WEATHER GONE WILD2005 smashed or tied at least 215 recordsBY SETH BORENSTEINWashington BureauWASHINGTON
It's not just your imagination. America's weather went wild last year.
It began with a record downpour in the Nevada desert and record warmth in Alaska, and it ended with floods in California and wildfires in Texas and Oklahoma.
Tropical Storm Zeta's freak formation Friday tied a record from 1954 for the latest storm ever to appear in the Atlantic basin. Zeta was a threat only to shipping.
It brought a fitting end to a wild weather year. Along the way, at least 215 climate records were smashed or tied, thanks to a slew of hurricanes, 21 straight days of 100-degree-plus temperatures in Fresno, Calif., and wildfires that have burned 8.64 million acres, nearly a quarter-million more than the previous record, set in 2000.
Extremes were everywhere. Above-normal heat covered twice as much land as usual. Excessive rain and/or snow blanketed three times as much land as normal. Average daily low temperatures were warmer than normal across four times as much U.S. territory as in average years.
It was the third worst year for U.S. extreme-weather events in history, according to the National Climatic Data Center. For 2005's first 11 months, the nation had an extreme-climate index figure of 35, behind only 1998's 42 and 1934's 37. The average annual score is 20.
One form of extreme weather fell short, however: tornadoes. In 2005, there were only half as many killer U.S. tornadoes as recent norms.
The relentless Atlantic hurricane season especially marked 2005 as wild — and tragic. Hurricanes set or tied 20 records, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, including:
? Hurricane Katrina caused $50 billion in insured damages.
? Hurricane Wilma set a hemispheric record for low barometric pressure.
? Three Category 5 hurricanes formed: Katrina, Rita and Wilma.
? A record seven major storms packed winds above 110 mph; the old record was five.
? Fourteen hurricanes in the season beat the old record of 12.
The 27 named storms shattered the old mark of 21, set in 1933, causing meteorologists to run out of conventional names for hurricanes and tropical storms. They had to go six deep into the Greek alphabet for new names.
Many of the remaining extremes came from Alaska, which had 53 percent of the wildfire acreage burned and set temperature, rain and snow records almost weekly. That's because Alaska is getting hotter from global warming and its permafrost is melting, said Jay Lawrimore, the chief of the National Climatic Data Center's climate-monitoring branch.
It's less clear whether what's happening nationally can be blamed on global warming or results from mere chance. Scientists are researching the question on supercomputers. One theory is that warmer air holds more moisture, creating bigger downpours, snowfalls and stronger hurricanes, and that warmer air also worsens droughts.
Lawrimore said one year's extremes couldn't necessarily be blamed on climate change and were more likely to reflect random weather shifts. But Kevin Trenberth, the climate-analysis chief at the National Center for Atmospheric Research, said initial studies showed that global warming might be a factor.
In his latest research, Trenberth calculated that because the ocean is warmer, there's been an 8 percent increase in moisture flowing into tropical storms and hurricanes, and in rain coming out of them. For Katrina, that meant an extra inch of rain fell on the Gulf Coast.
"We're in the realm now where global warming is with us and we're going to see this year to year," Trenberth said.
RecordS in Minnesota
March 18: Rochester had its snowiest day ever with 19.8 inches, beating 15.4 inches in 1982.
October: Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport had record October rainfall, 4.61 inches.
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