Ser du något att förbättra? Föreslå en ändring.
The National Park Service's Mid-Atlantic Inventory and Monitoring Network tracks "vital signs" of ecosystem health in its parks, weather and climate among them. This is the 2022 summary for Shenandoah National Park, based on county-scale data averaged across the eight Virginia counties around the park — Albemarle, Augusta, Greene, Madison, Page, Rappahannock, Rockingham and Warren — with records back to 1895, from NOAA's Climate at a Glance program. Individual weather stations, especially at the park's high elevations, may have seen different conditions.
Shenandoah National Park. NPS.
Weather or climate?
Weather is the short-term state of the atmosphere, from minutes to months — whatever is happening outside right now. Climate is what you expect from patterns over 30 years or more: climate is what you expect, like a hot summer; weather is what you get, like a warm rainy day.
2022 at a glance
2022 was warmer and wetter than average — the 21st warmest and 35th wettest year since 1895.
Temperature
Every season was warmer than normal. Ten months were above their long-term averages, with February, March and November each at least 3.9°F warmer than usual.
Seasonal and annual temperature rankings since 1895. Winter is January–March, spring April–June, summer July–September and autumn October–December. NPS.
| Month | Average (°F) | Departure from 1895–2021 average (°F) |
|---|---|---|
| January | 30.0 | −2.3 |
| February | 38.2 | +4.1 |
| March | 46.4 | +3.9 |
| April | 52.8 | +0.6 |
| May | 63.0 | +1.3 |
| June | 70.8 | +1.4 |
| July | 75.1 | +1.9 |
| August | 73.0 | +1.3 |
| September | 66.3 | +0.9 |
| October | 52.3 | −2.3 |
| November | 47.8 | +3.9 |
| December | 35.9 | +1.0 |
| Year | 54.3 | +1.3 |
Precipitation
Every season had near-normal or above-normal precipitation, for a total of 44.46 inches.
Seasonal and annual precipitation rankings since 1895. NPS.
| Month | Total (in.) | Departure from 1895–2021 average (in.) |
|---|---|---|
| January | 3.73 | +0.83 |
| February | 1.92 | −0.60 |
| March | 2.58 | −0.76 |
| April | 3.41 | +0.11 |
| May | 6.04 | +2.08 |
| June | 4.42 | +0.29 |
| July | 4.94 | +0.83 |
| August | 3.76 | −0.34 |
| September | 2.47 | −1.18 |
| October | 2.79 | −0.62 |
| November | 4.33 | +1.44 |
| December | 4.05 | +1.09 |
| Year | 44.46 | +3.16 |
The long-term trend
Since 1895, the counties around the park have warmed by about 0.2°F per decade, and annual precipitation has risen by about 0.41 inches per decade. Park Service scientists project that by 2100 the park's average annual temperature will rise by 3.1–8.8°F, from the best case to the worst, and annual precipitation by 8–14% (Gonzalez and others, 2018).
Annual average temperature and total precipitation for the counties around the park, 1895–2022; dashed lines show the linear trends. NPS.
Rapid climate change is challenging national parks in new ways — altering wildlife migrations, threatening cultural resources and facilities with more destructive storms, and disrupting habitat.
Sources
- National Park Service, Mid-Atlantic Inventory and Monitoring Network: "2022 Weather in Review: Shenandoah National Park," using NOAA's nClimDiv dataset.
I dessa publikationerShenandoah National Park
Licens: CC0 1.0 (allmän egendom) · Bearbetat efter www.nps.gov
1
0
0
0
Kommentarer
