U.S. Surface Temperature Update for July, 2012: +1.11 deg. C

August 6th, 2012 by Roy W. Spencer, Ph. D.

The U.S. lower-48 surface temperature anomaly from my population density-adjusted (PDAT) dataset was 1.11 deg. C above the 1973-2012 average for July 2012, with a 1973-2012 linear warming trend of +0.145 deg. C/decade (click for full-size version):

I could not compute the corresponding USHCN anomaly this month because it appears the last 4 years of data in the file is missing (ftp://ftp.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/data/ushcn/v2/monthly/9641C_201208_F52.avg.gz). Someone please correct me if I am mistaken.

Note that the 12-month period ending in July 2012 is also the warmest 12-month period in the 40 year record. I cannot compare these statistics to the (possibly warmer) 1930s because for the most part only max and min temperatures were reported back then, and my analysis depends upon 4x/day observations at a specific synoptic reporting times.

There is also no guarantee that my method for UHI adjustment since 1973 has done a sufficient job of removing UHI effects. A short description of the final procedure I settled on for population density adjustment of the surface temperatures can be found here.


37 Responses to “U.S. Surface Temperature Update for July, 2012: +1.11 deg. C”

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  1. Al I can say is, it is the global temperatures that matter, not the United States.

  2. In repect to conflicing views. I say CO2 had no effect on the temperature rise last century. I feel past data supports this claim.

    I also think going forward, future data will just confirm what the past data is strongly suggesting.

  3. Peter Hartley says:

    It is interesting that the trend is quite close to the Watts et al (2012) trend of +0.155 deg C/decade for the Class 1/2 stations using their new classification system. While you do not have to worry about TOBS bias by definition, they were criticized for ignoring TOBS bias when using max and min observations only. Perhaps the similarity of their results with yours suggests that the TOBS bias adjustment (the largest adjustment made to the official temperatures) is unjustified.

    Another thought — I wonder how many of your specific synoptic reporting time observations pertain to stations they have classified according to siting criteria? It might be interesting to look at the fixed time of day observations for stations in different Classes. Perhaps your co-author Christy, who also co-authored the Watts et al paper might be interested in following up that issue.

  4. sky says:

    While the last 12 months indeed have been very warm in the lower 48, the yearly average is still well below what was experienced in the 1920s and 1930s at vetted nonurban stations. Without at least a century of data, “record” temperatures are not very significant in the climatic context, with its distinct, albeit highly irregular, multidecadal swings back and forth.

  5. Roy says:

    Just curious — would it be reasonable to restrict the data to just daily low temperatures rather than mixing up four readings per day? My thought is that the atmosphere cycles through temperatures over the course of the day, that the real issue is the heat retained at the end of the daily cycle and that transient heat absorbed (sorry if that’s the wrong word) during the day and radiated off through the night is not all that important… Thanks!

  6. Jordan Asam says:

    I also think going forward, future data will just confirm what the past data is strongly suggesting. – Kitchen Remodeling Contractor

  7. Tree company says:

    It’s the effect of Global warming. Not only in the United State but all around the world. Our tree company felt it too.

  8. Al I can say is, it is the worldwide temperatures that matter, not the United States.

  9. Amber Brion says:

    This is because of global warming. We really need to take care of our nature. Let’s all support our government on how to protect our nature.

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  16. Silver says:

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  17. Philip says:

    The year 2012 was the 10th warmest year since records began in 1880. The annual global combined land and ocean surface temperature was 0.57C (1.03F) above the 20th century average of 13.9C (57.0F). This marks the 36th consecutive year (since 1976) that the yearly global temperature was above average.

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  24. Visit us says:

    Perhaps the similarity of their results with yours suggests that the TOBS bias adjustment (the largest adjustment made to the official temperatures) is unjustified.

  25. Without at least a century of data, record temperatures are not very significant in the climatic context, with its distinct, albeit highly irregular, multidecadal swings back and forth.

  26. The closeness between their findings and yours could imply that the TOBS bias adjustmentthe biggest modification to the official temperaturesis not warranted.

  27. Lea B. says:

    The globally-averaged land surface temperature for November 2012 was the sixth warmest November on record, at 1.13C (2.03F) above average.

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