TOLEDO, Ohio -
2012 had the perfect recipe to go down into the record books for warmth from the very beginning. A La Nina and consistent blocking pattern in January got the year started off nearly 5 degrees above average. While the pattern relaxed a bit in February, record "heat" moved in during March. This helped to set the stage for a hot and dry summer. While the La Nina quickly faded away the lack of winter snow and a dry spring led to a "run away summer", meaning the hot and dry conditions helped lead to more dry weather and very hot afternoons in the summer. August broke the hot and dry streak with 5" of rainfall and temperatures below normal. August was just the first month out of a 4 month streak of below normal temperatures, but the damage was already done when it comes to the overall records. 2012 will go down in the record books as the warmest year ever recorded. The records go back to the 1880s for temperature data.
There are still 12 days left in the year and exact average temperature for the year is not yet known. However, if the temperature averages around 30 degrees for the remaining 12 days that would put this years average temperature at 54.085 degrees. Up until 2012 the warmest year on record was 1931 when the average temperature was 53.6 degrees. The only way 2012 would end up colder than 1931 is if the average temperature was around 0 degrees for the next 12 days, which is not in the forecast. Here are the top 6 warmest years on record.
2012 about 54.1 degrees
1931 53.6 degrees
1921 53.6 degrees
1998 53.3 degrees
2002 52.3 degrees
1938 52.2 degrees
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