The spring of 2011 was the chilliest on record for the state (Washington). James Johnstone, a research associate with the Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean in the UW College of the Environment, said the average high temperature from April through June was 60.4 degrees Fahrenheit, beating the previous average of 61.6 degrees in 1955.
The average high temperature for the period since 1900 is 65.6 degrees. “The people who have been complaining about the weather have had a right to complain,” said Nick Bond, a UW research meteorologist and the state climatologist. “I rather like it, but that’s my own character flaw.” From Seattle PI
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“The sweltering month of July has come to an end, but not before over 2,000 records were broken by high temperatures. The Huffington Post reports that some cities hadn’t seen this kind of heat in 140 years.
Texas has experienced one of the worst droughts on record, the elderly and athletes alike continue to suffer from heat stroke, and large amounts of warmth and moisture were trapped under a “heat dome” that brought high temperatures and thick air to much of the U.S.
According to The Washington Post, trends suggest that “man-made factors are almost certainly playing a role in the heat’s intensity.” The article cites scientists who blame the heat in part on urbanization and a higher concentration of greenhouse gas emissions.” From HuffPo
