Global Disasters/ Significant Events
2012 warmest year on record for continental U.S.
The Lower 48 experienced its warmest year on record in 2012 as the average temperature rose to 12.9°C (55.3°F), some 1.8°C (3.2°F) above the 20th century average, and 0.6°C (1.0°F) above 1998, the previous warmest year, NOAA reported.
Every state in the contiguous U.S. had an above-average annual temperature for 2012. Nineteen states had a record warm year and an additional 26 states had one of their 10 warmest. Source: NOAA
Other Highlights
- 2012 was the 2nd most extreme year on record for the country, according the U.S. Climate Extremes Index. “The index, which evaluates extremes in temperature and precipitation, as well as landfalling tropical cyclones, was nearly twice the average value and second only to 1998. To date, 2012 has seen 11 disasters that have reached the $1 billion threshold in losses, to include Sandy, Isaac, and tornado outbreaks experienced in the Great Plains, Texas and Southeast/Ohio Valley.”
- The average precipitation total for the contiguous U.S. for 2012 was 67.5 cm (26.57 inches), 6.5 cm (2.57 in) below average.
- The 2012 drought plagued 61 percent of the U.S. at its peak in July. “The dry conditions proved ideal for wildfires in the West, charring 9.2 million acres — the third highest on record.”
Annual Extremes: Several locations throughout the United States experienced temperature and precipitation extremes in 2012. Most striking was the number of locations across the country that broke their average annual temperature record. These records were primarily driven by extremely warm maximum day time temperatures or daily highs, especially during the spring and summer months. More than a dozen of these locations also experienced their driest year on record. In those areas, the combination of the extreme warm and dry period resulted in a drought comparable to the drought episodes of the 1950s. Source: NOAA/NCDC
Significant weather and climate events- Preliminary
GLOBAL WARNINGS
- WARNING: Human impact 2.85 x Earth’s diminishing carrying capacity
- WARNING: RAPID DECLINE IN PROGRESS!
- Europe: The First Phase of Collapse Has Started
- United States: The First Phase of Collapse Has Begun
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DISASTER CALENDAR SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,158 Days Left
[January 9, 2013] Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016.
- SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,158 Days Left to the most Fateful Day in Human History
- Symbolic countdown to the ‘worst day’ in human history began on May 15, 2011 ...