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2012: Hottest Year on Record at DCA & IAD, BWI 3rd


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  • 1 month later...
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January 1 - August 31, 2012 was the hottest January 1 - August 31 period ever for BWI. Below

are the top five (rounded to the nearest tenth of a degree):

2012: 61.3

1949: 61.1

1921 and 1991: 60.2

1880: 60.1

I think September will finish above average, so I'm going to upgrade BWI from a watch to a warning. We have a really good shot at it now. Oct/Nov/Dec would have to finish well below average for us not to make the top spot.

The map for Jan-Aug... I hope the Pacific northwest torches the rest of the year. Can't have the state of Washington ruining the map for everyone. lol

post-5733-0-85963100-1347372531_thumb.gi

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  • 3 weeks later...

As I expected, September did indeed finish above average at BWI (+1.7 degrees).

Therefore, Jan. 1 - Sept. 30, 2012 was the hottest Jan. 1 - Sept. 30 period ever for BWI. Below are the top five years (rounded to the nearest tenth of a degree):

2012: 62.2 degrees

1949 and 1921: 61.8 degrees

1930: 61.7 degrees

1939: 61.2 degrees

The year-to-date red map of death will be posted whenever NCDC releases it.

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  • 2 months later...

DCA and IAD have this locked down.

Based on AccuWeather's projections for the rest of December, DCA will finish with a 2012 average temperature of 61.4 degrees, which would break the 1991 record of 60.2 by 1.2 degrees. 1991 had broken the previous 1990 record of 60.0 by 0.2 degrees. 1998 also averaged 60.0 at DCA, but no other year has averaged that high, with 2011 just missing at 59.9.

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Based on AccuWeather's projections for the rest of December, DCA will finish with a 2012 average temperature of 61.4 degrees, which would break the 1991 record of 60.2 by 1.2 degrees. 1991 had broken the previous 1990 record of 60.0 by 0.2 degrees. 1998 also averaged 60.0 at DCA, but no other year has averaged that high, with 2011 just missing at 59.9.

Rodney, you're a stat rockstar. Im very curious about europe stats. We've been real warm in the us last couple. I keep hearing Europe has been cold from time to time. Any chance you can pull some stats from a same latitude city in Europe?

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Rodney, you're a stat rockstar. Im very curious about europe stats. We've been real warm in the us last couple. I keep hearing Europe has been cold from time to time. Any chance you can pull some stats from a same latitude city in Europe?

According to -- http://www.eea.europ...re-assessment-5 -- "The average temperature for the European land area for the last decade (2002-2011) is 1.3°C above the pre-industrial level, which makes it the warmest on record." On the other hand, according to http://notrickszone....ming-since-1998 -- "European annual temperatures warmed from 1998-2007 but have started to cool over the last 3 years in a row since 2008." This past winter in Europe started warm and then turned sharply cooler toward the end -- see http://rhein.blogact...uropean-winter.

So, I think the bottom line is that Europe in general has not experienced in the last two years the record-breaking warm temperatures that we have in most of the United States. However, Europe is a big place, and some cities have been well above average, particularly in the summer. For example, Athens, Greece is about the same latitude as DC and had a brutal 2012 summer, with 16 days reaching at least 100 degrees -- see http://www.accuweath...?monyr=7/1/2012 and http://www.accuweath...?monyr=8/1/2012

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For example, Athens, Greece is about the same latitude as DC and had a brutal 2012 summer, with 16 days reaching at least 100 degrees -- see http://www.accuweath...?monyr=7/1/2012 and http://www.accuweath...?monyr=8/1/2012

Hello everyone this is my first post here!!

Rodney thank you for contacting me.

