By the Numbers: 2015 Weather

With the recent report that 2015 was the warmest year on Earth since modern record keeping began, we take a look at some of the weather numbers for last year.

2

2015 was the second warmest of the 121 years on record in the continental U.S.; 2012 was the warmest.

10

The number of natural disasters in America where damage exceeded $1 billion. The list includes the continuing drought in California, Alaskan wildfires, severe storms across the Great Plains, and a massive February blizzard in the Northeast. These weather events resulted in the deaths of 155 people. The 1980-2015 annual average for climate disaster events is 5.2 per year.

11

The number of months in 2015 that were warmer than their 20th century averages; only February was cooler.

38.6

The average temperature for December 2015, the warmest December ever recorded in the contiguous U.S., which is six degrees higher than the average for December in the 20th century. Twenty-nine states recorded their hottest Decembers on record in 2015.

47

Average temperature for the year in Green Bay, making it the 9th warmest year since record-keeping began in the city in 1887. The average temperature in Green Bay between 1981 and 2010 was 44.3 degrees. Green Bay is our closest long-term National Weather Service station.

54.4

The average temperature for the U.S. in 2015, which is 2.4 degrees above the average for the 20th century. Last year was the 19th year in a row that the average temperature was higher than the average in the 20th century.

Source: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Centers for Environmental Information