September 2023 was remarkably warm and quite dry across the contiguous United States.
New Mexico and Texas both saw their warmest Septembers on record, while Minnesota had its second warmest. An additional 10 states saw their top-10 warmest Septembers on record with a total of 111 counties having their warmest September on record, while an additional 582 counties ranked in the top-10 warmest for the month. There are 3,143 counties in the U.S.
The Western region faced notably cooler temperatures compared to the previous year, leading to a reduced demand for HVAC services as compared to prior year. Simultaneously, the average minimum (nighttime) temperature for September was 55.1°F, exceeding the 20th-century average by 3.2°F. This ranked September as the fifth warmest on record for nighttime temperatures. Minnesota, Maine, and New Hampshire set records for their warmest September, while Texas and Wisconsin ranked as the second warmest for the month.
Year to date (YTD, January through September 2023)
The year-to-date average temperature for the contiguous U.S. stood at 57.0 degrees F, which is 1.9 degrees above the average and marks the 10th-warmest year-to-date on record. Mississippi and Florida experienced their warmest January–September period ever, while Delaware and Maryland saw their second warmest. An additional 24 states had one of the top-10 warmest year-to-date periods on record, and no state had a top-10 coldest period in the first nine months of the year.
In terms of year-to-date average precipitation, the total was 23.32 inches, just 0.12 of an inch above the average, placing it in the middle third of historical records. Massachusetts ranked as the second wettest, with Connecticut ranking third wettest on record for the same period. Six additional states, including Maine, Nevada, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wyoming, experienced one of their top-10 wettest periods. On the contrary, Iowa ranked as the 10th driest state for this nine-month period.
From January through the end of September 2023, the U.S. was struck by 24 separate weather and climate disasters, each with losses exceeding $1 billion. These disasters included:
18 severe storm events.
Two flooding events.
One winter storm.
One tropical cyclone (Idalia).
One wildfire event.
One drought/heat wave event.
The total cost of these events (not including the costs of Idalia) exceeded $67.1 billion.
Notable Summer 2023 callouts that impacted demand across the US
July - record heat scorched the Southwest:
Arizona, Florida, Maine and New Mexico had their warmest Julys on record, while an additional 13 states saw their top-10 warmest July on record.
Phoenix, Arizona, had an average temperature of 102.8 degrees F for the month of July — the hottest month on record for any U.S. city. Contributing to the record, Phoenix had 31 consecutive days of temperatures above 110 degrees F from June 30 to July 30 — breaking the previous record of 18 days set in 1974.
California’s Death Valley soared to 128 degrees F, setting a daily-temperature record, and reported its hottest midnight temperature on record at 120 degrees F
August - 9th-warmest August on record:
Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi all sizzled through their hottest Augusts on record, while Texas saw its second-hottest August. Alaska, whose climate record goes back 99 years, had its third-warmest August on record.
Winds from Hurricane Dora exacerbated a wildfire on the island of Maui, Hawaii, making it the deadliest wildfire in the U.S. in over a century.
Hurricane Idalia made landfall in the Big Bend region of Florida as a Category 3 hurricane — the strongest hurricane to hit the region in more than 125 years.
2023-24 U.S. winter outlook: wetter South, warmer North
Above-average temperatures are expected in Alaska, the West Coast, and the Northern and Central Plains, with the highest likelihood in northern California to Washington and parts of Montana, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, and southern Alaska. Near-normal temperatures are predicted from Colorado to the ArkLaTex region, while the rest of the U.S. has an equal chance of below, near, or above-average temperatures.
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Sources:
https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/monthly-report/national/202309#month-temp
https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/monthly-report/national/202209
https://www.kivitv.com/weather/stay-safe-possible-record-breaking-heat-as-back-to-school-kicks-off
https://www.weather.gov/arx/winter2324outlook
https://www.noaa.gov/news/us-just-had-its-7th-warmest-september-on-record
https://www.noaa.gov/stories/july-2023-brought-record-high-temperatures-devastating-floods-across-us
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