Does it seem like it's been warmer this past year? Well, that's because it was.
The overall average temperature for 2012 was three degrees warmer than 2011. Even the average coldest temperatures of 2012 were warmer than the average coldest temperatures of the previous six years. 2012 was, in fact, warmer than any of the previous six years, according to Guy Verhoff, Pandora weather observer.
By March we had already had a day above 80 degrees and by the end of May, we had already had our first above 90 degree day. The warmest temperature of 2012 was 102 degrees F and occurred on both June 28 and July 6.
The coldest temperature of 2012 was a mere five degrees on Jan. 10. Interestingly enough, January also had a day the was 59 degrees. Ambient temperatures never got into the negative numbers in 2012.
The greatest differential in a given month between the highest and low temperatures occurred in March where there was a 65 degree spread between the high of 86 degrees and that month's low of 21 degrees. The smallest swing occurred in August, with the highest and lowest temperatures of that month being 41 degrees apart.
Last year was also significantly dryer than the previous year. Ask any farmer and she would tell you, it's been dry and yields don't lie. In 2011, our total precipitation was 54.86 inches. In 2012, we were much dryer with a total of 39.29 inches.
Overall, 2012 precipitation is more closely aligned with what we have experienced for the previous six years, with 2011 being nearly nine inches more wet than the next wettest year, which was 2007. The driest month of 2012 was November with a mere .90 inches of precipitation. The wettest month was not that wet with only 6.35 inches of rainfall in August.
For snow totals, we were bookended, starting the year with just over a foot of snow and ending it with about that again, plus some. Overall, we had 39.29 inches of snow in 2012.
What does it mean? The only thing we know with any certainty is that it will always give us something to talk about.
