Turn Off the Sun, It's Too Hot Already

You know when people say stuff like, "this is the hottest or driest summer on record"...have you ever wondered where they get their information?

One of the best services available to and paid for by the average American taxpayer is National Oceanic & Atmospheric Association's (NOOA--pronounced "noah") National Climate Data Center (NCDC).

They do an amazing job of creating valuable, easy to read graphics and tables compiling all available information on the climate (both nationally and globally).

We hope that you have plenty of sunscreen and a good emergency plan for those truly brutal days (movie anyone?) as it is getting hot around here folks:Monthly and Seasonal Highlights:
Contiguous U.S.:

For additional national, regional, and statewide data and graphics from 1895-present, for May, the last 3 months or other periods, please visit the Climate At A Glance page.

• May Temperature: 11th warmest May in the 1895-2007 record. The preliminary nationally averaged temperature was 63.14°F (17.30°C), which was 2.08°F (1.16°C) above the 1901-2000 (20th century) mean.
  
  
• May Precipitation: 42nd driest nationally in the 1895-2007 record. An average of 2.65 inches (67 mm) fell over the contiguous U.S. in May, 0.22 inches (6 mm) below the 20th century mean for the month.
  
  
• March - May Temperature (3-Month): 5th warmest in the 1895-to-present record, 2.49°F (1.38°C) above the 20th century mean. The preliminary nationally averaged March - May temperature was 54.38°F (12.43°C).
  
  
• March - May Precipitation (3-month): A total of 6.91 inches (176 mm) of precipitation fell during this 3-month period, which corresponds to a ranking of 23rd driest.
  
  
• December - May (6-month): The national average temperature was the 12th warmest for this 6-month period. The nationally-averaged temperature was 44.13°F (6.74°C), which was 1.68°F (0.93°C) above the 20th century mean. At 13.19 inches (335 mm), December - May precipitation was below average and ranked as the 34th driest such period in the 1895-2007 record.
  
  
• January to May (Year-to-date): The 20th warmest January - May on record. The nationally averaged year-to-date temperature was 45.57°F (7.54°C), or 1.33°F (0.74°C) above the mean. The year-to-date period was the 14th driest January - May in the 113-year record, receiving a national average of 10.66 inches (271 mm) of precipitation during the period, or 1.29 inches (33 mm) below the 20th century mean.
  
  
• June 2006 - May 2007: The 10th warmest such period in the 1895-2007 record. The preliminary nationally-averaged annual temperature was 54.12°F (12.29°C), which was 1.30°F (0.72°C) above the mean. Precipitation for the June 2006 - May 2007 period ranked as the 58th driest June to May in the 112-year record. The nationally-averaged annual precipitation accumulation was 29.14 inches (740 mm), ranking near the 20th century mean.

Alaska:

• Alaska had its 16th warmest May since 1918 on record, with a temperature 1.40°F (0.78°C) above the 1971-2000 average.
  
  
• Alaska tied for its 38th coldest spring (March - May) on record, with a temperature 1.73°F (0.96°C) below the 1971-2000 average.

Other Statewide and Regional Highlights:

• May temperatures were much above average for four states, including Illinois and Missouri which ranked 7th and 9th warmest, respectively. Texas ranked 26th coldest. Precipitation across Georgia was driest on record. Alabama and Ohio were 3rd driest and North Dakota was 6th wettest on record.
  
  
• March - May temperatures across Wyoming and Missouri ranked 3rd warmest on record. Illinois and Nevada were 4th warmest. Maine was the only state with below average temperatures for the period. Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, and Tennessee ranked driest for the March - May period. Nebraska was 3rd wettest.
  
  
• The Southeast region, ranked driest for the March - May period with a value of 5.88 inches (149 mm). The previous record dry spring was March - May 1914, with a total of 6.77 inches (175 mm).
  
  
• Temperatures over the past 6-months (December - May) were above average in all regions except the South, which was near average. Precipitation for the period was driest in the Southeast.
  
  
• December - May temperatures were much above average for six states, including Wisconsin and New Jersey. Texas was the only state with below average temperatures during the six month period. Mississippi ranked driest for the period, while Nebraska experienced its wettest such period on record.
  
  
• During the year-to-date period (January - May), temperatures were near average to above average in all states except Texas and Maine. Alabama and Mississippi ranked driest for the period.
  
  
• January - May precipitation across the Southeast was record driest.
  
  
• June 2006 - May 2007 was near average to much-warmer-than-average for the lower 48 states. Seven states, including Florida, and California, ranked much below average for precipitation. New Hampshire was 2nd wettest for the period.