As you correctly point out the Greek capital has seen a brutal summer this year.The hottest ever in it's instrumental history with a mean maximum temperature of 36.9C (98.4F) and a mean minimum of 26.5C for July in the WMO Athens Observatory station.The mean maximum for August was 36.1C (the record is during August 2010 with 36.5C)

Athens has also seen a European record in mean monthly temperatures.July 2012 had an astonishing 31.70C mean monthly temperature.On top of that the JJA summer trimester had a mean summer temperature of 30.3C. This is the first over 30C mean summer temperature that we see in any location in the European continent.

Here you can find the relevant thread over in the UK forum

http://www.ukweather...ever-in-europe/

Athens has a very strong Med climate (CSa) bordering the hot semi-arid (actually the south suburbs of the city according to the Hellenikon station fall in the BSh climate).The Greek capital has a characteristically hot summer and the July mean maximum for the Athens Observatory station for the period 1981-2010 stands at 34.0C exactly.

The Greek capital is also the record holder for the highest temperature ever to be recorded in Europe officially according to the WMO with 48.0C recorded in two Athenian suburbs on the same day in July 1977.

http://wmo.asu.edu/e...est-temperature

As far as Europe as a whole is concerned,we seem to be having some conflicting data.While the North of Europe has not seen extremely higher than average temperatures the South of Europe and particularly Portugal,Spain,Italy and Greece have consistently seen above average temperatures especially during the summer.While the States indeed show a clearer ''warming'' pattern Europe seems kinda divided.

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Hello everyone this is my first post here!!

Rodney thank you for contacting me.

As you correctly point out the Greek capital has seen a brutal summer this year.The hottest ever in it's instrumental history with a mean maximum temperature of 36.9C (98.4F) and a mean minimum of 26.5C for July in the WMO Athens Observatory station.The mean maximum for August was 36.1C (the record is during August 2010 with 36.5C)

Athens has also seen a European record in mean monthly temperatures.July 2012 had an astonishing 31.70C mean monthly temperature.On top of that the JJA summer trimester had a mean summer temperature of 30.3C. This is the first over 30C mean summer temperature that we see in any location in the European continent.

Here you can find the relevant thread over in the UK forum

http://www.ukweather...ever-in-europe/

Athens has a very strong Med climate (CSa) bordering the hot semi-arid (actually the south suburbs of the city according to the Hellenikon station fall in the BSh climate).The Greek capital has a characteristically hot summer and the July mean maximum for the Athens Observatory station for the period 1981-2010 stands at 34.0C exactly.

The Greek capital is also the record holder for the highest temperature ever to be recorded in Europe officially according to the WMO with 48.0C recorded in two Athenian suburbs on the same day in July 1977.

http://wmo.asu.edu/e...est-temperature

As far as Europe as a whole is concerned,we seem to be having some conflicting data.While the North of Europe has not seen extremely higher than average temperatures the South of Europe and particularly Portugal,Spain,Italy and Greece have consistently seen above average temperatures especially during the summer.While the States indeed show a clearer ''warming'' pattern Europe seems kinda divided.

Thanks very much for the response. Will Athens set a record in 2012 for its highest annual average temperature since record-keeping began?

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I think it will be close between 2010 and 2012.Athens registered it's highest annual mean temperature in 2010 with 20.2C (68.4F).Will have to wait and see whether 2012 will break the record.It's very close.

Thanks for the update. It's interesting to note the contrast in DCA's and Athens' temperatures despite the similarity in latitude. DCA is at 38 degrees, 51 minutes north; while Athens is just south of that, at 37 degrees, 58 minutes north. However, Athens' record mean annual temperature of 68.4 F in 2010 is seven degrees higher than the expected new record of about 61.4 F that will be set at DCA this year. Also, Athens' record meteorological summer (JJA) mean temperature of 30.3 C (86.5 F) set this year exceeds by more than five degrees DCA's record of 81.3 F set in 2010. Based on 1955-1997 averages compiled by the Hellenic National Meteorological Service -- see http://www.worldweat...77f.htm#climate -- Athens averaged 79.3 F during the meteorological summer, 49.3 F during the meteorological winter (DJF), and 63.4 F during the year as a whole. This compares with DCA's respective averages for that same period of 77.3, 37.3, and 57.6. Thus, Athens' respective averages for that 43-year period exceed DCA's by 2.0 degrees during the summer, 12.0 degrees during the winter, and 5.8 degrees during the year as a whole.

