Climate Change Chart of Raleigh, USA

Overview of climate changes

Temperature changes

Averaged across calendar months, monthly mean temperature showed a difference of +0.71 °C. This unweighted comparison describes the average of the monthly means, not a change in every month or in daytime maximum temperatures. The largest monthly increase was in December, with a difference of +2.09 °C compared with the earlier reference period. In contrast, January had the largest decrease, a difference of -0.43 °C.

Changes in rainfall

Mean daily rainfall, rather than monthly totals, had an unweighted difference across calendar-month averages of +0.36 mm/day. This average summarizes the monthly means and does not imply that rainfall increased in every month. The strongest monthly increase was in September, where mean daily rainfall had a difference of +1.33 mm/day. The largest decrease occurred in July, with a difference of -1.15 mm/day.

Changes in sunshine duration

Across calendar months, mean daily sunshine duration had an unweighted average difference of -0.04 hours/day; this is a summary of monthly averages, not a uniform shift across the year. The largest increase in mean daily sunshine was in July, with a difference of +1.14 hours/day compared with the earlier reference period. The largest decrease was in February, at -0.97 hours/day.

Changes in snowfall

Mean daily snowfall had an unweighted difference across calendar-month averages of +0.01 mm/day. Because this is a rounded summary of monthly means, it should not be read as showing that snowfall was absent or unchanged in every month. Monthly differences varied in direction: the largest increase was in January, at +0.43 mm/day, while the largest decrease was in December, at -0.27 mm/day. These are differences in mean daily snowfall, not monthly snowfall totals.