National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Flooding in the Mississippi Valley; Fire Weather in California; Tropical Cyclone Rafael

A cold front will stall near the Mississippi River Valley today with excessive rainfall bringing areas of flooding over parts of the region. Gusty winds and dry conditions will drive critical to extremely critical fire weather over portions of central and southern California through Thursday. Tropical Storm Watches have been issued for parts of the Florida Keys ahead of Tropical Cyclone Rafael. Read More >

So exactly how hot has it been?

We all know that it has been a warm summer thus far across much of the Northern Plains, but how does this year, so far, compare to previous years? Below is a table that shows what the average temperature has been so far this year (January 1 through July 15) and the associated record.

 

Site

1/1/12-7/15/12 average temp (ranking)

Record average temp, or next closest year

Aberdeen

47.0 degrees (2)

47.2 degrees; 1931

Mobridge

46.9 degrees (2)

47.6 degrees; 2006

Pierre

49.6 degrees (1)

49.1 degrees; 1981

Watertown

46.5 degrees (2)

47.6 degrees; 1987

Sisseton

47.2 degrees (1)

44.2 degrees; 2006

Wheaton

45.7 degrees (1)

45.1 degrees; 1990

Murdo

51.2 degrees (1)

 49.7 degrees; 1976

 

Additionally, we are in what is typically the warmest time of the year. Below is a table that shows what the normal average temperature is through July 15th, what the current average temperature is through the 15th, and what the record average temperature is through the 15th. 

 

Site

Normal Average Temp (7/1 through 7/15)

Current Average Temp (departure from normal)

Record Average Temp (7/1 through 7/15)

Aberdeen

70.8 degrees

77.3 degrees (+6.5)

87.3 degrees (1936)

Mobridge

71.9 degrees

77.7 degrees (+5.8)

89.4 degrees (1936)

Pierre

74.4 degrees

79.8 degrees (+5.4)

89.1 degrees (1936)

Watertown

70.8 degrees

76.8 degrees (+6.0)

83.4 degrees (1936)

Sisseton

70.8 degrees

76.3 degrees (+5.5)

84.6 degrees (1936)

Wheaton

72.6 degrees

76.6 degrees (+4.0)

79.1 degrees (1957)

Murdo

75.7 degrees

81.3 degrees (+5.6)

82.4 degrees (1925)