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Thank u Rodney for the interesting comparisons!

I just want to note that the stats provided by HNMS refer to the Nea Filadelfeia suburb of Athens located in the interior of the Attica peninsula.This area is annually colder than the rest of Athens (lower minimums) though it is really famous in Greece for it's brutal summer mean maxes.If you compare the data either with the Hellenikon airport or the Athens observatory station the differences between Washington and Athens would be more prominent.

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Thank u Rodney for the interesting comparisons!

I just want to note that the stats provided by HNMS refer to the Nea Filadelfeia suburb of Athens located in the interior of the Attica peninsula.This area is annually colder than the rest of Athens (lower minimums) though it is really famous in Greece for it's brutal summer mean maxes.If you compare the data either with the Hellenikon airport or the Athens observatory station the differences between Washington and Athens would be more prominent.

Thanks for that information, Pit. Do you live in the Athens area? From what you are saying, most people on this forum would not enjoy the climate there because the consensus here is that heat in the summer is bad and snow in the winter is good. :) DCA averages about 15 inches (38 cm) of snow annually, and I assume that the average in Athens is more like 1-2 inches (2.5-5.0 cm)? Do you know what the record snowfall for a single storm is in Athens? In DC, it is 28 inches (71 cm).

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Based on AccuWeather's projections for the rest of December, DCA will finish with a 2012 average temperature of 61.4 degrees, which would break the 1991 record of 60.2 by 1.2 degrees. 1991 had broken the previous 1990 record of 60.0 by 0.2 degrees. 1998 also averaged 60.0 at DCA, but no other year has averaged that high, with 2011 just missing at 59.9.

"The record will be broken by a landslide. With only a few days left in the year, D.C. should finish 1.3 degrees F warmer than the previous warmest year on record, 1991. D.C.’s weather records date back to 1871. For the remaining 100 hours (or so) in 2012, Washington, D.C.’s temperature would have to average about 80 degrees below zero not to break the record. 2012’s exceptional warmth stands out most when you consider the previous 9 warmest years are all clustered within 0.9 degrees of one another, whereas 2012 is 1.3 degrees above 1991, the second warmest year." See http://www.washingto...og.html?hpid=z5

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Thanks for that information, Pit. Do you live in the Athens area? From what you are saying, most people on this forum would not enjoy the climate there because the consensus here is that heat in the summer is bad and snow in the winter is good. smile.png DCA averages about 15 inches (38 cm) of snow annually, and I assume that the average in Athens is more like 1-2 inches (2.5-5.0 cm)? Do you know what the record snowfall for a single storm is in Athens? In DC, it is 28 inches (71 cm).

No I live in London permanently but I am originally from Athens and I visit on most holidays or breaks.There is no annual average of snow in Athens as far as I am aware.Last time snow settled on the ground in Athens it was almost 5 years ago.So u dont get settled snow in Athens all that often,well at least compared to Washington.I doubt that HNMS has publicly given data on snow accumulations for Athens.I would say that the 30year average for the Observatory station would be 1-2cm?I have no idea tbh. The strongest snow event was the 2002 blizzard.It was locally 25cm in the centre of Athens.

Again I must stress that even when snow settles in Athens it does not last more than one day or two maximum per year and u dont get that every year.

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December was nearly as warm as November at DCA, at 45.3 degrees. That made it the sixth warmest December in DC (warmest was 45.6 in both 1889 and 1984), and the 1.3 degree decline from November was the seventh smallest (smallest was 0.1 decline in 1923 from 45.1 in November to 45.0 in December). Needless to say, the annual average warmest record of 60.19 degrees in 1991 was shattered, at 61.49 degrees in 2012.

Check.

