The first half of 2012 was the warmest start to any year going back to 1895. The national temperature was 52.9 F or 4.5 degrees above average. The average temperature from July 2011 to June 2012 was 56 degrees, beating the old record by 0.05 degrees. In June, 170 all-time high temps were set or tied and 3,282 daily records were set or tied in the United States as a whole.
Here are some other record-breaking weather stats from around the country: • New York had its warmest February on record.• June temperatures in South Carolina (113) and Georgia (112) are possible statewide temperature records.• Texas had its warmest Jan.-June on record at +3.5 degrees.• On March 16, Bismarck, N.D., had a record high of 81.0 degrees, 17 degrees above the old record.• McCook, Neb., set a new all-time record high with 115 degrees on June 26.• Cheyenne, Wyo., saw its warmest March since 1872 with an average temperature of 44.6• Wichita, Kan., had an average temperature of 64.4 degrees in May, which was 9 degrees above normal and beat its old record of 59.9 degrees by a whopping 4.5 degrees.• The warm weather this spring led to the earliest last freeze on record at Charlottesville, VA, which occurred on March 11.• Cherry trees bloomed a week earlier than predicted in March, leaving blossom-less trees for the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C.• Massachusetts tied with 1998 for its warmest February in 118 years.• California had its second driest winter on record.• On March 16, Bismarck, N.D., had a record high of 81.0 degrees, which was 17 degrees above the old record of 64 degrees.• The Northeast saw its warmest March in 118 years, beating out the previous warmest March (1945) by 0.9 degrees.• Minnesota tied for its warmest winter in 118 years at 23.4 degrees and Fargo, N.D., a recorded its warmest winter in 130 years at 22.1 degrees.• Omaha, Neb., set a new record high of 69 degrees on Jan. 30, which tied its mark for warmest temperature ever recorded in January.• Laramie, Wyo. recorded its driest January on record.• At Death Valley, Calif., temperatures soared to 110, 113, and 113 on April 21, 22, and 23 setting a record for most days over 110 in April.• Rhode Island saw its 2nd warmest spring in 118 years and Maine, its third warmest.• Salt Lake City suffered the third driest June on record.• Snow cover across the U.S. was the third smallest on record for spring.• Wyoming had its driest June on record, receiving 0.45 inch.• Colorado had its driest March on record and its warmest June ever.• Every state experienced a record warm daily temperature during March. According to preliminary data, there were 15,272 warm temperature records broken.• On April 7, Anchorage, Alaska received 4.3 in of snowfall, bringing the season total to 134.5 in and setting a record for greatest season snowfall.Source: Star-Telegram research