Climate Change Indicators
Weather and Climate
Emily Altman, Nick Call, Matt Reed, Connor Dwyer, Lauren Cooney,
Estefani Ortiz
Tropical Cyclone Activity
Across the past 20 years, tropical storm activity in the Gulf of Mexico, the
Caribbean, and the Atlantic Ocean has increased. In the tropical Atlantic, variations
in sea surface temperature are related to storm intensity. However, records
collected since the late 1800s show that number of hurricanes per year has not
increased.
This image shows a cyclone moving through the indian
ocean, cyclones are large, powerful storms that move
rapidly across land and sea
High and Low Temperatures
Hotter days are becoming more common. Since the 1970’s summer highs have became more common
over the past few decades and summer lowes have increased at an even more of a faster rate. Although
the United States has experienced winters with unusually low temperatures, the unusually cold
temperatures have become less common. (Especially really cold nights) Record setting daily high
temperatures, are more common than daily lows. 2000-2009 has twice as many highs then lows on
record.
This graph shows how many days out of that decade there was a record high or low temperature.
As time went on, the amount of records increased.
U.S. and Global Precipitation
Total annual precipitation has increased over land areas in
the United States and worldwide. Since 1901, precipitation
has increased at an average rate of 0.08 inches per decade
over land areas worldwide.
The graph shows that the
Annual levels of precipitation
Worldwide has increased since 1901 it increased the most between 1950-
1960
Droughts
Drought conditions across the nation have varied since records began in 1895. In the
1930’s and 1950’s saw the most intense droughts. Specific trends vary by region. A detailed
index recently shows that over the period of time from 2000 through 2015, roughly 20 to 70
percent of the U.S.. Land area experienced conditions that were at least abnormally dry at
any given time. This index has not been in use for long enough to compare with historical
drought patterns.
This graph shows the severity of the droughts in
the US.
Heavy Precipitation
In recent years, a much bigger percentage of precipitation has come as a singleday events. The graph shows the percentage of the land area of the contiguous 48
states where much greater precipitation has come.
This graphs shows the percentage of heavy rain
over the area of land across the United States.
River Flooding
Increases and decreases in the frequency and magnitude of river flood events vary by
region. Larger floods have been occurring across parts of the Northeast and Midwest and
smaller in the West, southern Appalachia, and northern Michigan. More frequent flooding
has occurred across the Northeast, Pacific Northwest, and parts of the northern Great
Plains, and less frequent in the Southwest and the Rockies.
The image to the
right shows a
river flooding
U.S. and Global Temperature
Average temperatures have risen across the contiguous 48 states since 1901,
with an increased rate of warming over the past 30 years. Eight of the top 10
warmest years on record have occurred since 1998. Temps in the Northwest and
Alaska have increased the most.
These graphs show the
fluctuation of precipitation in
inches globally and across
the U.S. from 1900-2000.