For 14 States, Jan-Apr 2017 Hottest Year To Date On Record; 17 More In Top-Five Record Heat

[hatrack]

For a swath of states from New Mexico over to Florida and up to Ohio, 2017 has been the hottest year on record through April. For the Lower 48 as a whole, the year is the second warmest in records going back to 1895. Several states in the mid-Atlantic had their hottest April on record and a few Southeastern states were near-record warm, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data released Monday.

The average temperature for the contiguous U.S. through April was 43.7°F (6.5°C), 4.5°F (2.5°C) above the 20th century average, NOAA said. This put the four-month period behind only 2012, which saw major heat waves and drought across much of the central part of the nation.

The exceptional heat of February is what’s keeping 2017 so high in the rankings, Jake Crouch, a NOAA climatologist, said in an email. With eight months left, though, it is unclear whether 2017 will stay warm enough to ultimately beat 2012 as the hottest calendar year for the Lower 48.

EDIT

Fourteen states along the southern tier of the country and up the Ohio Valley are record hot for the year so far, with another 17 states having a top 5 warmest year through April. Numerous cities in those states, including Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Miami and Charleston, S.C., are also running record hot so far in 2017, according to the Southeast Regional Climate Center. Only the Pacific Northwest had temperatures at or below average for the year. During April, the eastern half of the country was the center of warmth, with the West Coast running closer to average. North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Ohio all had their hottest April. Several other states surrounding that area had a top 5 warmest April.

EDIT

http://www.climatecentral.org/news/swath-of-states-experiencing-hottest-year-to-date-21428