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11th coldest November followed by the 11th warmest December gives us the 3rd hottest calendar year on record at BWI. Below are the top 5:

 

1931 & 1949: 59.2

2012: 58.6

1946: 58.4

1941: 58.3

 

Also, November finished at 42.8 degrees, while December finished at 42.7. That is the 2nd closest decline (0.1 degrees) between November and December ever at BWI. The only one greater is 1984, where December actually finished 0.2 degrees warmer than November.

 

And yes, I technically busted calling for hottest year ever at BWI... I did not anticipate that cold of a November happening in between all the record warmth.

 

 

 

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PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE BALTIMORE MD/WASHINGTON DC

551 AM EST WED JAN 2 2013

http://www.erh.noaa.gov/er/lwx/2012warmpns.php

...2012 WAS THE WARMEST YEAR ON RECORD IN WASHINGTON DC AND DULLES...

.WASHINGTON DC...

2012 WAS THE WARMEST YEAR ON RECORD FOR WASHINGTON DC WITH AN

ANNUAL AVERAGE TEMPERATURE OF 61.5 DEGREES. THE PREVIOUS WARMEST

ANNUAL AVERAGE TEMPERATURE ON RECORD WAS 60.2 DEGREES IN 1991. THE

AVERAGE TEMPERATURE FOR 2012 WAS 3.3 DEGREES ABOVE THE 1981-2010

NORMAL AND WOULD BE COMPARABLE TO THE NORMAL ANNUAL TEMPERATURE OF

ATLANTA...OKLAHOMA CITY AND SAN JOSE...JUST TO NAME A FEW

LOCATIONS.

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Well it might be slightly off topic but some areas in South Europe and particularly Greece also had a very hot 2012.In fact the highest average annual ever to be recorded in Greece was tied this year by the station of the National Observatory of Athens in a small town in the coast of South Crete called Palaiohora. The   tied record was 21.04C (69.9F) and was also recorded in 2010.

 

I reckon this is also the highest average annual temperature ever to be recorded in geographical Europe.Below is  a table of the available stats we have from the National Observatory of Athens for this station since records began 6 years ago (sorry guys the data are European style- Celcius/dates)

 

palaiohoranoa20072012me.jpg

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Well it might be slightly off topic but some areas in South Europe and particularly Greece also had a very hot 2012.In fact the highest average annual ever to be recorded in Greece was tied this year by the station of the National Observatory of Athens in a small town in the coast of South Crete called Palaiohora. The   tied record was 21.04C (69.9F) and was also recorded in 2010.

 

I reckon this is also the highest average annual temperature ever to be recorded in geographical Europe.Below is  a table of the available stats we have from the National Observatory of Athens for this station since records began 6 years ago (sorry guys the data are European style- Celcius/dates)

 

palaiohoranoa20072012me.jpg

Those are some impressive numbers -- particularly for the maximum of June 26, 2007 and the minimum of June 27, 2007.  They translate into Fahrenheit temperatures of 113.0 and 96.4.  96.4 for a minimum?  And in June?!

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Yes very impressive indeed.The official national record of the highest minimum in Greece is in the island of Kythira on the same day with 36.0C or 96.8F.

 

It was a very strong heatwave across south Italy,the Balkans and all of Greece.The highest maximum in Greece (and Europe for that matter) during the June 2007 heatwave was recorded in the HNMS AWS of  Nea Filadelfeia,Athens with 47.5C  or 117.5F ,followed by 47.0C or 116.6F in Amendola,Italy recorded by the Aeronautica Militare station.

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This past winter in Europe started warm and then turned sharply cooler toward the end -- see http://rhein.blogact...uropean-winter.

 

 

China is off to a cold start this winter:  "China Meteorological Administration on Friday said the national average was -3.8 degrees Celsius (25 degrees Fahrenheit) since late November, the coldest in nearly three decades."   See http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_CHINA_COLDEST_WINTER?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-01-05-07-52-05

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