The average global temperature for October 2012 was the fifth warmest October since recordkeeping began in 1880.
October 2012 ended the 16-month streak of above-average monthly temperatures for the contiguous United States, with an average temperature of 53.9° Fahrenheit, 0.3° Fahrenheit below the long-term average.
According to the latest statistics from NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center, September 2012 marked the sixteenth consecutive month with above average temperatures for the Lower 48. Meanwhile, warm and dry conditions persisting in the Northwest have led to yet another month with above-average wildfire activity in the region.
The average global temperature for August 2012 was more than 1° Fahrenheit above the 20th-century average, according to the latest monthly analysis from the National Climatic Data Center, making it the fourth-warmest August since record keeping began in 1880. August 2012 also marked the 36th consecutive August and 330th consecutive month with a global temperature above the 20th-century average.
A scorching July contributed to the third hottest summer on record for the contiguous United States. Most of the U.S. was also drier than average. Rains from Isaac did little to relieve drought.
The average global temperature for July 2012 was more than 1° Fahrenheit above the 20th-century average, making it the fourth warmest July since record keeping began in 1880
July 2012 wasn’t just the hottest July on record, it was the hottest month ever recorded for the contiguous United States since records began in 1895.
The average global temperature for June 2012 was the fourth highest for any June since record keeping began in 1880. Land-only surface temperatures were the highest on record for the month. June 2012 also marks the 36th consecutive June and 328th consecutive month with a global temperature above the twentieth-century average. The last June with below-average global temperatures was June 1976.
Scorching temperatures during the second half of June 2012 broke or tied over 170 all-time temperature records in cities across America.
The average temperature for the United States during May was more than 3 degrees F above the long-term average, making it the second warmest May on record. The month's high temperatures also contributed to the warmest spring, warmest year-to-date, and warmest 12-month period the nation has ever experienced since record keeping began in 1895.