2012 Expected to be Warmest Year on Record for U.S.

This year will probably overtake 1998 to become the warmest year on record in the U.S., the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in its monthly climate report.

The first 11 months of 2012 were the warmest start to any year in the contiguous 48 states since the U.S. began keeping records in 1895, NOAA’s Climatic Data Center reported today. The average national temperature for the period was 57.1 degrees Fahrenheit (13.9 Celsius), 1 degree above the old mark set in 1934 and 3.3 degrees above the average for the 20th century, the agency said.