U.S. National Overview

June 2007

• For the contiguous United States, the first half of 2007 was the 18th warmest January-June since records began in 1895. The six-month mean temperature was 1.3°F (0.7°C) above the 20th century average of 48.4°F (9.1°C).
  
  
• Temperatures were much warmer than average from the mid-Atlantic and Midwest to the northern Plains and throughout the West. In the contiguous U.S. only Texas was cooler than average, while near-average temperatures were widespread across the South and Northeast. Alaska was -0.3°F (0.2°C) below the 1971-2000 mean for the January-June period.
  
  
• June 2007 was the 23rd warmest June on record, 1.4°F (0.8°C) above the 20th century average of 69.3°F. The warmer-than-average June temperature helped increase residential energy needs for the nation. Using the Residential Energy Demand Temperature Index (REDTI - an index developed at NOAA to relate energy usage to climate), the nation's residential energy demand was approximately 1.5 percent higher than what would have occurred under average climate conditions for the month. Additional information on the REDTI is available.
  
  
• The year began with widespread severe drought in the southern and central Plains, Wyoming, the western High Plains, and northern Minnesota. While above average precipitation helped ease, or end, drought in many of these areas by mid year, an extremely dry winter and spring throughout most of the West and much below average precipitation in the Deep South produced widespread drought that worsened during June.
  
  
• Four of the first six months of the year were wetter, or much wetter, than average in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. The wet period was punctuated by heavy and persistent rains in June that produced devastating flooding in the region and the continued threat of flooding into early July. Monthly rainfall totals exceeded one foot in some locations. Additional information on the severe weather in the southern Plains is available on the June Global Hazards Page.
  
  
• Much of the West and the South suffered from extreme drought conditions brought about by months of below average precipitation. An extremely low winter and spring snowpack throughout the West combined with above average temperatures in the spring and early summer set the stage for an early start to the wildfire season.
  
  
• It was the second driest January-June and driest April-June on record in the Southeast. By the end of June, 65 percent of the region was in drought. Alabama was hardest hit, with 86 percent of the state's pasture and range lands in poor -- or very poor -- condition in early July, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The entire state was declared a drought disaster area. Additional information is available on the US Drought Page.
  
  

• Across the United States, extreme drought conditions persisted in areas of Wyoming and throughout much of the Desert Southwest. AlthoughTropical Storm Barry brought much needed precipitation over parts of the Southeast during the first week of June, extreme to exceptional drought persisted in parts of Alabama, Tennessee, Mississippi, Georgia, North Carolina, and Florida. For more information on drought during June, please visit the U.S. Drought page.
  
  
• El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) conditions are in a neutral state. By the end of June, sea-surface temperatures (SST) anomalies were slightly positive in the western and central equatorial Pacific and below average in the eastern equatorial Pacific. Current forecasts indicate that a transition from ENSO-neutral conditions to La Niña could occur over the next 1-3 months. For additional information on ENSO conditions, please visit the NCDC ENSO Monitoring page and the latest NOAA ENSO Advisory.

• June Temperature: 23rd warmest June in the 1895-2007 record.  The preliminary nationally averaged temperature was 70.68°F (21.49°C), which was 1.42°F (0.79°C) above the 1901-2000 (20th century) mean.
  
  
• June Precipitation: 33rd driest nationally in the 1895-2007 record. An average of 2.64 inches (67 mm) fell over the contiguous U.S. in June, 0.25 inches (6 mm) below the 20th century mean for the month.
  
  
• April - June Temperature (3-Month): 19th warmest in the 1895-to-present record, 1.06°F (0.59°C) above the 20th century mean. The preliminary nationally averaged April - June temperature was 61.85°F (16.58°C).
  
  
• April - June Precipitation (3-month): A total of 7.38 inches (187 mm) of precipitation fell during this 3-month period, which corresponds to a ranking of 22nd driest.
  
  
• January - June (6-month and Year-to-date): The national average temperature was the 18th warmest for this 6-month (Year-to-date) period. The nationally-averaged temperature was 49.75°F (9.86°C), which was 1.34°F (0.74°C) above the 20th century mean. At 13.42 inches (341 mm), January - June precipitation was below average and ranked as the 21st driest such period in the 1895-2007 record.
  
  
• July 2006 - June 2007: This was the 10th warmest such period in the 1895-2007 record.  The preliminary nationally-averaged annual temperature was 54.04°F (12.24°C), which was 1.22°F (0.68°C) above the mean. Precipitation for the July 2006 - June 2007 period ranked as the 56th driest July to May in the 112-year record.  The nationally-averaged annual precipitation accumulation was 29.32 inches (745 mm), ranking near the 20th century mean.

• June temperatures were below average for two states, including Texas and Oklahoma, which ranked 17th and 26th coolest, respectively. Utah and Nevada were above average, ranking 12th and 13th warmest, respectively. Precipitation across Oklahoma was 2nd wettest on record. Texas was 10th wettest on record. Tennessee was 10th driest and North Carolina was 13th driest on record.
  
  
• April - June temperatures across Texas ranked 8th coolest on record. Utah, Nevada, and Arizona were much above average, ranking 6th, 7th and 10th warmest. North Carolina and Tennessee ranked 2nd driest for the 3-month period, while Alabama and Georgia were 3rd driest for the period. Precipitation was much above average for Oklahoma and Texas.
  
  
• The Southeast region, tied for the driest for the April - June period with a value of 7.42 inches (188 mm).
  
  
• Temperatures over the past 6-months (January - June) were much above average in the West Region. Precipitation for the period was 2nd driest in the Southeast.
  
  
• January - June (6-month and Year-to-date) temperatures were above average for 29 states, including Idaho and Nevada. Texas was the only state with below average temperatures during the six month period. Mississippi and Alabama ranked driest for the period, while Texas experienced its 4th wettest such period on record.
  
  
• July 2006 - June 2007 was near average to much-warmer-than-average for the lower 48 states. Six states, including Idaho and Wyoming, experienced much above average temperatures. Florida was record driest for the period.