FOR RELEASE: Oct. 15, 1998
Contact: Blaine P. Friedlander, Jr. Office: (607) 255-3290 [email protected] Compuserve: Bill Steele, 72650,565 http://www.news.cornell.edu
ITHACA, N.Y. -- To date, 1998 is running ahead of 1953, the Northeast's warmest year on record, according to the climatologists at the Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell University. If warm temperatures continue in the current pattern through the rest of the year, 1998 may surpass 1953 as the warmest year, says Keith Eggleston, senior climatologist at the center.
Eggleston says that the temperature for the Northeast needs to average 1.5 degrees above normal for October, November and December in order to beat the old high-temperature mark of 49.5 degrees Fahrenheit for the year.
For the first nine months of this year, the period of Jan. 1 through Sept. 30, 1998 ran second to 1921 as being the warmest such period on record, but only by a smidgen -- three-tenths of a degree. However, in the same period, the 12-state Northeast region averaged 3.2 degrees warmer than normal, or 52.6 degrees, and stands second to 1921's 52.9 degrees on the list of the Northeast's warmest January-September periods. (The normal average temperature is based on a 30-year period: 1961 to 1990.)
Eggleston explains that while 1998 is running ahead of 1953 for the Jan. 1 to Sept. 30 period, the last three months of 1953 were very warm and pulled the year's average temperature up.
During September, warmer-than-normal conditions dominated. The area-weighted average temperature for the region was 2.5 degrees warmer than the normal 60.3 degrees, and it was the 16th warmest September in 104 years of record-keeping. West Virginia averaged 3.5 degrees warmer than the normal 64 degrees, while New Hampshire recorded a departure that was 1 degree warmer than the 30-year normal of 57 degrees.
Precipitation in September was similar to that of July and August: It was below normal in every state except Vermont. The area-weighted state average for Vermont was 3.92 inches of rain, which is 113 percent of normal. Elsewhere, precipitation ranged between 46 percent (1.67 inches) of normal (3.64 inches) in Delaware and 80 percent of normal (3.50 inches) in Maine.
For September, the 12-state region overall averaged 2.55 inches of rain, which was 71 percent of normal, making it the 23rd driest September on record.
New Weather Records
Daily Precipitation Records (inches)-30-City Date New Previous Boston 22nd 1.88 1.65 in 1949
Maximum Temperature Records
City Date New Previous Concord, N.H. 6th 91∞ 90∞ in 1983 Binghamton, N.Y. 6th 90∞ 89∞ in 1983 Beckley, W.Va. 6th 88∞ 87∞ in 1990 Beckley, W.Va. 12th 86∞ 80∞ in 1990 Beckley, W.Va. 13th 89∞ 83∞ in 1993 Beckley, W.Va. 14th 92∞ 84∞ in 1993 Elkins, W.Va. (tie) 14th 89∞ 89∞ in 1915 Morgantown, W.Va. 14th 95∞ 90∞ in 1952 Parkersburg, W.Va. (tie) 14th 95∞ 95∞ in 1897 Beckley, W.Va. 15th 87∞ 86∞ in 1970 Erie, Pa. 26th 89∞ 88∞ in 1908 Beckley, W.Va. (tie) 26th 83∞ 83∞ in 1970 Hartford, Conn. 27th 88∞ 84∞ in 1920 Bridgeport, Conn. 27th 81∞ 80∞ in 1972 National Airport, Va. 27th 93∞ 92∞ in 1900 Wilmington, Del. 27th 91∞ 87∞ in 1933 Providence, R.I. 27th 86∞ 85∞ in 1972 Boston (tie) 27th 86∞ 86∞ in 1933 Milton, Mass 27th 84∞ 82∞ in 1908 Baltimore 27th 92∞ 91∞ in 1933 Atlantic City AP, N.J. 27th 93∞ 87∞ in 1970 Atlantic City Mar. N.J. 27th 85∞ 81∞ in 1886 Newark, N.J. 27th 91∞ 89∞ in 1953 Albany, N.Y. (tie) 27th 84∞ 84∞ in 1920 Binghamton, N.Y. 27th 80∞ 76∞ in 1953 Allentown, Pa. 27th 88∞ 87∞ in 1933 Harrisburg, Pa. 27th 91∞ 88∞ in 1900 Philadelphia 27th 91∞ 90∞ in 1881 Beckley, W.Va. (tie) 27th 81∞ 81∞ in 1971 Atlantic City Mar., N.J. 28th 84∞ 83∞ in 1925
Minimum Temperature Record
City Date New Previous Beckley, W.Va. 10th 41∞ 43∞ in 1981
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