The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released its July 2013 State of the Climate report saying that while the average U.S. temperature was warmer than normal, precipitation was higher than normal.

As we reported earlier, here in the Denver area temperatures were largely average during the month.  Precipitation was close to normal but fell short of that mark.

The SOTC’s larger view shows the contiguous United States’ average temperature was 0.8° above the 20th century average.  This ranks it as the 30th warmest July on record.

In terms of precipitation, the nation enjoyed a wetter than average month, one that ranks it as the 5th wettest July since record-keeping began.

Below are the climate highlights from NOAA for July 2013.  Click here to view the full, comprehensive report.

From NOAA:

Climate Highlights — July

• The average temperature for the contiguous U.S. during July was 74.3°F, 0.8°F above the 20^th century average, and ranked as the 30^th warmest such month on record.
• The western U.S. was warmer than average, where Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, and Utah each had a top ten warm month. Several cities, including Salt Lake City, Utah, and Reno, Nev., had their warmest July on record.Seven states across the Northeast also had July temperatures ranking among the ten warmest on record, including Massachusetts and Rhode Island, each of which had a record warm July.
• Locations from the Central and Southern Plains into the Southeast were cooler than average. Four states —Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi, and Tennessee — had July temperatures that were among the ten coolest on record.
• The Alaska statewide average temperature was 1.7°F above the 1971-2000 average and ranked as the fifth warmest July on record for the state. Anchorage had its fourth warmest July, and the city set a record with 14 consecutive days above 70°F.
• The nationally-averaged July precipitation total of 3.47 inches was 0.71 inch above average and was the 5^thwettest July on record for the contiguous United States.
• Wetter-than-average conditions stretched from California, through the Southwest and Plains, and along the Eastern Seaboard. In the Southwest, seasonal monsoonal flow brought above average precipitation to several states, where Arizona and California both had July precipitation totals ranking among their ten wettest. During this time of year in parts of the Southwest, even light precipitation can result in above-average monthly totals but have minimal impacts on alleviating drought conditions.
• In the East, 13 states had one of their ten wettest Julys on record, with the highest precipitation totals across the Southeast. Florida had its wettest July on record, with 12.38 inches of rainfall, 4.91 inches above average. The above-average precipitation in the Southeast resulted in widespread flooding and significant damage to crops.
• The Northwest was particularly dry. Oregon had its driest July on record with only 0.03 inch of rainfall accumulating, 0.41 inch below average. Washington had its eighth driest July. Below-average precipitationwas also observed in the Upper Mississippi River Valley, where Iowa had its tenth driest July.
• According to the July 30 U.S. Drought Monitor report, 45.6 percent of the contiguous U.S experienced drought conditions, up slightly from the beginning of July. Drought remained entrenched throughout much of the West and in parts of the Central and Southern Plains, and drought expanded into parts of the Lower Mississippi River Valley and Midwest. Over 20 percent of Alaska was in drought at the end of July, with severe drought developing in central parts of the state.
• Based on NOAA’s Residential Energy Demand Temperature Index (REDTI), the contiguous U.S. temperature-related energy demand during July was above average and ranked as the 41^st highest July value in the 119-year period of record.
• The components of the U.S. Climate Extremes Index (USCEI) that examine extremes in warm night time temperatures, the spatial extent of wetness and drought, and extremes in days with rainfall were all above average. When combined with the other components of the index, the USCEI, as a whole, was only slightly above average. The USCEI is an index that tracks the highest and lowest 10 percent of extremes in temperature, precipitation, tropical cyclones, and drought across the contiguous United States.
• On a local basis, the number of record warm daily highs and lows (2560) during July was roughly the same as the number of record cool daily highs and lows (2846), although there were slightly more cool records.
• Climate Highlights — year-to-date (January – July)
• The year-to-date contiguous U.S. temperature of 51.8°F was 0.5°F above the 20^th century average and tied with 1952 as the 42^nd warmest January–July on record. Above-average temperatures were observed in the West and Northeast, where California, New Hampshire, and Vermont had one of their top ten warmest year-to-date periods. Below-average temperatures stretched from the Northern Plains to the Southeast.
• The year-to-date contiguous U.S. precipitation total of 19.14 inches was 1.54 inches above average and tied with 1997 as the 22^nd wettest January–July on record. However, rainfall was not evenly distributed across the country. Dry precipitation extremes were observed in the West and wet precipitation extremes were observed in the East.
• California, Idaho, Nevada, and Oregon each had a top ten dry year-to-date period. California’s precipitation total of 4.58 inches was record low for the seven-month period at 9.82 inches below average, and 1.69 inches less than the previous record dry January–July of 1898.
• Above-average precipitation was observed across most locations east of the Rockies, with ten states having one of their ten wettest year-to-date periods. Michigan was record wet with 24.35 inches of precipitation, 6.92 inches above average, and 2.30 inches above the previous record wet January–July of 1950. Several cities, from Fargo, North Dakota to Greenville, South Carolina, had a record wet January–July.
• Based on NOAA’s Residential Energy Demand Temperature Index (REDTI), the contiguous U.S. temperature-related energy demand during January–July was below average and ranked as the 47^th lowest January–July value in the 119-year period of record.
• The components of the USCEI that examine extremes in the spatial extent of drought, as well as 1-day precipitation totals and days with rainfall were much above average for the year-to-date. When combined with the other components of the index, the USCEI, as a whole, was only slightly above average.

