CONTACT: Patricia Viets FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
William Brown 3/26/97
This winter season was the 22nd warmest winter on record for the contiguous United States with an average temperature of 34.1 degrees Fahrenheit compared to a normal of 32.3 degrees Fahrenheit, according to preliminary data released by the National Climatic Data Center. The center, part of the Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, has compiled preliminary climate data for what is known as the "climatological winter", which runs from December through February.
It was also the wettest winter season on record for the West-North Central region, fourth wettest winter season for the Northwest region, and the 14th wettest winter season for the 48 contiguous states.
It was the wettest winter on record for Idaho and Wyoming, second wettest winter since 1895 for Colorado and Nevada, third wettest for Montana, and fifth wettest for South Dakota. To the other extreme, it was the third driest December through February period for West Virginia. Based on preliminary data, the winter was the 26th driest on record for the Central region and the 43rd driest for the Southeast.
It was the seventh warmest winter on record for the Northeast region, extending northward from Pennsylvania and Maryland. It was the 45th coolest such season on record for the West-North Central region. The West region, California and Nevada, had the 14th warmest winter season since 1895. "This winter saw some rather diverse weather," says William Brown, a meteorologist from the National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C.
Copies of the report are available from the National Climatic Data
Center at 704-271-4800, or on the World Wide Web at:
http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/publications/cvb/cvb.html.
TABLE 1. TEMPERATURE RANKINGS FOR DEC 1996-FEB 1997, BASED ON
THE PERIOD 1895-96 TO 1996-97. 1 = COLDEST, 102 = WARMEST.
STATE RANK STATE RANK STATE RANK
STATE RANK
----- ---- ----- ---- ----- ----
----- ----
AL 78 IA 42 NE 56 RI
96
AZ 73 KS 64 NV 88 SC
78
AR 81 KY 86 NH 100 SD
31
CA 92 LA 64 NJ 96 TN
82
CO 59 ME 94 NM 72 TX
52
CT 99 MD 97 NY 96 UT
88
DE 94 MA 95 NC 83 VT
98
FL 84 MI 75 ND 39 VA
85
GA 84 MN 47 OH 86 WA
36
ID 79 MS 66 OK 88 WV
93
IL 52 MO 57 OR 84 WI
73
IN 65 MT 45 PA 88 WY
65
TABLE 2. PRECIPITATION RANKINGS FOR DEC 1996-FEB 1997,
BASED ON
THE PERIOD 1895-96 TO 1996-97. 1 = DRIEST, 102
=
WETTEST.
STATE RANK STATE RANK STATE RANK
STATE RANK
----- ---- ----- ---- ----- ----
----- ----
AL 64 IA 46 NE 16 RI
76
AZ 59 KS 30 NV 101 SC
55
AR 33 KY 12 NH 61 SD
98
CA 84 LA 75 NJ 74 TN
33
CO 101 ME 48 NM 76 TX
55
CT 78 MD 42 NY 74 UT
93
DE 38 MA 76 NC 28 VT
85
FL 46 MI 96 ND 68 VA
26
GA 43 MN 85 OH 24 WA
78
ID 102 MS 57 OK 48 WV
3
IL 59 MO 43 OR 96 WI
73
IN 52 MT 100 PA 30 WY
102
TABLE 3. TEMPERATURE AND PRECIPITATION RANKINGS FOR DEC 1996-
FEB 1997, BASED ON THE PERIOD 1895-96 TO 1996-97.
1 = DRIEST/COLDEST, 102 = WETTEST/HOTTEST.
REGION PRECIPITATION TEMPERATURE
------ ------------- -----------
NORTHEAST 59 96
EAST NORTH CENTRAL 82 56
CENTRAL 26 75
SOUTHEAST 43 83
WEST NORTH CENTRAL 102 45
SOUTH 52 71
SOUTHWEST 81 78
NORTHWEST 99 72
WEST 88 89
NATIONAL 89 81