The first quarter of 2017 has been the second warmest on record for the United States, with this March being the nation's ninth warmest on record, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported this morning.
The Great Lakes states were among more than 40 states that were solidly above average from January through March.
The news comes as the Trump administration is trying to get Congress to gut many environmental programs, from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Great Lakes Restoration Initiative to NOAA's College Sea Grant program - an important source for Ohio Sea Grant and Ohio State University's Stone Laboratory out on Lake Erie - as well as climate change research in general.
The changing climate continues to take its toll on the U.S. economy, too: NOAA reports there were five weather and climate disaster events - mostly flooding, freezing and severe storms - that caused $1 billion or more in the first three months of 2017 - the most in the 1980-present timeframe. Those disasters were blamed for 37 deaths.
During March, according to NOAA, the average contiguous U.S. temperature was 46.2 degrees, which was 4.7 degrees above the 20th century average.
Record and near-record warmth spanned the West and Great Plains, with below-average temperatures in the Northeast.
The year-to-date contiguous U.S. average temperature in the first three months of 2017 was 40 degree, 5.1 degrees above average, making it the second warmest January-to-March on record. The record for those first three months of a year is 41.4 degrees, set in 2012.
Overall precipitation was average, but varied by region. The Northwest was unusually wet, while the Southeast was unusually dry, NOAA said.
More than 2 million acres burned during March, a new record for that month, fostered by warm and windy conditions across the South.
See this monthly NOAA summary for more information.
Recent Comments