|
|
| Based upon preliminary data, January 2001 was the twenty-eighth coldest such month since 1895 for the South region. Most of the last ten Januarys have remained close to the long-term mean. |  larger image valign=middle |
 larger image |
It was the seventeenth warmest January on record for the West North Central region. The last four Januarys have been well above the long-term mean. In fact, twelve of the last nineteen such months have been well above the long-term mean. valign=middle |
| January 2001 was the fifth driest such month since 1895 for the Northwest region. This ends five consecutive Januarys of above normal precipitation. |  larger image valign=middle |
 larger image |
January 2001 was the thirty-first wettest such month for the South region. Ten of the last thirteen Januarys have been above the long-term mean. valign=middle |
View a temperature or precipitation time series for any region from the table below. Click on a region's precipitation or temperature rank to view the 1895-2001 time series.
|
| Preliminary data indicate that precipitation for the growing season-to-date, October 2000-January 2001, averaged much above the long-term mean for the Primary Hard Red Winter Wheat Belt. The wettest such period was just two years ago. |  larger image valign=middle |
Damage due to the drought has been summarized by NOAA and the Office of Global Programs in the Climatological Impacts section of the Climate Information Project. Crop impact information can be found at the USDA NASS (National Agricultural Statistics Service) and Weekly Weather and Crop Bulletin pages. Drought statements by local National Weather Service Offices can be found at the NWS Hydrologic Information Center. Drought threat assessments and other information can be found at NOAA's Drought Information Center.
January Precipitation and Temperature Ranks, Extremes and Normals
Table 1 shows precipitation and temperature ranks for each of the 9 regions and the nation for January 2001, the two months of December 2000-January 2001, the six months of August 2000-January 2001, and the past 12 months, February 2000-January 2001.
PRECIPITATION AND TEMPERATURE RANKS, BASED
ON THE PERIOD 1895-2001. 1 = DRIEST/COLDEST,
107 = WETTEST/WARMEST FOR JAN 2001,
106 = WETTEST/WARMEST FOR DEC 2000-JAN 2001,
106 = WETTEST/WARMEST FOR AUG 2000-JAN 2001,
106 = WETTEST/WARMEST FOR FEB 2000-JAN 2001.
JAN DEC 2000- AUG 2000- FEB 2000-
REGION 2001 JAN 2001 JAN 2001 JAN 2001
------ ---- --------- --------- ---------
PRECIPITATION:
NORTHEAST 8 27 12 72
EAST NORTH CENTRAL 56 57 46 64
CENTRAL 24 18 21 42
SOUTHEAST 17 12 20 4
WEST NORTH CENTRAL 36 44 53 48
SOUTH 76 51 49 42
SOUTHWEST 74 41 75 50
NORTHWEST 5 3 4 4
WEST 41 19 18 40
NATIONAL 14 9 22 23
TEMPERATURE:
NORTHEAST 62 31 25 58
EAST NORTH CENTRAL 89 33 49 93
CENTRAL 42 8 12 56
SOUTHEAST 27 10 8 39
WEST NORTH CENTRAL 90 51 49 91
SOUTH 28 6 18 87
SOUTHWEST 50 62 61 104
NORTHWEST 46 43 35 76
WEST 57 84 75 98
NATIONAL 63 22 24 92
It should be emphasized that all of the temperature and precipitation ranks and values in Tables 1 through 3 are based on preliminary data. The ranks will change when the final data are processed.
Table 2 shows historical extremes for January, the 1961-1990 normal, and the January 2001 value for each of the 9 regions and the contiguous U.S. for precipitation and temperature. It should be noted that the 2001 values will change when the final data are processed.
PRECIPITATION (INCHES)
DRIEST WETTEST NORMAL 2001
REGION VALUE YEAR VALUE YEAR PCPN PCPN
------ ---------- ---------- ------ ------
NORTHEAST 0.87 1981 7.22 1979 2.84 1.69
EAST NORTH CENTRAL 0.32 1961 2.47 1916 1.11 1.06
CENTRAL 0.72 1981 9.61 1937 2.52 2.02
SOUTHEAST 0.92 1927 7.73 1936 4.13 2.49
WEST NORTH CENTRAL 0.16 1961 1.25 1949 0.61 0.54
SOUTH 0.53 1914 5.34 1932 2.09 2.63
SOUTHWEST 0.20 1924 3.00 1916 0.82 1.03
NORTHWEST 0.43 1985 7.81 1953 3.80 1.56
WEST 0.28 1984 10.67 1916 2.58 2.36
NATIONAL 0.92 1981 3.87 1916 2.07 1.70*
* PRELIMINARY VALUE, CONFIDENCE
INTERVAL + OR - 0.34 INCHES
TEMPERATURE (DEGREES F)
COLDEST WARMEST NORMAL 2001
REGION VALUE YEAR VALUE YEAR TEMP TEMP
------ ---------- ---------- ------ ------
NORTHEAST 12.3 1918 33.8 1932 21.1 23.2
EAST NORTH CENTRAL -1.3 1912 25.4 1990 13.0 20.0
CENTRAL 15.1 1977 40.0 1933 28.2 29.6
SOUTHEAST 35.0 1977 57.7 1950 44.1 43.5
WEST NORTH CENTRAL 0.1 1937 26.6 1986 16.5 22.3
SOUTH 31.1 1940 50.7 1923 40.7 40.7
SOUTHWEST 20.8 1937 38.2 1986 31.2 31.5
NORTHWEST 13.4 1949 37.4 1953 28.5 28.4
WEST 24.4 1937 45.5 1986 38.4 38.8
NATIONAL 22.4 1979 37.1 1953 29.9 31.7*
* PRELIMINARY VALUE, CONFIDENCE
INTERVAL + OR - 0.3 DEG. F.
