DULUTH - August 2015 was the hottest August on Earth in 135 years of accurate recordkeeping, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported Thursday.
August was 1.58 degrees warmer than the average monthly temperature for the entire 20th century and surpassed August 2014 as the warmest on record. The month tied January 2007 as the third-highest departure from normal for any month on record.
The combined global average land and ocean surface temperature for January through August also reached a record high, NOAA climatologists say.
The NOAA data mirrors a NASA report released Tuesday.
Both agencies expect 2015 to be the warmest year ever on record, surpassing 2014.
In Duluth, August was just 1 degree above normal, but was the sixth straight month above normal in 2015. September so far is a whopping 6.6 degrees above normal.
NOAA released its long-term seasonal temperature and precipitation outlooks Thursday, showing all of northern Minnesota with a higher than average chance of warmer than average months from October through May.
The signals for a warmer winter, which are strongest during the core winter months of December through February, are in part spurred by one of the strongest ever El Nino Pacific Ocean warming events that’s underway.
But, in a new twist, NOAA now is predicting a drier spell for northern Minnesota, starting in December and remaining drier than normal throughout winter, into early spring.
The core winter months are showing the highest probability for dryness, the NOAA forecast notes.
That’s different from last month’s long-range forecast that showed no deviation from normal for winter precipitation.
