Southwest Scorched by Historic Heat; Update: All-Time June Records at Death Valley, Needles

Image (click to enlarge): U.S. daily high temperatures, June 28, 2013, from Unisys. Note the bright blue area of 120°+.

July 1 Update: The 129° at the aptly-named Furnace Creek in Death Valley on June 30 was a new all-time June high temperature record there. The previous record of 128° was set on June 29, 1994 and tied on the same date this year. The June 30 reading also tied the all-time June record for the U.S. which was originally set 111 years ago on June 23, 1902 in the former town of Volcano, California.

The June average temperature of 101.3° at Death Valley easily surpassed the old June record of 100.4° in 1960. The June average daily minimum of 87.1° also set a record, exceeding the 86.8° in 1977.

At Needles, California, where climate history extends back to 1888, all-time June records were set for:
- Average temperature of 95.8° (old record 94.8° in 1994)
- Monthly maximum 123° on the 29th (old record 122° on June 11, 1918 and June 29, 1924)
- Average minimum 81.5° (old record 81.0° in 1981)

June 30, 5 PM PDT Update: As of 5 pm, Las Vegas is reporting a high so far of 117°, which ties the all-time record. The preliminary monthly average of 91.5° smokes the old June record by a full degree.

June 30, 4 PM PDT Update: The current temperature of 116° at Las Vegas ties the all-time June record set on June 15, 1940. This is the third consecutive day of 115°+ at Las Vegas.

Phoenix tied its record for June 30 at 115°.

June 29, 9 PM Update: More major heat records were set today. Some preliminary highlights:
- The 115° at Las Vegas tied the record for the date.
- Needles, California hit 123°, which set a new all-time June record in a climate history extending back to 1888.
- Kingman, Arizona beat its old June all-time high by 2° in a climate record which began in 1901.
- Salt Lake City had 105° for the second consecutive day. This was a new all-time June record.

June 29, 10 AM Update: The National Weather Service has provided additional record reports for Needles and Death Valley, California and Kingman, Arizona, included in the table below.

The 115° at Las Vegas was the first time that level was reached in June since 1994. It was also the hottest June temperature at Needles since 1994. At Kingman, it was the second earliest 110° temperature; the earliest was June 16, 1917. That also ties the all-time June record.

Original Post:
It was historically hot in the desert Southwest today. Over a dozen major National Weather Service climate locations in Arizona, Nevada and interior California tied or broke temperature records for June 28, in some cases by big margins. The highest readings in absolute terms were 118° at Palm Springs, California, which tied its 1979 record, and at Yuma, Arizona. Yuma climate records began nearly 140 years ago, in 1876. The previous record of 116° was tied 3 times, but it was soundly broken by a margin of 2°. At Winnemucca, Nevada the previous record of 101° was set just 3 years ago in a climate history which dates back to 1877, but this was surpassed by an impressive margin of 4°.

Here's a preliminary summary of today's records (POR indicates first year of period of record):

	Location	Record	Previous	Date	POR
AZ	Flagstaff	96	94	1990/1974	1898
	Winslow	107	104	1973	1898
	Prescott	104	100	1990	1948
	Yuma	118	116	1994/1990/1985	1876
	Kingman	110	107	1914	1901
NV	Elko	103	101	1892	1888
	Eureka	100	95	2010/2007	1963
	Tonopah	101	101	1956	1954
	Winnemucca	105	101	2010	1877
	Las Vegas	115	115	1994	1937
	Reno	103	100	2010	1888
CA	Bishop	107	105	1956	1943
	Palm Springs	118	118	1979	1893
	Death Valley	125	125	1994	1911
	Needles	121	119	1994	1888

New York on Track for Wettest June in 145-Year Climate Record

Images (click to enlarge): June total rainfall to date for New York and southern New England from National Weather Service (NWS); 48-hour total precipitation forecast through Friday evening, June 28, from WPC/NWS

June 27 (Thursday), 10:30 PM Update: The 0.23" so far tonight brings the monthly total to 10.09", which surpasses the 10.06" in 2009 as the second wettest June on record.

Original Post:
The 0.05" of rain which fell at New York's Central Park in light showers this evening brings the month-to-date total to 9.86". This puts June 2013 firmly in position as the 3rd wettest June in a climate history which extends back to 1869. Less than half an inch now separates the current month from the June record of 10.27" in 2003. With over 1" of rain forecast for Thursday and Friday (June 27-28), the record is well within reach.

