U.S. Warming Trend Continues

A HUFFINGTON POST GRAPHIC U.S. Warming Trend Continues As Death Valley Heat Record Turns 100 It's been 100 years since the hottest day on record in the U.S., when temperatures reached 134° F in Death Valley, Calif., but another major U.S. heat record was broken in 2012. Last year was the warmest on record for the continental U.S., according to NOAA, with average temperatures reaching 55.3° F. A full degree warmer than the previous record set in 1998, 2012's average temperature was also 3.2°F warmer than the 20th century U.S. average. Hottest temperatures by state: U.S. record turns 100 1913: 134° 1954: 114° 1975: 107° 1936: 112° 1936: 120° 1936: 109° 1994: 128° HIGHEST IN THE U.S. Death Valley, Calif. July 10, 1913 1917: 115° 1915: 100° 1930: 115° 1925: 112° 1954: 118° 1937: 117° 1988: 115° 1936: 118° 1936: 114° 1911: 106° 1936: 112° NEW STATE 1994: 125° RECORD IN 2012 Columbia, S.C. June 28, 2012 1936: 110° 1961: 118° 1954: 110° 1911: 105° 1994: 122° A century of climate change: average temperatures by region CENTRAL EAST SOUTH WEST 1913 46.7° 1913 52.8° 1913 61.9° 1913 48.9° 2012 50.7° 2012 54.1° 2012 64.7° 2012 52.8° A record-breaking year: 2012 hottest on record for continental U.S. The most consecutive months of above-average temperatures: 16 JUNE JULY AUG SEPT OCT NOV DEC JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUNE JULY AUG SEPT 2011 2012 9. 19 55.3 99.1 356 The number of The number of states consecutive 12-month periods ending in 2012 that make up the nine The average temperature in 2012, one degree above the previous record. The number, in millions, of people who experienced 1 or more days of 100+ temperatures. The number of all-time local record high maximum temperatures broken or tied in the U.S. that had their warmest annual period warmest in CONUS record Sources: National Climatic Data Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration THE HUFFINGTON POST 1954: 117 1934: 118° 930: 114 1936: 114° 1936: 121° 1931: 100 1952: 112° 1934: 118° 1936: 116° NJ NM NY NC ND OH OK OR PA RI SČ ŠD TN TX UT VT AR CA CO CT DE FL GA HI ID IL IN IA KS KY LA ME MD MA MI 1931: 109 1930: 110° 1911: 105° 1995: 106° NH 1926: 108° 1983: 110° 1934: 113° 1936: 121° 1936: 111° 1936: 120 1898: 119° 1985: 117° 1930: 113° 2012: 113° 1994: 120° 1975: 104° 2006: 120°