Last 12 months were warmest on record for NH and US, dating back to 1897
Posted by David Brooks | Wednesday, May 9, 2012
The year from May 2011 through April 2012 was the warmest 12 consecutive months ever recorded in New Hampshire, as well as the warmest year ever recorded in the contiguous United States, meaning the lower 48 states.
The record high temperature for a 12-month stretch was made not only in New Hampshire but all the other New England states plus New York and New Jersey, as well as most of the Upper Midwest. All in all, 22 states broke cumulative temperature records during that period.
The record covers the 117 years of data measured by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration, the department which contains the National Weather Service.
The 12-month period from May 2011 through April 2012 included the second hottest summer on record, fourth warmest winter and warmest-ever March for the lower 48 states.
The 12-month running average temperature for the contiguous U.S. was 55.7 degrees Fahrenheit, 2.8 degrees above the 20th-century average.
The hot stretch was no anomaly, either. All 10 of the warmest 12-month periods on record have occurred since 1999 (although, admittedly, that includes a lot of overlapping time periods).
