The climate stats for 2010 are coming in. Here are the highlights, from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. You can read the full release here.
GLOBALLY:
Surface Temperature: Combined land and water temperatures averaged 1.12 degrees F above the 20th Century average. Tied with 2005 as the warmest since records began in 1880.
Land temperatures averaged 1.8 degrees F above the 20th C. average, the warmest on record. Ocean surface temperatures averaged 0.88 degrees F. above the average, the third-warmest on record.
The year was also the 34th straight year with global temperatures above the 20th Century average.
Precipitation: Global average precipitation was the most on record, but patterns varied widely across the globe. The Pacific hurricane season was the least active since satellite observations began in the 1960s. The Atlantic season was the third-most-active for tropical storms; the second-most-active for hurricanes.
Storms: A negative Arctic Oscillation last winter sent arctic air south, producing record cold and heavy snows in parts of Eastern North America, Europe and Asia. In February, the AO Index was the largest negative reading since records began in 1950. An unusually strong jet stream twisted north into Russia, and then south into Pakistan, contributing to record summer heat in Russia, and severe flooding in Pakistan. The Russian heat wave was accompanied by forest fires that sent thick smoke in Moscow. (Photo)
CONTIGUOUS UNITED STATES: