All Over Albany

Hot spring

Statewide ranks for average temperature for March, April, and May. The states in dark red had their warmest springs on record.

This past spring was the warmest on record -- for Albany, for New York State, for the contiguous United States. [NRCC] [NOAA] [NOAA]

Albany
The average temperature in Albany during March, April, and May was 52.4, according to the Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell. That's more than 5 degrees higher than normal -- and tops the previous record of 52.3 in 1921. (For what it's worth, the National Weather Service has Albany's average for that period pegged at 52.3.) Year to date, Albany is 5.7 degrees warmer than average, the warmest in 74 years. [NRCC] [NWS] [NOAA]

New York
New York State's spring was 6.1 degrees warmer than normal. And the year to date, January through May, 6.3 degrees warmer -- also the warmest on record. (New York State's winter, at 6.6 degrees warmer than usual, ranked as the third biggest seasonal temperature anomaly on record.) [NOAA]

The trend in average temperature in New York State, January through December, is +1.3 degrees during the last century, according to NOAA's data.

United States
The contiguous United State's spring was a full two degrees warmer than the previous record, set in 1910. From the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration report: "This marked the largest temperature departure from average of any season on record for the contiguous United States." And the span from June 2011 to May 2012 was "the warmest 12-month period of any 12 months on record for the contiguous United States."

NOAA's records go back to 1895.

There have been lot of examples this year of how the weird weather has disrupted typical cycles. The early warm weather prompted fruit trees to flower early, only to get hit by frost, resulting in large crop losses across the state. The magnolias bloomed in March. The maple syrup season was early and short. And the winter -- at just 23.3 inches of snow -- was one of the least snowy on record, endangering the giant snowman.

map: NOAA