As 2017 came to a close and 2018 started, it was either colder or hotter than normal across North America.
Many parts of Canada, the Midwestern, and the Eastern United States are experiencing record lows. It was so cold in Florida that frozen Iguanas started been falling out of trees.
In contrast, the Western U.S., Alaska, and parts of Mexico are experiencing warmer than usual temperatures.
Temperature anomaly map around the world
NASA has compiled a temperature anomaly map of the world using data acquired between December 26, 2017 and January 2, 2018.
The map shows land surface temperatures (LSTs) and their departure from average temperatures of this time of year.
Free weekly newsletter
Fill out your e-mail address to receive our newsletter!
By entering your email address you agree to receive our newsletter and agree with our privacy policy.
You may unsubscribe at any time.
The data to create the map was acquired from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite.
Blue areas show a gradation of where areas are colder than normal and red shaded areas indicate a warmer surface temperature than normal. The darker shades show a greater difference between average temperatures and measure land surface temperatures.
The temperature data was compared against the 2001–2010 average for the same eight-day period. White indicates areas with temperatures align with the average while grey are areas lacking data.
Global Map of Temperature Anomalies
Zooming out to the perspective of the entire world shows that many parts are currently experiencing warmer than normal conditions.
Much of Europe, Asia, the Middle East, the Horn of Africa, Antarctica, and Australia have extensive areas with higher than normal surface temperatures.
Map of North American Temperature Anomalies
This first map highlights temperature anomalies in North America. Most of Canada is experiencing colder than normal temperatures while the western US and much of Alaska is experiencing warmer than normal conditions.
The Rocky Mountain Range effectively forms a barrier between the cold and warm areas of the United States.
More:
- It’s Cold—And Hot—in North America, NASA.
- NASA Earth Observatory maps by Jesse Allen, based on MODIS land surface temperature data provided by the Land Processes Distributed Active Archive Center.
