The National Park Service’s Eastern Rivers and Mountains Network tracks ecosystem “vital signs” in selected parks in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and New York, and weather and climate are among them. This is its review of 2023 at Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area.
NPS photo.
The figures are averages for the counties around the park — Monroe, Northampton and Pike in Pennsylvania and Sussex and Warren in New Jersey — with records back to 1895. The data and analysis come from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate at a Glance program.
Weather is not climate
Weather is the atmosphere’s short-term behavior, over minutes to months — the rain, snow or sunshine of the moment. Climate is what the long-term pattern, over 30 years or more, leads one to expect. Climate is the hot summer you expect; weather is the warm, rainy day you get. The review sets 2023’s weather against the long-term climate.
Third-warmest on record
2023 was the 3rd warmest year on record for the park’s counties, and every season was warmer than normal. Nine months ran above their long-term averages; January was almost 12 °F warmer than usual.
| Month | Average temperature (°F) | Departure from long-term average (°F) |
|---|---|---|
| January | 36.3 | +11.7 |
| February | 33.7 | +7.9 |
| March | 37.4 | +2.4 |
| April | 51.7 | +5.2 |
| May | 55.7 | −1.4 |
| June | 64.0 | −1.5 |
| July | 72.8 | +2.5 |
| August | 68.4 | +0.1 |
| September | 63.5 | +2.2 |
| October | 54.6 | +4.3 |
| November | 39.0 | −0.3 |
| December | 37.5 | +8.8 |
| 2023 | 51.2 | +3.5 |
Departures compare each month with its average over 1895–2022.
A wet year, unevenly spread
The year was the 17th wettest on record, with 54.8 inches of precipitation — just over 8 inches above the long-term average. It was far from even, though. In the review’s seasons (winter January–March, spring April–June, summer July–September, autumn October–December), summer was especially wet and winter abnormally dry. July and December each brought more than 4 inches above normal; May fell almost 2.5 inches short.
| Month | Total precipitation (in.) | Departure from long-term average (in.) |
|---|---|---|
| January | 4.17 | +0.89 |
| February | 1.28 | −1.72 |
| March | 2.74 | −0.93 |
| April | 4.88 | +0.98 |
| May | 1.61 | −2.47 |
| June | 5.67 | +1.39 |
| July | 8.96 | +4.31 |
| August | 5.63 | +1.14 |
| September | 6.13 | +1.94 |
| October | 2.66 | −1.18 |
| November | 2.66 | −0.93 |
| December | 8.37 | +4.67 |
| 2023 | 54.76 | +8.09 |
The long-term trend
Since 1895 both have risen: annual average temperature by about 0.3 °F per decade, and annual precipitation by about 0.40 inches per decade.
Annual average temperature (°F) and total precipitation (inches), 1895–2023. Dashed lines are linear estimates of change. Image from the National Park Service’s page.
Park Service scientists have also looked ahead. Climate models estimate that by 2100 the park’s annual average temperature will rise 3.2 to 9.4 °F, from the best-case scenario to the worst, and annual precipitation 8 to 15% (Gonzalez and others, 2018).
Rapid climate change is already testing national parks in new ways: wildlife migrations shift, more destructive storms threaten historic resources and park facilities, and habitats are disrupted.
Sources
Based on "2023 Weather in Review: Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area," Eastern Rivers and Mountains Network, National Park Service; a work of the United States government in the public domain. Data from NOAA’s NClimDiv dataset through the Climate at a Glance program.
In these publicationsDelaware Water Gap National Recreation Area
Licence: CC0 1.0 (public domain) · Adapted from www.nps.gov
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