3: Records of Climate History
- Page ID
- 50821
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Introduction
Have you ever wondered what the "normal" weather for your hometown or location was, or how that normal was determined? With a little bit of observation and experience, it's pretty easy to identify basic climate patterns once you've lived somewhere for a while. For example, in most of California, it only rains in Fall/Winter and is dry in the summertime. Meanwhile, for most of Texas, it can rain during any month of the year, as shown in Figure \(\PageIndex{1}\). However, as Earth continues to warm, even local climate patterns are shifting, and climate scientists need access to long-term climate data for individual locations to get a clearer picture of how climate change is being felt locally.
| Month | Low (°F) | High (°F) | Precip. (in.) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 36 | 56 | 1.9 |
| Feb | 41 | 62 | 2.3 |
| Mar | 48 | 69 | 3.2 |
| Apr | 55 | 77 | 3.5 |
| May | 64 | 85 | 5.3 |
| Jun | 73 | 92 | 3.9 |
| Jul | 77 | 96 | 2.4 |
| Aug | 76 | 96 | 2.2 |
| Sep | 69 | 88 | 2.6 |
| Oct | 58 | 78 | 4.6 |
| Nov | 47 | 66 | 2.5 |
| Dec | 38 | 57 | 2.5 |
In this investigation, we will access and review data and reports from the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), the agency responsible for collecting and archiving Climate Data. While there are other agencies worldwide, for this investigation, we will focus on the United States, specifically the San Francisco Bay Area.
- Be able to investigate a location's temperature and precipitation patterns, and how they are changing.
- Be able to access climate records and extremes for a location.
Investigation 2 has 21 questions in total, and the list is continuous, carrying over from the first to the last subpages of the investigation.
- 3.1: Climate Data
- This page covers accessing and analyzing climate data via the NCEI Climate at a Glance (CAG) website, emphasizing temperature and precipitation in the U.S. and California. It describes site navigation for annual average temperature data, trend identification, and precipitation statistics, while highlighting changing climate patterns, including rising average temperatures and fluctuating precipitation levels in California.
- 3.2: Local Climate Data
- "Normal" data is based on a 30-year average updated every decade, while "record" data shows extreme temperature variations for specific dates.
- 3.3: Annual Climate
- We explore the National Center for Environmental Information's annual climate summaries for 275 locations, focusing on atypical 2020 weather patterns, such as warmer-than-usual months and significantly increased rainfall. It highlights the importance of comparing current climate trends with historical data to assess anthropogenic climate change effects and emphasizes future research into paleo-climate proxies for further understanding.
Thumbnail: Average climate conditions for Dallas, Texas, by Soleado44 is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.