NCDC / Climate Monitoring / Climate of 2002 / June / Search / Help
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Climate of 2002 - June |
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Use these links to access detailed analyses of Global and U.S. data.
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Contents of This Report:
The satellite image to the left shows smoke and heat signatures from the Rodeo fire in Arizona on June 20th. By the end of June, over 550,000 acres had burned in Arizona alone in 2002.
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Significant Weather Events
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Temperature Analysis
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June 2002 temperatures were above average for much of the contiguous U.S. with the southeast and northeast being the regional exceptions. Much above average temperatures were evident in 7 states, with 2 states (Colorado and Nebraska) reaching a rank of second warmest June on record. A time series is available with June temperatures for Colorado showing that the last 3 Junes have averaged warmer than the long-term mean. Since the beginning of 2001, Colorado monthly mean temperatures have averaged below the long-term mean in only two months (Feb and March 2002). |
| A map of average temperatures for June broken down by climate division shows that much of the mean statewide warmth in Colorado is concentrated in a band of record divisional temperatures in the northeast portion of the state. While the climate division along coastal Maine remained near normal, the interior divisions provided much of the signal for the cooler-than-average statewide mean. Statewide temperatures in the southeast were near-normal for the month of June, though some divisions averaged cooler than the long-term mean. This can also be seen in a map of temperature departures from 1971-2000 normals, at over 500 airport stations. |
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June temperatures in the Southwest region were much above the long term mean (4th warmest in the 1895-2002 record). This is the third consecutive June that temperatures in this region have been above average, and this contributes to a general increase in June temperature since the mid 1960s.
Temperature time series for all regions can be found in the table below. |
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The percent area of the contiguous United States very warm and cold and very wet and dry is listed in the table below. These percentages are computed based on the climate division data set. Those climate divisions having the monthly average temperature in the top ten percentile of their historical distribution are very warm and those in the bottom ten percentile are very cold. Likewise, those divisions having the monthly total precipitation in the top ten percentile are very wet and those in the bottom ten percentile are very dry.
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Precipitation Analysis
| Nationwide, June precipitation was below average, ranking 28th driest June in the last 108 years. Drought conditions continue to worsen in areas of the country such as southern California, and Arizona, where many climate divisions are the driest on record for the month of June (see divisional precipitation map). The last 6 months have been driest on record for the states of Colorado, Utah and Arizona. A complete drought analysis for the nation is available on NCDC's drought pages. |
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In contrast, June 2002 was the third consecutive wetter than average June for the northeast region. Rainfall in the northeast has been above average for the last several months, representing a sharp contrast to the previous 5 months during which time the northeast was suffering severe drought. The recent rain is helping to alleviate those long-term drought conditions.
Precipitation time series for all regions can be found in the table below. |
| The growing season runs from March through September for the Primary corn and soybean belt. Preliminary data indicate that precipitation was below average for the June. This follows six years in which June precipitation has been near or above average for this region. The graph to the right shows precipitation for the season-to-date. March-June average precipitation has been above average for this region. |  |
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 1895-2002 June time series.
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Historical precipitation and temperature ranking maps are also available 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. |
Other Notable Weather Events - June
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The 2002 tornado season has begun slowly with a preliminary estimate of 437 tornadoes having occurred as of the end of June, compared to the 50-year average of 545. Each of the last 14 years have exceeded the 50-year January-June mean number of tornadoes. It should be noted that observations have improved over the last 50 years with the introduction of radar and satellite technology. RAIN/FLOODING As reported by the Associated Press, the border region between Iowa, Illinois and Wisconsin suffered from heavy rain and flooding early in the month. In Iowa, 10 cities were forced to bypass their wastewater treatment plants to prevent sewage from flooding basements. Heavy rain and flooding also occurred in the upper mid-west on June 9 and 10. Rainfall totals during the 48 hours beginning in the early morning of June 9 exceeded 6 inches in a broad area of northern Minnesota. However, local totals far exceeded 12 inches in places such as Roseau, Lake of the Woods and Koochiching counties. Further rainfall later in the month compounded flood problems in northern Minnesota. (Information from Univ. of Minnesota Climate journal) WILDFIRES As of the end of June, nearly 2.8 million acres had been burned by wildfires in the U.S. This is over two and half times the 10-year average. Fires in Arizona have burned over 550,000 acres and have destroyed at least 400 homes. Separate fires near Durango and Denver, Colorado consumed 70,000 and 140,000 acres respectively by the end of June, destroying dozens of homes. The latter (the Hayman Fire) was the largest fire in Colorado's history and prompted President Bush to declare the area south of Denver a disaster area. More information on wildfire statistics can be found on NCDC's drought pages and at the National Interagency Fire Center |
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:
Catherine Godfrey
NOAA/National Climatic Data Center
151 Patton Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801-5001
fax: 828-271-4328
email: Catherine.S.Godfrey@noaa.gov
Jay Lawrimore
NOAA/National Climatic Data Center
151 Patton Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801-5001
fax: 828-271-4328
email: Jay.Lawrimore@noaa.gov
NCDC / Climate Monitoring / Climate of 2002 / June / Search / Help
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