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2022 Weather in Review: Booker T. Washington National Monument

A bust of Booker T. Washington
NPS photo

In order to better understand ecosystem health in national parks, the Mid-Atlantic Inventory and Monitoring Network measures ecosystem "vital signs" across the Mid-Atlantic region. One of those vital signs is weather and climate. Below is a summary of 2022 weather conditions in Booker T. Washington National Monument.

This brief provides county-scale weather data for Franklin County, VA, including data from 1895–2022 (i.e., period of record). Data and analyses herein are courtesy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Climate at a Glance Program.

Weather vs. Climate

First of all, what is the difference between weather and climate? Weather consists of the short-term (minutes to months) changes in the atmosphere. Weather is what is happening outside at this very moment, be it rain, snow, or just a warm sunny day. Climate is what you expect to see based on long-term patterns of over 30 years or more. An easy way to remember the difference is that climate is what you might expect, like a hot summer, and weather is what you get, like a warm rainy day.

The following information includes a discussion of 2022 weather placed in the context of long-term climate (i.e., how did 2022 compare to a "normal" year?).

2022 Summary

In all, 2022 was warmer and and much wetter than average. It was the 36th warmest and 18th wettest year ever recorded (since 1895) in Franklin County, VA. Data indicate that over the long term, annual average temperature and annual total precipitation have both increased in the county (+0.1 °F per decade and +0.33 inches per decade, respectively).

Temperature

In total, 2022 was the 36th warmest year at the park since 1895 with three seasons being warmer than normal (Figure 1). Eight months had higher than normal temperatures with February, March, and November all being at least 2.5 °F above long-term averages (Table 1).

Figure 1. 2022 average annual and seasonal temperature rankings for Franklin County, VA.
Figure 1. Seasonal and annual temperature rankings for Franklin County, VA. An arrow at the top of the figure would represent the warmest year/season on record (since 1895); at the bottom, the coldest year/season on record. Winter = Jan–Mar, Spring = Apr–June, Summer = July–Sept, Autumn = Oct–Dec.

Table 1. Monthly and annual average temperature and departure from long-term averages. Departures from average show how different 2022 was compared to relevant averages from 1895-2021.

Month/Year Average temperature (°F) Departure from
long-term average (°F)
January 33.2 −2.4
February 40.7 +3.1
March 49.5 +3.8
April 55.8 +0.7
May 64.9 +1.0
June 72.9 +1.6
July 76.9 +2.0
August 74.3 +0.7
September 67.0 −0.4
October 53.2 −3.3
November 48.6 +2.6
December 36.7 −1.1
2022 56.1 +0.7

Precipitation

It was a wet year for the park with three seasons being wetter than normal (Figure 2). Over the year, 50.8 inches of precipitation fell, almost 7 inches more than the longterm average (Table 2). In all, it was the 18th wettest year on record.

Figure 2. 2022 average annual and seasonal precipitation rankings for Franklin County, VA.
Figure 2. Seasonal and annual precipitation rankings for Franklin County, VA. An arrow at the top of the figure would represent the wettest year/season on record (since 1895); at the bottom, the driest year/season on record. Winter = Jan–Mar, Spring = Apr–June, Summer = July–Sept, Autumn = Oct–Dec.
Table 2. Monthly and annual total precipitation and departure from long-term averages. Departures from average show how different 2022 was compared to relevant averages from 1895-2021.

Month/Year Total precipitation (in.) Departure from
long-term average (in.)
January 4.26 +0.98
February 3.56 +0.48
March 3.78 +0.02
April 3.27 −0.21
May 6.76 +2.72
June 1.13 −2.94
July 5.88 +1.52
August 5.68 +1.58
September 3.46 −0.46
October 3.61 +0.01
November 5.43 +2.46
December 3.96 +0.65
2022 50.78 +6.82

Temperature and Precipitation Trends
(1895-2022)


Data for Franklin County, VA indicate that annual average temperature has increased approximately +0.1 °F per decade and annual total precipitation has increased approximately +0.33 inches per decade since 1895 (Figure 3).

National Park Service scientists have forecast future changes in climate too. Models estimate that by 2100, annual average temperature at the park will increase by 2.9–8.5 °F (from a best-case to worst-case scenario, respectively). Annual total precipitation is expected to increase by 8–14% (see Gonzalez et al., 2018 for details).
Figure 3. Line graph of annual average temperature (°F) and annual total precipitation (in.) for Franklin County, VA from 1895–2022 showing increases in both parameters.
Figure 3. Annual average temperature (°F) and annual total precipitation (in.) for Franklin County, VA, from 1895–2022. Dashed lines represent linear estimates of change.

Climate Change

Today's rapid climate change challenges national parks in ways we've never seen before. Wildlife migrations are altered, increasingly destructive storms threaten cultural resources and park facilities, habitat is disrupted—the list goes on. Go to the NPS Climate Change site to discover how climate change is affecting our nation's treasures, what the National Park Service is doing about it, and how you can help.

The Mid-Atlantic Network's Weather and Climate monitoring program can be found here. For more information, contact Mid-Atlantic Network Biologist, Jeb Wofford. Data included in this article were obtained from NOAA's NClimDiv dataset (version v1.0.0-20230106).

Click here to download a printable version (pdf) of this article.

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Booker T Washington National Monument

Last updated: December 12, 2023