The first six months of 2024 have been the warmest on record.
Five tornado outbreaks, two winter storms, and two hailstorms were included in that list as the global temperature stayed 2.32 degrees Fahrenheit above average and the contiguous United States stayed 3.4 degrees above average.
NOAA Chief of Climate Monitoring and Assessment Russ Vose said June was the 13th consecutive record-warm month on a global level, recording temperatures 2.2 degrees above average. It was the second-warmest June in the United States, measuring 3.4 degrees above average.
Half of the 50 states, stretching from Minnesota across the Great Lakes and Appalachia to New England, recorded record or near-record year-to-date temperatures.
Arizona and New Mexico set record average temperatures for June, while California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and Florida had near-record averages.
At the same time, most of that region recorded significantly above-average precipitation. The highest above-average precipitation both in year-to-date and monthly measurements was recorded by Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Michigan.
Virginia recorded its driest June on record. While North Carolina and several other states saw below-average rainfall last month, Virginia was the only state to set a new record.
The NOAA’s global records date back to 1850, and the U.S. record dates back to 1895.
Looking ahead, the NOAA stated that 2024 has a 59 percent chance of becoming the hottest year on record.
Cory Baggett, meteorologist at NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, said that through August, September, and October, the United States is predicted to continue facing above-average heat and above-average rainfall, especially in Florida and most of the southern and eastern states, because of what is expected to be a highly active hurricane season.
Ongoing drought conditions in Appalachian states are expected to improve and likely subside.
However, the West is expected to get drier until Oct. 31, with drought conditions persisting and developing from southwest Texas and New Mexico to Montana and Washington state.
The NOAA also issued a La Niña watch. Mr. Baggett said the chance of it developing and persisting in the Northern Hemisphere through the winter into 2025 is more than 70 percent.
The NOAA’s monthly climate report covered the period up to June 30, during which time the first named storms of the hurricane season, including Hurricane Beryl, developed, as well as significant wildfires.
Wildfires continue to blaze across California and the western states, as the hurricane season is expected to be abnormally active because of high water temperatures in the Atlantic and Caribbean.
So far, 15 disasters have inflicted more than $1 billion each in damages, tracking slightly ahead of the annual record of $28 billion in costs from disasters set in 2023.
Mr. Vose said the problem is not just the number of extreme events taking place but also the increase in exposure that has developed as more people continue to move to and build up vulnerable areas.
It was unclear whether Hurricane Beryl and its subsequent tornadoes and flooding, as well as any of the wildfires in the West, would be added to this list of catastrophes and how much in damages they would add to the current sum.
The NOAA’s U.S. Climate Report and Billion-Dollar Disaster Summary for July will be released on Aug. 8.
