The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on Tuesday released its annual “State of the Climate” report, and the results should not surprise most Americans: 2012 was the warmest year on record for the contiguous United States and the second most extreme on record in terms of weather events. As the report begins:
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, 3.2°F above the 20th century average, and 1.0°F above 1998, the previous warmest year.
NOAA is hosting a press conference on the findings at 1:30 p.m. EST. Check IdeaLab after it concludes for a full recap on the remarks.