During the nation’s warmest year on record, Alaska was a contrarian
Even as the rest of the nation baked in 2012, Alaska froze. The contiguous 48 U.S. states saw their warmest year by far in records that go back to 1895. Yet it was Alaska’s 11th chilliest year in 95 years of recordkeeping, according to NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center. (Scroll to “Alaska Annual Summary” in the NCDC’s State of the Climate 2012 report to learn more.)
Because Alaska and Hawaii are so distant from the rest of the country, and their weather records don’t date back as far, the two states aren’t factored into most analyses of national temperature rankings and trends.
It’s also very difficult to compile a meaningful average for an enormous, sparsely populated region such as Alaska. For this reason, the Alaska State Climate Center chooses not to calculate statewide mean temperatures.
Because Alaska and Hawaii are so distant from the rest of the country, and their weather records don’t date back as far, the two states aren’t factored into most analyses of national temperature rankings and trends.
It’s also very difficult to compile a meaningful average for an enormous, sparsely populated region such as Alaska. For this reason, the Alaska State Climate Center chooses not to calculate statewide mean temperatures.
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