2015 is second-warmest year on record for US as weather-related costs mount

1. Article 1: 2015 is second-warmest year on record for US as
weather-related costs mount
The United States experienced its second-warmest year on record in 2015, which was also one of
the costliest years for climate and weather-related disasters announced by the Federal Scientists.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said that the average national
temperature in 2015 was 54.4F (12.4C) – 2.4F (4.3C) above the 20th-century average – making
it the second-warmest year since record-keeping began in 1895, they also found that the average
national temperature in 2015 was 54.4F (12.4C) – 2.4F (4.3C) above the 20th-century average –
making it the second-warmest year since record-keeping began in 1895.
According to Crouch, there was no state that was actually cooler than average during 2015,
every state had an above-average temperature during the year. Last year was the 19th
consecutive year where the annual average US temperature exceeded its 20th-century average –
only 2012 was warmer, with an average temperature of 55.3F. Although 2.4F doesn’t sound like
much, NOAA cautioned that it was an indicator of a global climate imbalance.
Deke Arndt (Chief of the climate monitoring branch at NOAA National Centers for
Environmental Information answered to the problem by saying that, although on a day-to-day
basis it may not be that big a deal, over time it is large, because part of the events that build that
2.4-degree difference are the kinds of things that we saw in the eastern United States this
December. NOAA also noted the extreme nature of weather-related natural disasters in 2015.
Adam Smith (applied climatologist at NOAA) announced that in 2015, there were 10 weather
and climate disaster events in the US, each with losses exceeding $1bn and overall, these
resulted in the deaths of 155 people and had significant economic effects.
Arndt, who also noted that the particularly strong El Niño weather phenomenon likely
contributed to distinct weather events said that climate is an outcome of many ingredients and
many factors to give us the outcome that they do. El Nino’s presence also contributed to one of
the rainiest years in history. The contiguous US also experienced its third-wettest year on record,
primarily related to the strong presence of El Niño. Not all states benefitted from the rain,
however, with California suffering, an exceptional drought throughout all of the year, according
to Crouch, made 2015 California’s 13th-driest in 121 years of record-keeping.
NOAA scientists also said that the organization’s September prediction that 2015 would likely
shape up to be the world’s hottest on record was still expected to bear fruit.