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Are Warmer-Than-Average Months the New Normal?
October 2012 is the 332nd consecutive month with above average temperatures
(NOAA)
As winter approaches and temperatures begin to drop, ponder this tidbit as you bundle up in coats and scarves for the onslaught of cold: The mercury might be dipping, but across the globe, monthly average temperatures are still warmer than average.
This rise in average temperatures is not a recent phenomenon. In fact, October 2012 is the 332nd consecutive month with an above-average temperature, according to NOAA's most recent report. More specifically, the last month with a below average temperature was February 1985.
Step back and consider it from this perspective, as the folks at Grist.org have done - if you're 27 years old or younger, you've never lived through a colder-than-average month.
While October 2012 ranks as the eighth-warmest October on record, with temperatures measuring 1.66 degrees Fahrenheit above average, over-land temperatures weren't the only ones to be above normal, according to NOAA:
These warmer sea surface temperatures, coupled with higher-than-average over-land temperatures between April and September, have given the first 10 months of 2012 the ranking of eighth warmest period on record.The October global sea surface temperature was 0.94°F above the 20th century average of 60.6°F. This ties with 2004 as the fourth highest on record for October.
Perhaps one less winter layer will need to be worn this season.
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6 Comments
Trust me one hundred years from now people will still be having the same conversation. Weather and climate changes are cyclical and ruled by the laws of physics and nature they will never be fully understood. The Universe was formed due to a series of random events life on Planet Earth is also ruled by random events.
November 19 2012 at 2:33 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyIt says AVERAGE. That means there are temps below and above that figure to arrive at it. Just more scare tactics.
November 19 2012 at 2:20 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyAnd this is the way the wind is blowing today so said the weather man... It hasn't been three months ago that they were saying that the Eastern U S would experience above avg. snowfall this winter. They went into a long smear showing how the winter jet stream would be coming across the North Pole bringing snow South
November 19 2012 at 2:11 PM Report abuse Permalink +1 rate up rate down ReplyI is just our path around the Sun, been doing it for a LONG time. It will rise and fall over a period. THIS IS PROVEN!
November 19 2012 at 1:43 PM Report abuse Permalink +1 rate up rate down ReplyIT's the Antennas . HAARP
November 19 2012 at 1:29 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down ReplyWow. This is really scary!
November 19 2012 at 1:04 PM Report abuse Permalink +1 rate up rate down ReplyWe need Captain Planet!!!