2016 Annual Weather Highlights ROW Temp Precip

TEMPERATURES

The 2016 year in Roswell was warmer than normal, following the pattern of the past 15 years. The graph below lists the actual daily temperatures, compared to normal and record highs and lows from January through December 2016.

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The average temperature for Roswell in 2016 was 62.6 degrees. This was 1.7 degrees above the 30 year normal (1981-2010) of 60.9 degrees. The long term annual normal (1893 to current) temperature is 60.0 degrees. This was tied for the 7th warmest year on record going back 104 years.

Monthly temperatures for Roswell are illustrated in the charts below, with monthly average temperatures for Roswell in red, and both long term (purple) and offical 30-year (blue) normals in the top graph, with temperature departures (using the 30-year normals) shown in the bottom graph.

Eight of the 12 months of 2016 were warmer than normal, three were below normal and April was exactly normal Two of the above normal months, July and October, were well above normal and both were their warmest months on record, respectively.

The average maximum temperature for Roswell in 2016 was 78.3°F, which was 2.8 degrees above normal, while the average minimum temperature was 46.8°F (0.5 degrees above normal). The maximum temperatures were the primary contributor to the above normal temperatures in 2016.

PRECIPITATION

Precipitation in 2016 was below normal. The graph below displays the actual daily precipitation for Roswell (green line).

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Total precipitation in 2016 was 10.64 inches, while the official 30 year normal (1981-2010) is 12.91 inches. This was 2.27 below normal, the 49th driest year in the past 121 years of records (3 years not included due to missing data). The long term annual normal precipitation (1893 to current) is 12.39 inches.

The monthly precipitation below (orange line) is compared to the 30 year normal (light green), the period of record normal (cyan), and the departures from normal (green or brown).

The Roswell Industrial Airpark 2016 monthly precipitation was below normal in nine months and above normal in three months (barely in April and November). Whether above or below normal, the amounts did not stray too far from normal, mostly within an inch or so. However, August really stands out with 5.05 inches of rain, over three inches above normal, and the third wettest August on record.

SNOW

The total snowfall in calendar year 2016 for Roswell was 1.0 inch (green line). Normal annual snowfall is 11.9 inches.

The table below shows the 2015-2016 (17.8 inches) and 2016-2017 (a trace so far) snow seasons, which officially run from July through June. All but one inch of snow in Roswell occurred

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