Winter Season Off To Record Warm Start

January 5, 2007

Average annual temperature in Concord, NH (F), 1921-2006. Credit: David Brown/UNH

If this winter seems warmer to you than normal, you are not mistaken. December 2006 was the warmest December on record in Concord, N.H., and concludes a year that was one of the warmest ever in the Granite State, according David Brown, New Hampshire State Climatologist and assistant professor of geography at the University of Hampshire.

"In the last three decades, we've seen a steady upward trend in temperature, particularly in the winter season," Brown said. "Globally, we've seen an upward temperature trend during the same period. It's likely that what we're seeing in New England is, at least in part, the regional signature of global climate change."

The average December temperature of 33.9º F was the warmest ever recorded in Concord by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which has been keeping official records since 1921.

WARMEST DECEMBERS IN CONCORD HISTORY
December 2006 33.9º F
December 1923 33.2º F
December 1957 32.9º F
December 1982 32.3º F
December 1953 32.3º F
Average Concord December temperature, 1921-2005: 25.8º F

December 2006 concludes a year that was also one of the warmest ever in New Hampshire. Concord recorded an average daily temperature of 48.4º F, making it the second-warmest year since 1921. Only 1998, with an average daily temperature of 48.7º F, was warmer.

“The warmth of 2006 is consistent with an overall upward temperature trend in Concord since approximately 1970, a trend that is mirrored throughout much of New England,” Brown said.

Source: University of New Hampshire