The year 2016 brought average annual temperature for the contiguous United States at 54.9°F, which was 2.9°F above the 20th century average.
According to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2016 remained the second warmest year of the 122 years on record, behind 2012 (55.3°F), and the 20th consecutive warmer-than-normal year for the United States (1997–2016).
The latest report on the temperature pattern came as another warning on global climate change, and a ringing bell for climate change deniers.
The NOAA uses data from National Centers for Environmental Information to update the public about latest weather and climate in the United States.
The NOAA assessment says the contiguous U.S. average annual precipitation was 31.70 inches, which is 1.76 inches above the long-term average. This made 2016 the 24th wettest year on record for the nation, and the fourth consecutive year with above-average precipitation.
During the year 2016, the United States experienced 15 weather and climate disasters with losses exceeding $1 billion, causing a total of $46 billion in damages.
This was the second highest number of billion-dollar events in the 37-year record (1980–2016), one less than the 16 that occurred in 2011. Four of these were inland flooding events not associated with named tropical storms, doubling the previous record for number of billion-dollar inland flood events in one year, which occurred several years, most recently in 2015, according to NOAA assessment.