The 3 wettest Junes in New York have now all occurred in the past 11 years. The all-time wettest month was August 2011, when 18.95" fell.

Early Summer Heat Krushes Kansas Records

9 PM CDT Update: The preliminary final high temperature at Goodland was 107°, smashing the old record by 7°. Other records were tied or broken in Arizona, New Mexico, Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska, and Kansas.

	Location	Record	Previous	Date
AZ	Winslow	99	99	1956/1921/1918
	Douglas	105	101	1981/1956
NM	Albuquerque	101	101	1981
	Clayton	101	99	2010	June 10
WY	Cheyenne	92	91	1956/1893
CO	Colorado Springs	97	93	1956
	Pueblo	104	100	2001/1956
	Denver	100	95	1956
	Burlington	107	102	1918
	Yuma	106	100	1956	Unofficial
NE	Sidney	96	96	1956
	McCook	108	106	1918
KS	Goodland	107	100	2001/1953/1952
	Hill City	111	106	1953
	Garden City	108	102	1953
	Dodge City	104	103	1977
	Tribune	111	102	2010	Unofficial
	Colby	107	104	1918	Unofficial

Original post:
Triple-digit temperatures are crushing temperature records in western Kansas this afternoon. At Goodland, Kansas, where climate records began in 1895, it was 100° on June 11, 2001, which tied a record previously reached in 1953, 1952, and also in some previous years. Today, the temperature broke that record with 101° at 1 pm CDT, 102° the following hour, 105° the next, and retreated slightly to 104° in the current hour.

At Garden City, where a new record of 105° was reported at 2 pm (old record 102° in 1953), the thermometer has kept right on soaring to 108° in the current hour.

More records will be posted as the reports become available.

Andrea Smashes Early-Season Rainfall Records

June 8, 10 AM Update: Added Salisbury, Wilmington, Allentown, Islip, Massena, Boston, Providence. Updated totals through midnight.

10 PM EDT Update: Added Richmond, New Bern, Hartford, Bridgeport, Worcester. Updated totals through 8 pm (10 pm for CT and MA).

Original post:
Heavy rainfall associated with the pre-storm environment and Tropical Storm Andrea itself has been smashing daily rainfall records along the East Coast. At Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, the unofficial total of 5.14" is the highest so early in the season and the second highest for any day in June for climate records dating back to 1887. Based on National Weather Service preliminary record reports, daily climate reports, and hourly precipitation data, here are the records so far (all for June 7 unless otherwise noted). The rain is continuing in most locations.

	Location	Record	Previous	Date
NC	Fayetteville	2.36	1.78	1930
	Raleigh/Durham	5.14	1.24	1930
	New Bern	1.51	1.20	2003
VA	Lynchburg	3.38	3.31	1989	6-Jun
	Roanoke	1.77	1.15	1934	6-Jun
	Blacksburg	2.70	1.09	1961	6-Jun
	Richmond	2.67	1.68	1913
MD	Salisbury	1.58	1.43	1913
DE	Wilmington	3.36	1.78	1916
NJ	Newark	3.71	1.11	1931
	Trenton	3.51	1.60	1989
PA	Philadelphia	3.50	1.79	1904
	Allentown	1.82	1.19	1948
NY	Kennedy Airport	4.01	1.18	2006
	LaGuardia Airport	3.33	1.08	2006
	Islip	4.15	1.27	2006
	Syracuse	2.39	1.20	2010	6-Jun
	NYC/Central Park	4.16	1.95	1918
	Massena	0.72	0.43	1984
CT	Hartford	2.53	1.54	1913
	Bridgeport	4.43	1.36	2006
MA	Worcester	2.68	1.75	2006
	Boston	3.07	2.89	2006
RI	Providence	3.23	3.08	2006

Triple-Digit Temperatures Crush Northern Plains/Midwest Heat Records; All-Time May Record at Sioux City

Image (click to enlarge): U.S. daily high temperatures for May 14, 2013, from Unisys

While Mid Atlantic residents were complaining about the unseasonable cold temperatures on Tuesday, heat records were being crushed in the Northern Plains and upper Midwest. As shown in the table below, triple-digit readings smashed long-standing May 14 daily records, with a margin as much as 7° at Norfolk, Nebraska. At Sioux City, Iowa, the 106° high also broke the all-time May maximum temperature record. Sioux City climate records date back to 1889. At both Omaha and Lincoln, Nebraska, it was the earliest 100° temperature on record, surpassing the previous records of 5/29/1934 and 5/24/1967, respectively.

