Last week NOAA released its 2024 summary for the contiguous United States. It was the warmest year there since records began in 1895. The average precipitation across the same area was in the wettest third of years. You can read the national 2024 report at https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/monthly-report/national/202413 and the press release at https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/national-climate-202413. Note that in the Southeast, we were warmer than normal but not as much as the upper states, which felt the impacts of the El Nino early in 2924. Some areas of the Southeast experienced their warmest year on record. Rainfall across most of the Southeast was wetter than normal due to the impacts of several tropical systems that moved over the region as well as a wet spring.
