ------                -------------  -----------

       NORTHEAST                    2             97
       EAST NORTH CENTRAL          87             73
       CENTRAL                      8             75

       SOUTHEAST                   16             75
       WEST NORTH CENTRAL          68             60
       SOUTH                       32             74

       SOUTHWEST                   91             49
       NORTHWEST                   51             45
       WEST                        70             39

       NATIONAL                    22             68

It should be emphasized that all of the temperature and precipitation ranks in Table 1 are based on preliminary data. The ranks will change when the final data are processed.

Table 2 shows historical extremes for Summer (June-August), the 1961-1990 normal, and the Summer 1999 value for each of the 9 regions and the contiguous U.S. for precipitation and temperature.

                              PRECIPITATION (INCHES)
                            DRIEST     WETTEST   NORMAL  1999
        REGION            VALUE YEAR VALUE YEAR   PCPN   PCPN
        ------            ---------- ----------  ------ ------

       NORTHEAST           7.36 1913 15.15 1903  11.52   7.88
       EAST NORTH CENTRAL  6.51 1910 16.40 1993  11.23  12.86
       CENTRAL             6.32 1930 17.35 1958  11.91   8.74

       SOUTHEAST          10.63 1980 21.76 1906  15.61  13.62
       WEST NORTH CENTRAL  3.74 1917 12.11 1993   6.46   6.90
       SOUTH               5.31 1954 13.55 1950   9.67   8.56

       SOUTHWEST           2.75 1900  7.81 1921   4.72   5.65
       NORTHWEST           0.80 1919  5.47 1983   3.17   2.66
       WEST                0.24 1905  2.66 1913   1.30   1.17

       NATIONAL            5.98 1930 10.24 1928   8.24   7.58*

                           * PRELIMINARY VALUE, CONFIDENCE
                             INTERVAL + OR - 0.44 INCHES

                              TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
                            COLDEST    WARMEST   NORMAL  1999
        REGION            VALUE YEAR VALUE YEAR   TEMP   TEMP
        ------            ---------- ----------  ------ ------

       NORTHEAST           63.8 1903  70.4 1949   67.0   69.0
       EAST NORTH CENTRAL  63.0 1915  71.5 1988   67.7   68.6
       CENTRAL             70.5 1915  78.1 1934   73.3   74.8

       SOUTHEAST           75.5 1967  80.1 1952   77.5   78.6
       WEST NORTH CENTRAL  61.5 1915  71.4 1936   66.7   66.7
       SOUTH               77.3 1992  83.8 1934   79.7   80.7

       SOUTHWEST           68.2 1907  74.1 1994   71.0   70.8
       NORTHWEST           59.5 1993  67.2 1961   63.7   63.2
       WEST                68.1 1907  74.3 1918   71.3   70.8

       NATIONAL            69.5 1915  74.3 1936   71.7   72.3*

                           * PRELIMINARY VALUE, CONFIDENCE
                             INTERVAL + OR - 0.1 DEG. F.

Summer (June-August), 1999 Temperature and Precipitation

Summer 1999 was the 15th wettest summer on record for the Southwest Region. The last four such seasons have been above the long-term mean for precipitation for this region.

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Preliminary data for the Northeast Region ranked Summer 1999 as the second driest such season since records began in 1895. Four of the last nine summer seasons have been much below the long-term mean for precipitation.

Based upon preliminary data, Summer 1999 was the ninth warmest summer season on record for Northeast Region. Five of the last nine summer seasons have been much above the long-term mean.

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June-August 1999 Statewide Temperature and Precipitation

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Seven states ranked within the top ten warm portion of the distribution for summer 1999, including: Rhode Island - 2nd warmest New Jersey - 3rd warmest Connecticut - 4th warmest Massachusetts - 5th warmest New Hampshire - 5th warmest Vermont - 5th warmest No state ranked within the top ten cool portion of the distribution.

Sixteen states ranked within the top ten dry portion of the historical distribution for Summer 1999, including: Connecticut - Driest Rhode Island - Driest New York - 2nd driest West Virginia - 2nd driest Ohio - 3rd driest Virginia - 3rd driest Massachusetts - 4th driest Vermont - 4th driest Kentucky - 5th driest New Jersey - 5th driest No state ranked within the top ten wet portion of the distribution.

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It should be emphasized that all of the temperature and precipitation ranks on these maps are based on preliminary data. The ranks will change when the final data are processed.

For more information, refer to ...

Thomas R. Karl and Albert J. Koscielny, 1982: "Drought in the United States: 1895-1981." Journal of Climatology, vol. 2, pp. 313-329.

Thomas R. Karl and Walter James Koss, 1984: "Regional and National Monthly, Seasonal, and Annual Temperature Weighted by Area, 1895-1983." Historical Climatology Series 4-3, National Climatic Data Center, Asheville, NC, 38 pp.

NOAA's National Climatic Data Center is the world's largest active archive of weather data. The preliminary temperature and precipitation rankings are available from the center by calling: 828-271-4800.

Historical precipitation and temperature ranking maps are also available on the Internet at: http://nic.fb4.noaa.gov/products/analysis_monitoring/regional_monitoring/usa.html.

NOAA works closely with the academic and science communities on climate-related research projects to increase the understanding of El Niño and improve forecasting techniques. NOAA's Climate Prediction Center monitors, analyzes and predicts climate events ranging from weeks to seasons for the nation. NOAA also operates the network of data buoys and satellites that provide vital information about the ocean waters, and initiates research projects to improve future climate forecasts. The long lead climate outlooks are available on the Internet at: http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov.

For all climate questions other than questions concerning this report, please contact the National Climatic Data Center's Climate Services Division:

Climate Services Division
NOAA/National Climatic Data Center
151 Patton Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801-5001
fax: 828-271-4876
phone: 828-271-4800
email: ncdc.orders@noaa.gov

William Brown
NOAA/National Climatic Data Center
151 Patton Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801-5001
fax: 828-271-4328
email: william.brown@noaa.gov

Mike Changery
NOAA/National Climatic Data Center
151 Patton Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801-5001
fax: 828-271-4328
email: mchangry@ncdc.noaa.gov

NCDC / Climate Research / Climate of 1999 / June-August / U.S. Regional/Statewide / Search / Help