The National Park Service's Mid-Atlantic Inventory and Monitoring Network tracks "vital signs" of ecosystem health across the region's parks, and weather and climate are among them. This summary covers 2022 at Appomattox Court House National Historical Park, using county-scale data for Appomattox County, Virginia, from NOAA's Climate at a Glance program. The record runs from 1895 to 2022.
Weather or climate?
Weather is short-term change in the atmosphere, over minutes to months — the rain, snow or sunshine happening right now. Climate is what to expect based on patterns over 30 years or more. Put simply: climate is what you expect, such as a hot summer; weather is what you get, such as a warm, rainy day. The figures below set 2022's weather against that long-term climate.
2022 at a glance
- Warmer than average: the 17th warmest year in Appomattox County since 1895.
- Near-normal precipitation: the 53rd wettest year.
- Long-term trend: since 1895, annual average temperature has risen about 0.1 °F per decade and annual precipitation about 0.31 inches per decade.
Temperature
Only autumn had near-normal temperatures. Nine months were above their long-term averages, and February, March and November each ran more than 3.5 °F warm. The year averaged 57.0 °F, 1.4 °F above the long-term average.
2022 temperature rankings by season and year; an arrow at the top would mark the warmest on record since 1895, at the bottom the coldest. Seasons: winter January–March, spring April–June, summer July–September, autumn October–December. NPS figure.
Precipitation
The year was near normal overall, though seasons varied. In total, 43.82 inches fell, 1.31 inches above normal.
2022 precipitation rankings by season and year; an arrow at the top would mark the wettest on record since 1895, at the bottom the driest. NPS figure.
Month by month
Departures are from the 1895–2021 averages.
| Month | Average temperature (°F) | Departure (°F) | Precipitation (in.) | Departure (in.) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 33.6 | −2.0 | 4.49 | +1.19 |
| February | 41.1 | +3.7 | 2.69 | −0.33 |
| March | 50.1 | +4.5 | 4.29 | +0.63 |
| April | 56.8 | +1.8 | 2.31 | −1.08 |
| May | 65.7 | +1.8 | 5.85 | +1.98 |
| June | 73.6 | +1.9 | 3.26 | −0.45 |
| July | 77.7 | +2.2 | 3.35 | −0.89 |
| August | 75.0 | +0.9 | 5.03 | +0.91 |
| September | 68.8 | +1.1 | 1.22 | −2.40 |
| October | 54.5 | −2.2 | 2.39 | −0.93 |
| November | 49.8 | +3.7 | 4.35 | +1.38 |
| December | 37.3 | −0.3 | 4.59 | +1.32 |
| 2022 | 57.0 | +1.4 | 43.82 | +1.31 |
Trends and projections
Annual average temperature and annual precipitation for Appomattox County, 1895–2022; dashed lines show the linear trends. NPS figure.
National Park Service scientists have also projected the park's future climate. By 2100, models estimate annual average temperature at the park will rise by 2.9 °F in the best case to 8.6 °F in the worst, and annual precipitation will increase by 8–14% (Gonzalez and others, 2018).
Rapid climate change is challenging national parks in new ways: wildlife migrations shift, more destructive storms threaten cultural resources and park buildings, and habitat is disrupted.
Sources
- National Park Service, Mid-Atlantic Inventory and Monitoring Network: "2022 Weather in Review: Appomattox Court House National Historical Park."
- Data: NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, NClimDiv dataset (version v1.0.0-20230106), via NOAA's Climate at a Glance.
- Projections: Gonzalez and others (2018).
In these publicationsAppomattox Court House National Historical Park
Licence: CC0 1.0 (public domain) · Adapted from www.nps.gov
1
0
0
0
Comments
