Temperatures may have eased up in the last couple weeks, but abnormally high average temperatures across Delaware from January through July already make 2012 one of the warmest and driest years for the state in recorded history, according to new data released from the Northeast Regional Climate Center (NRCC) at Cornell University.
Throughout the Northeast average temperatures all year have broken 117-year records. In Delaware the mercury consistently climbed four degrees above normal, the highest average temperature increase in the region, according to the NRCC survey.
“This year started out really strange,” said Jessica Rennells, a climatologist with the NRCC, referring to the state’s exceptionally mild and virtually snowless winter. She says that the unusual January immediately sparked climatologists’ interest.
Unusual weather continued to hold their attention and prompted the NRCC to release temperature data just seven months into the year.
While scientists debate whether the upward spike in temperatures is further indication of the effects of man-made climate change, Rennells says it’s too soon to tell.
[caption id="attachment_26159" align="alignright" width="300" caption="Delaware is home to one of the most robust environmental observation networks in the country with 48 stations scattered throughout the state."]
“It’s really hard to look at one month or one season and say that there’s climate change as a direct result of fossil fuel emissions because we do have variability from year to year,” she said.
The mild winter could have been triggered largely by a La Niña, a global pressure system fueled by low surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean. Rennells adds that any number of naturally occurring phenomena can alter weather patterns.
“We don’t want to scare people and imply that it’s the end of the world, because that’s not true. But it is good to bring an awareness of climate change,” said Rennells.
Regardless of the cause, Delaware does appear to be experiencing a warming trend.
“Summer temperatures have been quite high for the last decade and a half,” says Daniel Leathers, Delaware state climatologist and a professor of geography at the University of Delaware’s College of Earth, Ocean, and Environment.
The three hottest June-through-July periods all occurred in the last three years, Leathers says.
This July, much of Delaware saw temperatures near 100 degrees while drought ravaged much of the state’s corn crops. The heat index, a measurement of how hot the body feels as a result of temperature and humidity, climbed to 110 degrees.
Delaware State Climatologist Dan Leathers discusses 2012 temperatures and precipitation in Delaware.
Delaware State Climatologist Dan Leathers discusses 2012 temperatures and precipitation in Delaware.
[flashvideo file=http://www.wdde.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/leathers.flv image="none" /]
Leathers adds that while it has been warmer than usual, Delaware is largely protected from the heat waves that can be seen in the Midwest. Temperatures rarely exceed 100 degrees in Delaware, and when they do they tend to break within a few days.
“Our placement on a peninsula does keep us from having the extreme temperatures that other states see,” he says.
Water tends to have a cooling effect, he explains. Situated between Delaware Bay, the Atlantic Ocean, and the Chesapeake Bay, Delaware is somewhat sheltered from excessive heat.
The Atlantic also can bring intense late summer and fall storms. The coming tropical storm season could bring enough precipitation to Delaware to recharge streams and aquifers. (Although the drought that has stricken Delaware and the nation has taken its toll on the state’s crops.) The second half of 2011 was the wettest July-January period ever, Leathers says.
Leathers says that large fluctuations in precipitation are a hallmark of Delaware climate. While the average rainfall is 3 to 4 inches, he says that some months get none and others get up to a foot.
Although Leathers is accustomed to seeing fluctuations in climate, 2012 is making an impression.
“This year has truly started off exceptionally. When you’re talking about having good data back to 1895 and you’re running the warmest and driest, that’s pretty exceptional.”