A heat wave across the United States during September set more than 1,000 daily high temperature records, according to scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C. The record heat helped make September the eighth-warmest for the United States, according to preliminary data. The global surface temperature during September was the fifth-warmest.
Highlights released Tuesday by NOAA:
— The average temperature for September in the contiguous United States was 67.5 degrees Fahrenheit, 2.1 degrees Fahrenheit above the mean for the 20th century.
— A record high temperature at Raleigh-Durham (N.C.) International Airport, N.C., of 101 degrees Fahrenheit was set Sept. 10, the latest date during the year since 1944 that the maximum daily temperature reached 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
— More than 4.25 inches of precipitation fell in Anchorage, Alaska, in September, which made it the 12th-wettest and 1.43 inches above normal.
— The combined global land and ocean surface temperature for September was 0.92 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th Century mean and the fifth-warmest.
— The global surface temperature for September was the second-warmest.
Click to view “Climate of 2007 — September in Historical Perspective.”
NOAA, a scientific agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce, focuses on the conditions of the oceans and the atmosphere. NOAA warns of dangerous weather, charts seas and skies, guides the use and protection of ocean and coastal resources, and conducts research to improve understanding and stewardship of the environment.
Staff Writer