Five States on Pace for Their Warmest Year on Record

 Chris Dolce 

Published: December 8, 2020

Five states are on pace to have their warmest year on record as the end of 2020 approaches.

Florida, Delaware, Maryland, Rhode Island and Virginia had their hottest January through November in 125 years of records, according to a report released Tuesday by NOAA. This 11-month period was also one of the five warmest for an additional 15 states, from California to Maine.

The Lower 48 as a whole was having its fourth-warmest year on record through November. That means the four warmest January-through-November periods have all happened since 2012.

There are no states that have had an overall below-average temperature so far this year.

States shaded in red had a record warm January-through-November period. States in darker orange were much above average during this time. The numbers signify state temperature rankings, with a ranking of 126 meaning it was the record-warmest January-through-November period on record, while a 1 means it was the record-coldest such period for that state.

For much of 2020, Florida has been on pace to have its warmest year since at least 1895. Delaware, Maryland, Rhode Island and Virginia joined this pace after a mild November.

Final temperature rankings for these states and the entire Lower 48 won't be available until the end of December. NOAA said 2020 will likely rank among the top-seven warmest years for the Lower 48 based on five historical scenarios used for December's outcome.

There have also been precipitation extremes in the first 11 months of the year.

January through November was record-wet in North Carolina, and record-dry in Utah. Four additional states had a top-five wettest January through November, including Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

Conversely, six states in the West had one of the five driest January-through-November periods on record: Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Wyoming.

The numbers signify state precipitation rankings, with a ranking of 126 meaning it was the record-wettest January-through-November period on record, while a 1 means it was the record-driest such period for that state.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.

The Weather Company’s primary journalistic mission is to report on breaking weather news, the environment and the importance of science to our lives. This story does not necessarily represent the position of our parent company, IBM.