NOAA: Sept. was warm, but no record
Published 7:15 am, Wednesday, October 19, 2016
The warmest year to date for the Earth continued in September, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
But for the warm temperature was not enough to continue the recent 16-month streak of record warmth. Even so, September 2016 ranked as the second warmest September on record, NOAA says.
Temperaturatures for 2016 are still on track of beating last year’s record as the warmest year on the Earth since records were kept. The year-to-date temperature across global land and ocean surfaces was 1.78 degrees above the 20th century average of 57.5 degrees. This was the highest for January-September in the 1880-2016 record, surpassing the previous record set in 2015 by 0.23.
The September temperature across global land and ocean surfaces was 1.60 degrees above the 20th century average of 59. This was the second highest for September in the 1880-2016 record, 0.07 degrees cooler than the record warmth of 2015 when El Niño conditions were strengthening.
Warmer than average conditions were reported across the United States last month, making it ninth warmest September in 122 years, according to NOAA’s report.
Last month, Connecticut’s average temperature was 66.3 degrees - 4.8 degrees above normal, according to the Northeast Regional Climate Center. That was the fourth warmest on record; the warmest September on record for Connecticut was in 2015 when the temperarature averaged 67.8 degrees - 6.6 degrees above normal.
More notable findings around the world include:
The globally averaged sea surface temperature tied with 2014 as the second warmest on record for September and warmest on record for the year to date (January-September);
The globally averaged land surface temperature was record high for September and the year to date);
Record-warm continents: Europe and Asia had their warmest September; Africa had its second; and North America had its third;
The average Arctic sea ice extent for September was 27.8 percent below the 1981-2010 average. This was the fifth smallest September extent since records began in 1979; and
The average Antarctic sea ice extent for September was 2.0 percent below the 1981-2010 average, the fifth smallest on record for the month.
On Wednesday, we’ll have our last warm day with the temperature peaking in the low 80s.
Here’s the forecast:
Today: Partly sunny, with a high near 82. Southwest wind 5 to 7 mph.
Tonight: Partly cloudy, with a low around 57. North wind around 6 mph.
Thursday: A 40 percent chance of showers after 11am. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 65. East wind around 10 mph.
Thursday Night: A 40 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 60. East wind 6 to 11 mph becoming light after midnight.
Friday: Showers likely. Mostly cloudy, with a high near 71. East wind around 7 mph becoming southeast in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Friday Night: A 50 percent chance of showers. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 48.
Saturday: Partly sunny, with a high near 58.
Saturday Night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 42.
Sunday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 59.