	Location	Record	Previous	Date	Earliest 100
IA	CEDAR RAPIDS	94	93	5/14/1932
	MASON CITY	99	92	5/14/1998
	WATERLOO	96	94	5/14/1932
	DES MOINES	94	93	5/14/1988
MN	ALEXANDRIA	93	92	5/14/2001
	MANKATO	100	94	5/14/1954
	MINNEAPOLIS/ST PAUL	98	95	5/14/1932
	ST CLOUD	95	93	5/14/1932
	ROCHESTER	97	94	5/14/2007
NE	OMAHA	101	96	5/14/1915	5/29/1934
	NORFOLK	103	96	5/14/1941
	LINCOLN	100	96	5/14/1915	5/24/1967
	NORTH PLATTE	97	95	5/14/1948
SD	MITCHELL	93	92	5/14/1932

The map below, from NOAA/ESRL, shows the temperature departures from average (°C) for the U.S. It shows that nearly all of the country was at least 2°C above or below average, but the positive departures significantly outweighed the negative, both in area and magnitude.



The temperature extremes were a reflection of a strongly anomalous circulation pattern shown in the map below. A very strong ridge of high pressure extended from the eastern Pacific to the Great Lakes at the 500 mb level (near the middle of the atmosphere), while a deep low pressure area was located off the Mid Atlantic coast.



The National Weather Service report for the record at Sioux City:

AT 135 PM THE TEMPERATURE REACHED 106 DEGREES AT THE SIOUX CITY
GATEWAY AIRPORT ESTABLISHING A NEW RECORD DAILY MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE
FOR THIS DATE AND A NEW RECORD FOR THE HIGHEST TEMPERATURE FOR THE
MONTH OF MAY.

THE PREVIOUS RECORD DAILY MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE WAS 97 DEGREES SET IN
2001 AND THE PREVIOUS RECORD MONTHLY MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE FOR MAY WAS
105 DEGREES SET ON MAY 30, 1934. 

THE TOP TEN HIGHEST TEMPERATURES FOR MONTH OF MAY FROM 1889 TO 2013

      DEGREES         DATE  
 1.    105          5/30/1934
 2.    103          5/29/1934
 3.    102          5/25/1967
 4.    102          5/31/1934
 5.    101          5/15/2001
 6.    100          5/06/1934
 7.     99          5/19/1934
 8.     99          5/18/1934
 9.     98          5/28/2006
10.     98          5/24/1939 

Weather Whiplash: U.S. Cold Records Crush Heat Records 6.5 to 1 in April

One year after heat records smashed cold records by a ratio of over 35 to 1, preliminary data from the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) show that new daily low temperature records in the U.S. outnumbered high temperature records by 6.5 to 1 in April. This was the largest monthly excess of cold records so far this decade. It was also the first time since at least February 2010 that more than 2 consecutive months have had more cold records than heat records.

For the spring season to date (March-April), cold records have exceeded heat records by a ratio of 4 to 1, and for 2013 to date, the ratio is 1.6 to 1. On the other hand, for the 12 consecutive months ending in April, heat records continue to outpace cold records by a ratio of 1.8 to 1. Cumulatively, the ratio of heat records to cold records is 2.8 to 1 since January 2010, well above the roughly 2 to 1 in previous decades. As the chart shows, the 2600 cold records in April barely made a dent in the cumulative excess of 36000 heat records since the beginning of the decade.

Preliminary data from NOAA/ESRL show that the coldest temperatures relative to average were in the North Central portion of the U.S. in April. The Pacific Coast states, however, were warmer than average, and near to above average temperatures prevailed over most of the eastern third of the country.

Washington Has Latest Occurrence of First 75° Temperature*

* since 2001

5:30 PM Update: The preliminary high for the day was 79° at 3 pm EDT.

Original Post:
With a noon temperature of 70°, Washington is well on its way to the first 75° or higher temperature of the year by this afternoon, or at least by tomorrow. This will be the latest occurrence of the first 75° temperature . . . since 2001, when this temperature was reached on April 9. The latest occurrence on record at the current observation location was on April 26, 1984. The average date for the first 75° temperature since 1930 is March 16.