2012, Oklahoma’s warmest year statewide is confirmed and warmest year on record for contiguous U.S.

According to Gary McManus, Oklahoma Climatological Survey:

The National Climatic Data Center has released their climate division values by state. December’s statewide average for Oklahoma came in at 41.8 degrees, which gives us an average temperature of 63.0 degrees for the year. That breaks the previous record of 62.8 degrees from 1954, and confirms 2012 as Oklahoma’s warmest year on record.

Those records began in 1895.

It also brings the two-year (January 2011-December 2012) statewide average to

62.3 degrees, breaking the previous record for two-consecutive calendar years of 62.1 degrees from 1953-1954.

These numbers could adjust upwards just a bit over the next couple of months as data trickles into NCDC (i.e., paper forms).

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National Weather Service:

2012 was a historic year for extreme weather that included drought, wildfires, hurricanes and storms; however, tornado activity was below average

2012 marked the warmest year on record for the contiguous United States with the year consisting of a record warm spring, second warmest summer, fourth warmest winter and a warmer-than-average autumn. The average temperature for 2012 was 55.3°F, 3.3°F above the 20^th century average, and 1.0°F above 1998, the previous warmest year.

The average precipitation total for the contiguous U.S. for 2012 was 26.57 inches, 2.57 inches below average, making it the 15^th driest year on record for the nation. At its peak in July, the drought of 2012 engulfed 61 percent of the nation with the Mountain West, Great Plains, and Midwest experiencing the most intense drought conditions. The dry conditions proved ideal for wildfires in the West, charring 9.2 million acres — the third highest on record.

The U.S. Climate Extremes Index indicated that 2012 was the second most extreme year on record for the nation. The index, which evaluates extremes in temperature and precipitation, as well as landfalling tropical cyclones, was nearly twice the average value and second only to 1998. To date, 2012 has seen 11 disasters that have reached the $1 billion threshold in losses, to include Sandy, Isaac, and tornado outbreaks experienced in the Great Plains, Texas and Southeast/Ohio Valley.

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