Regional Highlights for the Colorado area

High Plains Region: (Information provided by the High Plains Regional Climate Center)

• Average temperatures were generally below normal in the east and above normal in the west across the High Plains Region this month. Temperature departures of 2.0-4.0 degrees F (1.1-2.2 degrees C) below normal occurred in eastern Kansas, central South Dakota, western North Dakota, and a few pockets of Nebraska. Meanwhile, western portions of Colorado and Wyoming had temperature departures of 3.0-5.0 degrees F (1.7-2.8 degrees C) above normal. The cooler temperatures in the east were in stark contrast to last year, when a good portion of the area had temperature departures of 6.0-8.0 degrees F (3.3-4.4 degrees C) above normal. Although monthly records were not set, a few stations did manage to sneak in to the top 10 rankings for warmest or coolest July. On the cool side, long-term station Wamego 4 W, which is located in northeastern Kansas, had its 5th coolest July with an average temperature of 75.6 degrees F (24.2 degrees C). The coolest July at Wamego 4 W was 72.0 degrees F (22.2 degrees C) in 1950 (period of record 1912-2013). On the warm side, Lander, Wyoming had its 10th warmest July with 74.2 degrees F (23.4 degrees C). Interestingly, 7 of the top 10 warmest Julys have occurred since 2000 in Lander and the top spot of 75.9 degrees F (24.4 degrees C) occurred in both 2003 and 2006 (period of record 1891-2013). While monthly extremes were not common, numerous daily records occurred throughout the month. One notable record was for the July all-time coolest maximum temperature in Concordia, Kansas. On July 28th, Concordia’s high temperature only reached 62.0 degrees F (16.7 degrees C) and beat out the old record of 63.0 degrees F (17.2 degrees C) which occurred back in 1979 and 1988 (period of record 1885-2013).
• July precipitation was hit or miss across the High Plains Region. Areas receiving at least 150 percent of normal precipitation included central Kansas, central South Dakota, central and western Colorado, and scattered pockets in eastern Wyoming, north central Nebraska, southwestern South Dakota, and northern North Dakota. While rain was needed to help alleviate ongoing drought conditions, some storms brought heavy rain which caused mudslides in fire burn scars in Colorado and flash flooding in parts of Colorado, Kansas, and Wyoming. Areas which missed out included eastern and central Nebraska, eastern and central North Dakota, and central Wyoming. These areas received less than 50 percent of normal precipitation. Because of the wide range in precipitation, there were stations which ranked in the top 10 driest or wettest Julys on record. With only 11 percent of normal precipitation, Omaha, Nebraska had its 2nd driest July on record with 0.44 inches (11 mm) of precipitation (period of record 1871-2013). The driest on record occurred only last year with 0.01 inches (0 mm). Meanwhile, precipitation in central Kansas helped alleviate drought conditions there, although long-term deficits were still high. For instance, Wichita, Kansas had measurable precipitation on 17 days in July, which broke the old record of 16 in 1950 (period of record 1888-2013). On average, Wichita has about 8 days with measurable precipitation in July. By the end of the month, Wichita received 7.69 inches (195 mm) of precipitation making this July its 4th wettest. Although 232 percent of normal, this was not nearly enough to beat the top spot of 13.37 inches (340 mm) in 1950.
• The latest U.S. Drought Monitor showed both improvements and degradations over the past month. At the end of July, approximately 64 percent of the Region was in moderate (D1) to exceptional (D4) drought – down just slightly from 67 percent at the end of June. An expansion of abnormally dry conditions (D0) occurred in east-central North Dakota and eastern parts of Kansas, Nebraska, and South Dakota. In addition, two new areas of D1 were introduced in far southeastern South Dakota and northeastern Kansas. One category improvements were made in some areas of north-central and eastern Colorado. There was quite a bit of jostling of drought conditions in Kansas where some areas had improvements, while others had degradations. By the end of the month, 25 percent of the state remained in the D4 designation, however. Wyoming had an increase in severe (D2) and extreme (D3) drought coverage, going from about 47 percent of the state to 52 percent of the state. According to the U.S. Seasonal Drought Outlook released July 18th, the only area of drought expected to improve was in southwestern Colorado. Drought conditions were expected to develop in north-central Colorado and persist elsewhere through October 2013.
• For more information, please go to the High Plains Regional Climate Center Home Page.