Getting Warmer

1999 Second-Warmest Year Century, Following Last Year

Temperatures for the last two years follow a long-term warming trend seen this century, with most of the warming occurring since the mid-1970s. (NASA)
W A S H I N G T O N,   Dec. 28— Temperatures in the United States will finish 1999 as the second-warmest on record since 1900, only topped by last year’s all-time high mark, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said today. 
     NOAA said its projections show Americans will have experienced an average for 1999 of 55.7 degrees Fahrenheit. This follows 1998’s record high of 56.4 degrees. 
     Temperatures for the last two years have followed in step with a long-term warming trend seen this century, with most of the warming occurring since the mid-1970s, NOAA said. 
     In addition to warmer temperatures, the agency said precipitation ebbed on average, dropping 1.05 inches below normal levels to a projected 30.60 inches despite heavy local rainfall in the Pacific Northwest due to the La Nina pattern. 

Record Droughts and Rain
Record dryness was seen in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and Ohio Valley as a result of last summer’s drought. The April to July period was the driest or second driest ever in all states from West Virginia to Maine. 
     The drought was followed by record rainfall from hurricanes Dennis and Floyd along the East Coast. 
     NOAA said records were also posted in the number of unusual winter tornadoes last January. More than 70 tornadoes also occurred during a May outbreak, making 1999 the fourth busiest year for the storms with 1,225 reported. 
     The agency has been keeping records on tornadoes since 1950. A total of 94 people died as a result of tornadoes. 
     NOAA said, as predicted by National Weather Service scientists, the U.S. saw a busier than normal hurricane season with 12 tropical storms, eight that became hurricanes and five major hurricanes.