The U.S. had its second-warmest year on record in 2016, with every single state having a warmer-than-average year, according to a report released Monday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
"The breadth of the 2016 warmth is unparalleled in the nation's climate history," NOAA scientists wrote in their annual climate report.
While records were toppled virtually everywhere, Alaska earned the title of having the most unusually warm year.
SEE ALSO:Obama says clean energy's momentum is 'irreversible,' even under TrumpAlaska, which is America's only Arctic state, had an average annual temperature of 31.9 degrees Fahrenheit, which was 5.9 degrees Fahrenheit above average. The state had its second-warmest winter, warmest spring, second-warmest summer and a warmer-than-average fall.
This wound up being the third straight warmest year on record in Alaska, where temperature records go back 92 years.
According to NOAA, Barrow, which is the northernmost city in the country, was 7.1 degrees Fahrenheit above average. For the first time in Alaska's climate record, its average spring temperature hit 32 degrees Fahrenheit, or 0 degrees Celsius.
Annual average temperature departures from average in Alaska, showing the record high in 2016.Credit: noaaSince 1925, Alaska has seen an average temperature increase of 0.30 degrees Fahrenheit per decade.
Nationally in 2016, the lower 48 states had an average annual temperature of 54.9 degrees Fahrenheit, which was 2.9 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th century average. This ranks just behind 2012, when the annual average temperature was 55.3 degrees Fahrenheit.
Remarkably, 2016 marks the 20th straight year of above-average continental U.S. temperatures. Since 1895, NOAA found, the lower 48 states have observed an average temperature increase of 0.15 degrees Fahrenheit per decade.
Last year now ranks in at least the top seven warmest years on record for every state.
"No other year had as many states breaking or close to breaking their warmest annual average temperature," NOAA said in the report.
The year featured an extremely lopsided ratio between record highs and record lows, at 5.7-to-1. According to the nonprofit climate research and journalism group Climate Central, this is the highest such ratio since consistent records began in 1920. In particular, there were an unusually high number of overnight record warm overnight temperatures.
2016 holds the record for the maximum extent in warm minimum temperature extremes, at 93 percent of the lower 48 states. The record footprint for cold maximum temperatures across the continental U.S. occurred in 1912 (58 percent) and in 1917 (74 percent) for extreme cold minimum temperatures.Credit: noaaOn a map of record warm overnight low temperatures, 2016's climate painted the country red, with 93 percent of the continental U.S. seeing warm minimum temperature extremes last year.
The average low temperature for the country was 43.1 degrees Fahrenheit, which beat the old record set in 2012 by about 0.2 degrees.
One measure of how unusual the climate of 2016 was in the U.S. can be found in NOAA's Climate Extremes Index, which keeps track of temperature, precipitation and other extremes. For 2016, this index was the third-highest on record, behind only 1998 and 2012. Record daytime highs and record warm overnight low temperatures were a major contributor to this high ranking, NOAA stated.
The climate of 2016 had links to El Niño, which waned in the spring, as well as human-caused global warming, which has been leading to an array of climate shifts in the U.S. including rapid warming in Alaska.
Last year, the U.S. experienced 15 weather and climate disasters with losses exceeding $1 billion, with a total of 138 fatalities, NOAA found. Of these billion dollar disasters, four were inland floods -- double the typical number of such events. NOAA has been keeping track of these types of costly disasters since 1980.
The U.S. temperature data precedes an anticipated announcement that 2016 was the warmest year on record globally, which is due on Jan. 18. The European Copernicus Climate Service has already found that 2016 broke a global record, but more data is still being analyzed.
(责任编辑：熱點)
Two states took big steps this week to get rid of the tampon tax
Julian Assange says once again that Russia is not Wikileaks' source
Book service helps black children find empowering stories they can relate to
If a regular burger just won't do, have one with Hello Kitty's face on itWhatsApp announces plans to share user data with FacebookFlorida hurricane forecast remains uncertain, but trends in state's favor
For days, a war has been raging between two of the premiere computer models used to help predict the
...[详细]How Snapchat will change the music industry in 2017
It started with a Twitter video, announcing: New music coming Friday. Then, an Instagram video&mdash
...[详细]Indian soldier rants about bad food, being forced to sleep on an empty stomach, video goes viral
An Indian soldier has made a heartfelt plea to the country's Prime Minister in a Facebook video that
...[详细]How Snapchat will change the music industry in 2017
It started with a Twitter video, announcing: New music coming Friday. Then, an Instagram video&mdash
...[详细]U.S. pole vaulter skids to a halt for national anthem
An American pole vaulter took his patriotism to the next level at the Olympics.
。Sam Kendricks, a sec
...[详细]Our absurd political reality summed up in one tweet
Donald Trump is back to fanning the flames of his love affair with Russian president Vladimir Putin.
...[详细]'This Is Us' Spoilers: Is Toby Dead or Alive?
This recap contains spoilers for This Is Us Season 1, episode 11, titled "The Right Thing to Do."It&
...[详细]Google rolls out carrier billing option to Vodafone, Airtel subscribers
Google has rolled out carrier billing option to two of India’s largest telecom operators, maki
...[详细]One thing's for sure: you're never too old to learn. 。Massachusetts woman Clare Picciuto turned 100 F
...[详细]Han Solo movie: Woody Harrelson reveals his role in Star Wars spinoff
Woody Harrelson is officially joining the cast of the upcoming Star Warsstandalone film centered aro
...[详细]Richard Branson 'thought he was going to die' in bike accident
For the first time ever, a bumblebee is on the U.S. endangered species list
