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March-May 2000
U.S. Regional and Statewide Analyses

National Climatic Data Center, 16 June 2000

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Standard Regions for Temperature and Precipitation
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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.

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Table 1 shows precipitation and temperature ranks for each of the 9 regions and the nation for the Spring Season (March-May 2000), based on the period 1895-2000. 1 = DRIEST/COLDEST, 106 = WETTEST/WARMEST

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

      NORTHEAST                   97             96
      EAST NORTH CENTRAL          50            103
      CENTRAL                     32             96

      SOUTHEAST                   14             86
      WEST NORTH CENTRAL          65             99
      SOUTH                       53            102

      SOUTHWEST                   46            103
      NORTHWEST                   55             90
      WEST                        43            100

       NATIONAL                    35            106

It should be emphasized that all of the temperature and precipitation values and ranks in Tables 1 and 2 are based on preliminary data. The ranks will change when the final data are processed.

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Top of Page Table 2 shows historical extremes for Spring (March-May 2000), the 1961-1990 normal, and the Spring 2000 value for each of the 9 regions and the contiguous U.S. for precipitation and temperature.

                            PRECIPITATION (INCHES)
                           DRIEST     WETTEST   NORMAL  2000
       REGION            VALUE YEAR VALUE YEAR   PCPN   PCPN
       ------            ---------- ----------  ------ ------

      NORTHEAST           5.65 1915 16.86 1983  10.35  12.92
      EAST NORTH CENTRAL  3.82 1934 11.66 1991   7.81   7.59
      CENTRAL             6.98 1941 18.55 1927  12.34  10.54

      SOUTHEAST           6.77 1914 18.29 1980  12.48   9.10
      WEST NORTH CENTRAL  2.22 1934  7.57 1995   5.21   5.25
      SOUTH               5.89 1925 17.04 1957   9.98   9.64

      SOUTHWEST           1.30 1972  6.62 1941   2.86   2.74
      NORTHWEST           2.13 1924  9.41 1993   6.48   6.36
      WEST                0.93 1909 10.15 1995   4.18   3.60

      NATIONAL            5.32 1925 10.14 1973   7.76   7.24*

                          * PRELIMINARY VALUE, CONFIDENCE
                            INTERVAL + OR - 0.53 INCHES

                             TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
                           COLDEST    WARMEST   NORMAL  2000
       REGION            VALUE YEAR VALUE YEAR   TEMP   TEMP
       ------            ---------- ----------  ------ ------

      NORTHEAST           40.0 1926  49.4 1921   44.4   46.8
      EAST NORTH CENTRAL  37.8 1950  49.9 1977   43.3   47.4
      CENTRAL             48.6 1960  57.7 1977   53.1   55.4

      SOUTHEAST           59.0 1960  65.9 1908   62.0   63.8
      WEST NORTH CENTRAL  36.9 1917  48.0 1910   42.6   46.0
      SOUTH               57.7 1931  65.4 1963   62.2   65.0

      SOUTHWEST           44.6 1917  55.4 1934   50.2   54.0
      NORTHWEST           40.4 1955  52.0 1934   45.3   47.4
      WEST                48.9 1896  59.1 1934   52.6   56.0

      NATIONAL*           48.7 1917  55.5 2000   52.2   55.5

             * BASED ON USHCN DATA
 
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Top of Page Spring (March-May 2000), Temperature and Precipitation
Spring 2000 was the fourth warmest spring on record for the East-North Central Region. The last three spring seasons have averaged much warmer than the long-term mean for this region. Warm Region - Spring
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2nd Warm Region - Spring
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Preliminary data for the South Region ranked spring 2000 as the fifth warmest such season since records began in 1895. This is the first spring season since 1991 that temperatures have averaged much warmer than normal for the South Region.
Based upon preliminary data, spring 2000 was the 10th wettest spring season on record for Northeast Region. Eight of the last twelve spring seasons have been wetter than normal for the Northeast Region. Wet Region - Spring
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Dry Region - Spring
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Preliminary data for the Southeast Region ranked spring 2000 as the 14th driest such season since records began in 1895. The last two spring seasons have averaged much below the long-term mean for precipitation.
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Top of Page March-May 2000 Statewide Temperature and Precipitation

Spring Tmp Map
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It was the warmest spring season on record for Texas. Twenty-two other states ranked within their top ten warmest on record and all of the 48 contiguous states were warmer than normal for spring 2000. Other ranks include:
  • New Mexico - 2nd warmest
  • Nevada - 3rd warmest
  • Iowa - 4th warmest
  • Wisconsin - 4th warmest

No state ranked within the cool-third portion of the distribution.

It was the fourth driest spring on record for Florida and the eighth driest spring since 1895 for Missouri. Ten other states ranked within the dry third of the distribution. (See the Drought in the U.S. page for additional drought information).

Spring 2000 was the fourth wettest such season on record for New York and the seventh wettest such season for Vermont. Twelve other states ranked within the wet third portion of the distribution.

Spring Pcp Map
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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.

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Top of Page For more information, refer to ...References:

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 scientific 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.

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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
For further information on the historical climate perspective presented in this report, contact:

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

-or-

Jay Lawrimore
NOAA/National Climatic Data Center
151 Patton Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801-5001
fax: 828-271-4328
email: jay.lawrimore@noaa.gov
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http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/ol/climate/research/2000/spr/us_regional.html
Last Updated 16 June 2000 by William Brown william.brown@noaa.gov.

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