Overview
The March through May 2016 average temperature across global land and ocean surfaces was 1.91 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th century average of 56.7 degrees Fahrenheit. This was the warmest spring ever recorded. Furthermore, May 2016 marked the 13th consecutive month with record warm global temperatures.
The contiguous United States observed its 6ᵗʰ warmest spring since records began. Specifically, March was the 4th warmest March on record, April was the 18th warmest and May was near normal.
According to the May 31 U.S. Drought Monitor report, 12.7 percent of the contiguous U.S. was in drought at the end of spring 2016. Extreme to exceptional drought was remained rooted in southern California.
The outlook for Summer 2016 calls for continued above normal temperatures.
Products
The quarterly climate digest, produced seasonally, consists of a short movie (3:42 minutes) made for SOS and an MP4 video accessible through YouTube, but none of the individual data-sets previously produced for the monthly climate digest product.
You can download the SOS content from this FTP Site.
Content includes:
- Global 3-month land temperatures
- 3-month Sea Surface Temperature (SST)
- Contiguous U.S. Temperature and Precipitation Graphics
- Temperature and Precipitation Outlooks for summer 2016
Helpful Resources for More Information
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http://go.wisc.edu/3nd6pg National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)
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http://go.wisc.edu/9y2618 About ENSO (El Niño/La Niña)
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http://go.wisc.edu/1nx2n3 NCDC’s Global Climate Report
Credits:
EarthNow Team
NOAA
References:
NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) Climate Global Analysis and National Overview available at https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/sotc/
