Including Summer (June-August)

National Climatic Data Center, 17 September 2001

Contents of This Report:

• Statewide Temperature Ranks
• Statewide Precipitation Ranks
• Regional Temperature Highlights
• Regional Precipitation Highlights
• Regional Temperature and Precipitation Time Series
• Agricultural Precipitation
• Precipitation and Temperature Ranks, Extremes and Normals
• Water-year River Basin Statistics
• Summer Temperatures
• Summer Precipitation

Statewide Temperature Ranks

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August 2001 temperatures were warmer than average in much of the country. Idaho, Nevada and New Jersey experienced their record warmest August in the 1895 to present record. Other states that ranked in the top ten warmest for August: Wyoming - second warmest New Hampshire - third warmest Montana - fourth warmest New York and Vermont - fifth warmest Rhode Island - sixth warmest Connecticut - seventh warmest Utah and Massachusettes - ninth warmest Oregon - tenth warmest Twenty-six additional states fell into the warm third portion of the historical distribution.

In contrast, only two states, Alabama and Mississippi, ranked in the cool third portion of the historical distribution. The graph to the right shows the 1918-2001 temperature time series for Alaska. In August, temperatures averaged across the state were above the long-term mean. Temperatures have been above normal for eight of the last thirteen Augusts.

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Statewide Precipitation Ranks

August precipitation was generally characterized by dryness in the Northern Plains westward into Idaho as well as the extreme southeast and extreme northeast. Much above normal rainfall affected some Gulf Coast states due to tropical moisture. Louisiana and Mississippi experienced their eighth wettest August in the 1895 to present record. Eight other states ranked in the wet third of the historical distribution.

South Dakota had its record driest August in the 1895 to present record. States where August 2001 ranked in the top ten driest: Montana - third driest Idaho - fifth driest Twelve other states fell into the dry third portion of the historical distribution.

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Regional Temperature Highlights

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It was the fourth warmest August in the1895 to present record for the West North Central region. Average August temperatures in each of the last eight years were near to or above the long-term mean. It is interesting to note that while the West North Central region was the warmest region in the country, heat affected other areas of the nation as well. The West region experienced the fifth warmest, the Northwest region the eighth warmest and the Northeast region the ninth warmest August based on the 1895 to present record. No region was cooler than average in August 2001.

Temperature time series for all regions can be found in the table below.

Regional Precipitation Highlights

August 2001 was the third driest such month in the 1895 to present record for the West North Central region. This was the second consecutive August where precipitation has been well below normal.

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It was the thirteenth wettest August for the South region in the 1895 to present record. This wet August is a marked change from the previous two Augusts, with August 2000 being record dry. See the NCDC's climate watch page for further information.

Precipitation time series for all regions can be found in the table below.

Regional Temperature and Precipitation Time Series

View a temperature or precipitation time series for any region from the table below. Click on a region's precipitation or temperature rank to view the 1895-2001 August time series.

Region Precipitation Temperature Northeast 33 99 East North Central 45 92 Central 67 78 Southeast 34 65 West North Central 3 104 South 93 74 Southwest 53 90 Northwest 49 100 West 28 103

Historical precipitation and temperature ranking maps are also available on the Internet courtesy of the Climate Prediction Center.

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.

Agricultural Precipitation

March through August 2001 precipitation averaged near normal over the Primary Corn and Soybean agricultural belt. This makes thirteen consecutive years where precipitation in the period March through August averaged near to above normal. The growing season for the Primary Corn and Soybean Belt runs from March through September. For further agricultural information visit the Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin.

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Data Tables

Table 1 shows precipitation and temperature ranks for each of the 9 regions and the nation for August 2001, the two months of July-August 2001, the six months of March-August 2001, and the past 12 months, September 2000-August 2001.

Table 2 shows historical extremes for August, the 1961-1990 normal, and the August 2001 value for each of the 9 regions and the contiguous U.S. for precipitation and temperature.

Table 3 shows statistics for selected river basins: Precipitation rankings are for October 2000-August 2001, where 1 = driest, and 106 = wettest, based on the period 1895 to 2001. Also shown is the areal percent of the basin experiencing severe or extreme long-term (Palmer) drought, and areal percent of the basin experiencing severe or extreme long-term (Palmer) wet conditions, as of August 2001. The river basin regions are defined by the U.S. Water Resources Council.

It should be emphasized that all of the temperature and precipitation ranks and values in Tables 1 through 3 are based on preliminary data. The ranks will change when the final data are processed. National ranks and values are based on a combination of USHCN and divisional data.

Summer (June-August) 2001 Temperatures

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Summer 2001 temperatures were warmer than average in much of the country except in portions of the southeast. Wyoming and Nevada had their second warmest summer in the 1895 to present record. Five other states ranked in the top ten warmest for summer 2001: Montana and Utah - eighth warmest New Jersey - ninth warmest New Mexico and Oklahoma- tenth warmest

The regional temperature map to the right shows the West, Southwest and West North Central regions having summers that ranked in the top ten warmest in the 1895 to present record. Only the Southeast region had a cooler than average summer.

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Summer (June-August) 2001 Precipitation

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Summer 2001 precipitation was greater than average in areas of the Southeast, Missouri eastward into West Virginia and in the Northwest. The wettest weather occurred along the central Gulf coast region, with tropical storms Allison and Barry developing during June and August, respectively. Louisiana had its third wettest summer while North Dakota and Mississippi had their fifth wettest summer in the 1895 to present record. Several states in the Northeast had a drier than normal summer.

The map to the right displays regional rankings for summer 2001. The Southwest, East North Central and Northeast regions experienced a drier than average summer while the West North Central, Central and Southeast regions saw a wetter than average summer.

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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.

Questions?

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: questions@ncdc.noaa.gov

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

Dimitri Chappas
NOAA/National Climatic Data Center
151 Patton Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801-5001
fax: 828-271-4328
email: Dimitri.H.Chappas@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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