*National Temperature Rank Based on a combination of
USHCN and divisional data.
Water Year River Basin Statistics, October 2000-January 2001
Table 3 shows statistics for selected river basins: Precipitation rankings are for October 2000-January 2001, where 1 = driest, and 106 = wettest, based on the period 1895 to 2001. Also shown is the areal percent of the basin experiencing severe or extreme long-term (Palmer) drought, and areal percent of the basin experiencing severe or extreme long-term (Palmer) wet conditions, as of January 2001.
PRECIPITATION % AREA % AREA
RIVER BASIN RANK DRY WET
----------- ------------- ------ ------
MISSOURI BASIN 87 12.7% 6.1%
PACIFIC NORTHWEST BASIN 4 51.9% 0.0%
CALIFORNIA RIVER BASIN 17 4.2% 0.0%
GREAT BASIN 63 0.0% 0.0%
UPPER COLORADO BASIN 65 0.0% 0.0%
LOWER COLORADO BASIN 91 0.0% 0.0%
RIO GRANDE BASIN 98 0.0% 11.2%
ARKANSAS-WHITE-RED BASIN 100 0.0% 17.2%
TEXAS GULF COAST BASIN 93 0.0% 0.0%
SOURIS-RED-RAINY BASIN 97 0.0% 63.4%
UPPER MISSISSIPPI BASIN 53 0.0% 0.0%
LOWER MISSISSIPPI BASIN 58 21.5% 0.0%
GREAT LAKES BASIN 18 16.2% 6.5%
OHIO RIVER BASIN 11 0.4% 0.0%
TENNESSEE RIVER BASIN 14 0.0% 0.0%
NEW ENGLAND BASIN 23 0.0% 0.0%
MID-ATLANTIC BASIN 5 3.0% 0.0%
SOUTH ATLANTIC-GULF BASIN 19 28.3% 0.0%
The river basin regions are defined by the U.S. Water Resources Council.
For more information, refer to ...
References:Thomas R. Karl and Albert J. Koscielny, 1982: "Drought in the United States: 1895-1981." Journal of Climatology, vol. 2, pp. 313-329.
Thomas R. Karl and Walter James Koss, 1984: "Regional and National Monthly, Seasonal, and Annual Temperature Weighted by Area, 1895-1983." Historical Climatology Series 4-3, National Climatic Data Center, Asheville, NC, 38 pp.
NOAA's National Climatic Data Center is the world's largest active archive of weather data. The preliminary temperature and precipitation rankings are available from the center by calling: 828-271-4800.
Historical precipitation and temperature ranking maps are also available on the Internet courtesy of the Climate Prediction Center.
NOAA works closely with the academic and scientific communities on climate-related research projects to increase the understanding of El Niño and improve forecasting techniques. NOAA's Climate Prediction Center monitors, analyzes and predicts climate events ranging from weeks to seasons for the nation. NOAA also operates the network of data buoys and satellites that provide vital information about the ocean waters, and initiates research projects to improve future climate forecasts. The long lead climate outlooks are available from the Climate Prediction Center.
For all climate questions other than questions concerning this report, please contact the National Climatic Data Center's Climate Services Division:
Climate Services Division
NOAA/National Climatic Data Center
151 Patton Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801-5001
fax: 828-271-4876
phone: 828-271-4800
email: questions@ncdc.noaa.gov
For further information on the historical climate perspective presented in this report, contact:
Jay Lawrimore
NOAA/National Climatic Data Center
151 Patton Avenue
Asheville, NC 28801-5001
fax: 828-271-4328
email: jay.lawrimore@noaa.gov
NCDC / Climate Research / Climate of 2001 / January / Search / Help
Downloaded Saturday, 02-May-2009 19:29:24 EDT
Last Updated Wednesday, 20-Aug-2008 12:22:19 EDT by Dimitri.H.Chappas@noaa.gov
Please see the NCDC Contact Page if you have questions or comments.