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January 2012 Surface Temperature Anomalies

Feb 15, 2012; 5:23 PM ET

The Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) has released their January 2012 global surface temperature anomaly data.

According to GISS, the combined global land/ocean surface temperature anomaly was +0.36 C or +0.65 F, which makes January 2012 the third coolest January since 2000.

As you can see by the January 2012 temperature anomaly map from GISS below, Alaska was incredibly cold last month, while much of the rest of the far northern latitudes were unseasonably warm, including much of the Lower 48 states.

Keep in mind, La Nina conditions appeared to have peaked during Dec/Jan. La Nina does have a cooling effect on overall global temperatures, so the downward trend in global temperature anomalies is not a surprise. In fact, Jan 2008 was colder during the previous La Nina, making last year the warmest La Nina year on record.

Based on long range forecasts for El Nino/La Nina it appears that we are headed for neutral conditions latter this spring with a small chance of a weak El Nino later in the year.

Taking into account the usual several month lag effect from ENSO and based on model forecasts for sea surface temperatures across the globe I would not be surprised to see a steady climb in global temperature anomalies the second half of this year and near record or record warmth for 2013.

The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of AccuWeather, Inc. or AccuWeather.com

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