News - Blogs - 2011 was the 11th warmest second wettest year on record globally

2011 was the 11th warmest, second wettest year on record globally
Published: 1/20/2012 3:36 PM
Last Modified: 1/20/2012 3:36 PM

It's cold here, but down under, Potito Starace of Italy pours water to cool down during a break as he plays Tatsuma Ito of Japan during their first round match at the Australian Open tennis championship, in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday. (AP Photo/Shuji Kajiyama)

This morning was cold. Way colder than I thought it was going to be. And drizzling. So, generally, it was a pretty gross morning compared to the temperate and sunny weather we’ve been used to.

Like I mentioned earlier this week though, it won’t stay long. The weather has been all over the place this month. Cold, drizzle-y and dreary today…Sunny and 60s Sunday.

I don’t know. Maybe it was forecast to be like this today. I can’t keep it all straight anymore.

But, enough about that. Please allow me to be predictable as I talk once again about 2011. Even typing those numbers in that sequence anymore makes my hands ache.

The National Climatic Data Center just released its look at 2011. Turns out last year was the 11th warmest on record, since 1880. Last year tied with 1997 with an annual global combined land and ocean surface temperature 0.92 degrees above the 20th Century average (which is 57 degrees).

A note on warm temperatures comes from Antarctica, where an all time record high temperature was recorded last month. It was 9.9 degrees and happened on Christmas Day.

The NCDC pointed the finger at La Nina, at least which went back in her cage in the spring before busting out again in the fall. Of La Nina years, the 2011 global surface temperature was the warmest observed.

While we were plagued by drought in the southern United States, it was actually a pretty wet year on average. In fact, it was the second wettest year on record behind 2010. But, the obvious caveat is that the precipitation was widely varied across the globe. Drought persisted here and in the Horn of Africa, but it was the third wettest year in Australia’s history.

It’s a great report that has bursting at the seams with great information. If that’s your thing, dive on in!

And now for something completely different: A co-worker requested I throw in some fishing reports for Oklahoma, since he will be spending the weekend at the lake, that jerk. Well, tomorrow it will be cold (good). Sunny, but highs in the mid 40s. Sunday is low 60s and partly sunny but windy. Gusts as high as 30s. Hope it blows him in the water.

--Jerry Wofford

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Almanac

Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun
Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec

	Temperature		Precipitation
Date	High Temp	Low Temp	Total	Month to date	Historical average
1	44°	16°	0	0.00	0.05
2	59°	24°	0	0.00	0.11
3	57°	33°	0	0.00	0.16
4	68°	37°	Trace	0.00	0.21
5	69°	29°	0	0.00	0.26
6	66°	33°	0	0.00	0.32
7	59°	38°	0.05	0.05	0.38
8	51°	34°	0	0.05	0.44
9	44°	36°	0.01	0.06	0.51
10	62°	37°	0.07	0.13	0.57
11	54°	28°	0	0.13	0.64
12	44°	30°	0.25	0.38	0.70
13	55°	40°	0.01	0.39	0.76
14	°	°			0.83
15	°	°			0.89
16	°	°			0.95
17	°	°			1.02
18	°	°			1.09
19	°	°			1.16
20	°	°			1.23
21	°	°			1.31
22	°	°			1.38
23	°	°			1.46
24	°	°			1.53
25	°	°			1.61
26	°	°			1.69
27	°	°			1.77
28	°	°			1.85

TEMPERATURE

RAINFALL

SNOWFALL

Weather World

Follow Jerry Wofford on Twitter for updates during severe weather conditions.

Tulsa weather milestones of 2013 (as of Feb. 12)

Highest temperature: 70 on Jan. 11 (Record: 115 on Aug. 15, 1936)
Lowest temperature: 15 on Jan. 16 (Record: Minus-16 on Jan. 22, 1930)
Hottest month (average): 40.5 degrees in January (Record: 91.7 degrees on July 1980)
Coldest month (average): 40. 5 degrees in January (Record: 21.7 in January 1918)
Most snowfall (day): 0.1 of an inch on Feb. 12(Record: 13.2 inches on Feb. 1, 2011)
Most snowfall (month): 0.1 of an inch in February(Record: 22.5 inches in February 2011)
Most rainfall (day): 0.91 of an inch on Jan. 29 (Record: 9.27 inches on May 26-27, 1984)
Most rainfall (month): 1.54 of an inch in January (Record: 18.18 inches on September 1971)
Highest wind speed: 30 mph on Jan. 30
Previous day with any rain: Feb. 12
Previous day with 1 inch or more of rain: Oct. 17, 2012
Previous day with any snow: Feb. 12
Previous day with freezing temperatures: Feb. 12
Read regular updates on Oklahoma's unpredictable weather and learn more about meteorology from the Tulsa office of the National Weather Service.

>> Visit the main weather page
>> Send us your weather photos
>> Meet the forecasters

Contributors
Staff Writer Althea Peterson started writing for the Tulsa World in March 2007 after previous stops at the Norman Transcript in 2006 and the Oklahoma Gazette in 2005. She followed her older brother from rural Wisconsin (with a public school that never seemed to call snow days) to the University of Oklahoma, but did not follow his pursuit to study meteorology. However, she tries to find as many opportunities to report on the weather as possible.

Staff Writer Jerry Wofford came to the Tulsa World in 2010 from The Manhattan Mercury in Manhattan, Kan. Originally from western Arkansas and a graduate of the University of Oklahoma, Jerry has lived in Tornado Alley his entire life and is one of those people who goes outside when the sirens go off.

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Temperature Date:	(Example: 1/1/2011)

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