The NPS Mid-Atlantic Inventory and Monitoring Network tracks ecosystem "vital signs" across the region, and weather and climate is one of them. This is its summary of 2023 at Booker T. Washington National Monument, using county-level data for Franklin County, Virginia, from NOAA's Climate at a Glance program, with records back to 1895.
NPS photo
Weather or climate? Weather is the short-term state of the atmosphere — minutes to months: the rain, snow or sunshine right now. Climate is what you expect, based on patterns over 30 years or more. Climate is what you might expect, like a hot summer; weather is what you get, like a warm, rainy day.
2023 at a glance
| 2023 | Rank since 1895 | |
|---|---|---|
| Average temperature | 57.5 °F — 2.0 °F above the long-term average | 7th warmest |
| Winter | — | warmest on record |
| Total precipitation | 43.57 in — 0.44 in below average | 61st driest — close to normal |
Temperature
Nine months were warmer than normal, with January and February each at least 7 °F above average.
Seasonal and annual temperature rankings for Franklin County. 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 1895–2022 average (°F) |
|---|---|---|
| January | 42.8 | +7.2 |
| February | 47.7 | +10.0 |
| March | 48.4 | +2.7 |
| April | 57.4 | +2.3 |
| May | 61.7 | −2.2 |
| June | 67.4 | −3.9 |
| July | 76.3 | +1.4 |
| August | 73.8 | +0.2 |
| September | 67.8 | +0.4 |
| October | 58.1 | +1.6 |
| November | 45.9 | −0.2 |
| December | 42.4 | +4.6 |
| Year | 57.5 | +2.0 |
Precipitation
Near normal for the year, though spring was very wet.
Seasonal and annual precipitation rankings for Franklin County. An arrow at the top would mean the wettest on record, at the bottom the driest.
| Month | Total (in) | Versus 1895–2022 average (in) |
|---|---|---|
| January | 3.88 | +0.59 |
| February | 3.34 | +0.26 |
| March | 1.84 | −1.92 |
| April | 5.86 | +2.38 |
| May | 4.43 | +0.37 |
| June | 4.98 | +0.94 |
| July | 3.96 | −0.41 |
| August | 3.58 | −0.53 |
| September | 2.94 | −0.98 |
| October | 1.5 | −2.10 |
| November | 2.22 | −0.77 |
| December | 5.04 | +1.72 |
| Year | 43.57 | −0.44 |
The long view
Since 1895, Franklin County has grown warmer and wetter: annual average temperature up about 0.1 °F per decade, annual precipitation up about 0.33 inches per decade.
Annual average temperature and precipitation, 1895–2023, with dashed linear trend lines.
NPS scientists' models project that by 2100 the monument's annual average temperature will rise 2.9–8.5 °F, from best case to worst, and annual precipitation 8–14% (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. More from the NPS Climate Change site and the network's weather and climate monitoring.
Sources
Based on "2023 Weather in Review: Booker T. Washington National Monument," Mid-Atlantic Inventory and Monitoring Network, National Park Service, with data from NOAA's NClimDiv dataset (version v1.0.0-20240105); a work of the United States government in the public domain. Rewritten in hubnx's own words.
このページを含むマガジンBooker T Washington National Monument
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