NOAA released their 2016 climate summary this morning. It shows that for the lower 48 states, 2016 was the second warmest on record with 54.9 F, following the record warm year of 2012, which had 55.3 F. According to the report, this marks the 20th consecutive year that the annual average temperature for the CONUS was above the 20th century average. The last year with a below-average temperature was 1996. Since 1895, the CONUS has observed an average temperature increase of 0.15°F per decade.
According to the state rankings, Georgia was the only state that set a new record for temperature for 2016, but every other state was much above normal for the year, and all of the Southeast states were in the top five warmest. According to the report, the breadth of the 2016 warmth is unparalleled in the nation’s climate history. No other year had as many states breaking or close to breaking their warmest annual average temperature. Georgia was also the 9th driest on record due in part to the exceptional drought which plagued significant parts of the state this summer and fall.
You can read the report, including seasonal summaries and summaries of the tropical seasons at https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/national/201613.
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