Last year was the warmest since 1895 in the lower 48 states and also featured plenty of extreme weather, according to NOAA.
The mercury averaged 55.3 degrees, 3.3 degrees higher than the 20th century average, according to NOAA.
Here are some preliminary numbers and graphics for 2012 from NOAA:
- 356: The number of all-time record high temperatures known to be tied or broken in the United States.
- 19: The number of states that had their warmest annual period.
- 65.5: The percentage of the lower 48 states that was in a drought in September, a record in the 14-year U.S. Drought Monitor history.
- 99.1: The number (in millions) of people that experienced 10 or more days of temperatures that hit at least 100 degrees.
- 13.88: The number of feet of storm surge from superstorm Sandy measured at The Battery in New York Harbor.
- 9.2: The number (millions) of acres that burned due to wildfire in the lower 48 states.
- 113: The new all-time warmest temperature observed in South Carolina, set on June 28 in Columbia.
- 19: The number of named storms, tying 2011, 2010, 1995 and 1887 as the third busiest year for North Atlantic tropical cyclones.
- 190: The number of consecutive days (between June 24 and Dec. 31, 2012) without a tornado-related fatality. That’s second to Oct. 15, 1986, and Feb. 28, 1987 (197 days).
- 16: The number of consecutive months with temperatures in the lower 48 above the long-term average (June 2011 to September 2012). That’s the longest streak of its kind on record.
Top 10 U.S. Weather/Climate Events for 2012 (selected by a panel of weather/climate experts from around the country):
- 1. Hurricane/Post-Tropical Storm Sandy.
- 2. Drought in the lower 48 states.
- 3. Warmest year on record in lower 48.
- 4. Record wildfire activity.
- 5. Multi-state derecho.
- 6. March 2-3 severe weather outbreak.
- 7. Alaska cold winter and snow records.
- 8. Near-record low Great Lakes levels.
- 9. Snow cover in the lower 48.
- 10. Hurricane Isaac.