2006 Warmest on Record for U.S.
Posted on January 12, 2007
NOAA's National Climatic Data Center reports that 2006 was the warmest on record for the U.S. The 2006 average temperature was 55°F - 2.2°F (1.2°C) above the 20th Century mean and 0.07°F (0.04°C) warmer than 1998. 1998 was the warmest U.S. year before 2006.
The 2006 average annual temperature for the contiguous U.S. was the warmest on record and nearly identical to the record set in 1998, according to scientists at NOAA's National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C. Seven months in 2006 were much warmer than average, including December, which ended as the fourth warmest December since records began in 1895.For the last three months of the year the warm temperatures helped reduce energy demand in the U.S.Based on preliminary data, the 2006 annual average temperature was 55°F - 2.2°F (1.2°C) above the 20th Century mean and 0.07°F (0.04°C) warmer than 1998. NOAA originally estimated in mid-December that the 2006 annual average temperature for the contiguous United States would likely be 2°F (1.1°C) above the 20th Century mean, which would have made 2006 the third warmest year on record, slightly cooler than 1998 and 1934, according to preliminary data. Further analysis of annual temperatures and an unusually warm December caused the change in records.
These values were calculated using a network of more than 1,200 U.S. Historical Climatology Network stations. These data, primarily from rural stations, have been adjusted to remove artificial effects resulting from factors such as urbanization and station and instrument changes which occurred during the period of record.
The unusually warm temperatures during much of the first half of the cold season (October-December) helped reduce residential energy needs for the nation as a whole. Using the Residential Energy Demand Temperature Index (REDTI - an index developed at NOAA to relate energy usage to climate), NOAA scientists determined that the nation's residential energy demand was approximately 13.5 percent lower than what would have occurred under average climate conditions for the season.The actual report can be found here on the National Climatic Data Center (NDCD) website.