The December 2022 U.S. Climate Rankings by State and the 2022 Annual State Rankings

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The December 2022 U.S. Climate Rankings by State and the 2022 Annual State Rankings; Highlight: December arctic blast but month manages near normal.

  

Fig: 1: NOAA state rankings for temperature during December 2022.

December 2022 U.S. climate rankings discussion: Remarkably, despite a harsh arctic outbreak in December, the U.S. temperature averaged almost exactly normal and ranked 64 (of 128 years) which is right in the middle (Fig. 1). The cold region was the Great Plains, Montana and Washington although not particularly impressive. Sixteen states were warmer than normal including MUCH ABOVE normal in Maine. The precipitation ranking was 35th wettest (of 128 years) and included the wettest December on record for North Dakota (Fig. 2). California to the North-central U.S. was wetter than normal while much of the Northeast Corridor was also wetter than normal. Only 5 states were drier than normal centered on the eastern Ohio Valley and Georgia/Florida.

Fig: 2: NOAA state rankings for precipitation during December 2022.

Annual 2022 U.S. climate rankings discussion: The contiguous U.S. ranked 18th warmest (of 128 years) in 2022. Many states were MUCH ABOVE normal including most of the West, Texas, Florida and the Northeast U.S. (Fig. 3). All states were warmer than normal except the Upper Midwest/Midwest States. The precipitation ranking was 27th driest (of 128 years) including MUCH BELOW normal precipitation in California, Nebraska, and Texas (Fig. 4). Of course, true of climate patterns during the climate change era, long-term climate across a region such as long-term dryness in California has encountered a historic wet regime so far in January. Most states were drier than normal in 2022. The wetter than normal states included North Dakota, Virginia and the central/northern Appalachian Mountains.

Fig: 3: NOAA state rankings for temperature during the year of 2022.

Fig: 4: NOAA state rankings for precipitation during the year of 2022.