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The Eastern Rivers and Mountains Network tracks ecosystem "vital signs" in selected national parks in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York, and weather and climate is one of them. This is its summary of 2022 at New River Gorge National Park and Preserve, using county-level data averaged over Fayette, Raleigh and Summers counties, West Virginia, from NOAA's Climate at a Glance program, with records back to 1895.
Grandview North Overlook, New River Gorge, with rhododendron in bloom. NPS photo
Weather or climate? Weather is what the atmosphere is doing over minutes to months — the rain, snow or sunshine outside right now. Climate is what you expect, based on patterns over 30 years or more. Put simply: climate is what you might expect, like a hot summer; weather is what you get, like a warm, rainy day.
2022 at a glance
| 2022 | Rank since 1895 | |
|---|---|---|
| Average temperature | 52.5 °F — 0.5 °F above the long-term average | 44th warmest |
| Total precipitation | 50.94 in — 6.6 in above average | 19th wettest |
Temperature
Every season was near or just above normal. February, March, May and November were particularly warm — more than 2 °F above average — while January and October were unusually cold.
Seasonal and annual temperature rankings for the park's counties. An arrow at the top would mean the warmest on record, at the bottom the coldest. Winter = Jan–Mar, spring = Apr–Jun, summer = Jul–Sep, autumn = Oct–Dec.
| Month | Average (°F) | Versus 1895–2021 average (°F) |
|---|---|---|
| January | 28.0 | −3.5 |
| February | 36.6 | +2.9 |
| March | 45.7 | +3.7 |
| April | 51.8 | +0.1 |
| May | 62.9 | +2.2 |
| June | 67.8 | 0.0 |
| July | 72.2 | +0.9 |
| August | 71.1 | +0.8 |
| September | 63.3 | −1.2 |
| October | 50.1 | −3.6 |
| November | 45.0 | +2.2 |
| December | 34.9 | +0.9 |
| Year | 52.5 | +0.5 |
Precipitation
A very wet year, with summer especially far above normal.
Seasonal and annual precipitation rankings for the park's counties. An arrow at the top would mean the wettest on record, at the bottom the driest.
| Month | Total (in) | Versus 1895–2021 average (in) |
|---|---|---|
| January | 5.47 | +1.93 |
| February | 3.99 | +0.76 |
| March | 2.33 | −1.74 |
| April | 2.92 | −0.78 |
| May | 5.51 | +1.32 |
| June | 4.07 | −0.26 |
| July | 7.63 | +2.77 |
| August | 5.63 | +1.55 |
| September | 2.88 | −0.27 |
| October | 4.02 | +1.12 |
| November | 3.52 | +0.61 |
| December | 2.96 | −0.40 |
| Year | 50.94 | +6.60 |
The long view
Since 1895, the park's counties have grown warmer and wetter: annual average temperature is up about 0.04 °F per decade, and annual precipitation up about 0.07 inches per decade.
Annual average temperature and precipitation, 1895–2022, with dashed linear trend lines.
NPS scientists' models project that by 2100 the park's annual average temperature will rise 2.9–8.6 °F, from the best-case to the worst-case scenario, and annual precipitation 6–11% (Gonzalez et al., 2018). Rapid climate change is already challenging parks in new ways — shifting wildlife migrations, more destructive storms threatening cultural resources and facilities, disrupted habitat. The park has more on the effects of climate change at New River Gorge.
Sources
Based on "2022 Weather in Review: New River Gorge National Park and Preserve," Eastern Rivers and Mountains Network, National Park Service, with data from NOAA's NClimDiv dataset (version v1.0.0-20230106); a work of the United States government in the public domain. Rewritten in hubnx's own words.
In queste pubblicazioniNew River Gorge National Park & Preserve
Licenza: CC0 1.0 (pubblico dominio) · Tratto da www.nps.gov
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