California is currently experiencing an extreme drought.  So much so, that NOAA just issued a Special Weather Statement to alert us to just how dry and hot it’s been in California.

NOAA Special Weather Statement:

SPECIAL WEATHER/PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
CAZ013>019-063-064-066>069-021800-

SPECIAL WEATHER/PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SACRAMENTO CA
202 PM PST SAT FEB 1 2014

...A PLETHORA OF RECORDS SET IN SACRAMENTO CALIFORNIA THROUGHOUT
JANUARY 2014 DURING THIS HISTORIC DROUGHT...

JANUARY 2014 RE-WROTE THE RECORD BOOKS IN SACRAMENTO. HERE ARE
THE HIGHLIGHTS, MANY RECORDS NEVER SEEN BEFORE IN THE CAPITAL
CITY.

1. LONGEST DRY PERIOD DURING THE RAINY SEASON (NOV-MAR)
FROM DEC 7, 2013 TO JAN 29, 2014, 52 DAYS. THE OLD RECORD
WAS 44 DAYS FROM NOV 15, 1976 TO DEC 28, 1976 ( MEASURABLE RAIN)

2. THE THIRD DRIEST JAN IN HISTORY SINCE 1850 WITH 0.20 INCHES
DATING BACK TO SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION RECORDS.

3. JAN PRECIPITATION ENDED WITH 0.20 INCHES. NORMAL IS 3.97 INCHES.
THIS IS ONLY 5 PERCENT OF NORMAL.

4. JAN 2014 BROKE HIGHEST AVERAGE MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE WITH 66.1
DEGREES. THE OLD RECORD WAS 62.1 DEGREES SET IN 1976. AVERAGE
MONTHLY MAXIMUM ONLY 55.1 DEGREES.

5. NEW ALL-TIME RECORD HIGH FOR THE MONTH OF JAN SET ON JAN 24, 2014
OF 79 DEGREES. THE OLD RECORD WAS 74 DEGREES ON JAN 31,1976.

6. JAN 2014 BROKE THE NUMBER OF DAYS WITH HIGH TEMPERATURES OF
70 DEGREES OR HIGHER AT 7 DAYS. THE PREVIOUS RECORD WAS 6 DAYS
SET IN 1976.

7. TIED THE RECORD FOR CONSECUTIVE DAYS OF HIGH TEMPERATURES
AT 70 DEGREES OR HIGHER WITH 3 DAYS IN JAN FROM JAN 23, 2014 TO
JAN 25 2014. PREVIOUS RECORD WAS JAN 29, 1976 TO JAN 31, 1976.

8. RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURES SET ON 12 DIFFERENT DAYS IN JAN 2014

    JAN 1....65 DEGREES....TIED RECORD SET IN 1887.
    JAN 2....66 DEGREES....BREAKS RECORD OF 65 SET IN 1940.
    JAN 3....66 DEGREES....BREAKS RECORD OF 64 SET IN 2012.
    JAN 7....65 DEGREES....TIED RECORD SET IN 2012.
    JAN 15...69 DEGREES....BREAKS RECORD OF 68 SET IN 2003.
    JAN 16...71 DEGREES....BREAKS RECORD OF 68 SET IN 1991.
    JAN 18...70 DEGREES....TIED RECORD SET IN 1976.
    JAN 20...71 DEGREES....BREAKS RECORD OF 69 SET IN 1976.
    JAN 23...71 DEGREES....BREAKS RECORD OF 69 SET IN 1948.
    JAN 24...79 DEGREES....BREAKS RECORD OF 7O SET IN 1984.(ALL-TIME)JAN
    JAN 25...74 DEGREES....BREAKS RECORD OF 71 SET IN 1899.
    JAN 28...70 DEGREES....TIED RECORD SET IN 1984.

9. EVERYDAY IN JAN 2014 THE DAYTIME HIGH TEMPERATURE WAS ABOVE
NORMAL FOR THE MONTH, NORMAL HIGH RANGE IS 53 TO 57 DEGREES.
JAN 2014 WAS 57 TO 79 DEGREES.

10. FINALLY, WE ARE HOPING FOR A FABULOUS FEB 2014. ALL-TIME RECORD
FOR RAIN IN FEB IS 10.30 INCHES SET IN 1986.

HAVE A NICE WEEKEND!

SPECIAL NOTE: SACRAMENTO STATICAL DATA WAS USED DUE TO ITS
LENGTHY HISTORY FOR RECORDS DATING BACK TO 1849 FOR PRECIPITATION
AND 1877 FOR TEMPERATURES. SEVERAL OTHER LOCATIONS THROUGHOUT
INTERIOR NORTHERN CALIFORNIA DID BREAK RECORDS, BUT DUE TO THE
DETAILED DATA BASE FOR SACRAMENTO DETAILED INFORMATION WAS
VERIFIED.