2019 Weather In Review: Johnstown Flood National Memorial

In order to better understand ecosystem health in national parks, the Eastern Rivers and Mountains Network measures ecosystem "vital signs" in select national parks in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York. One of those vital signs is weather and climate. Below is a summary of 2019 weather conditions at Johnstown Flood National Memorial.

In all, 2019 was very warm and wet. The year ended as the 20th warmest and 22nd wettest since 1895. Weather data collected from surrounding areas from 1895–2019 show increasing trends in annual average temperature (+0.07 °F per decade) and annual total precipitation (+0.46 inches per decade).

Information in this brief represents county-scale weather data for Cambria County, Pennsylvania. Individual weather station data may vary from what is reported here. Data are available from the National Climate Data Center.

Temperature

In total, 2019 was the 20th warmest year at the park since 1895, and the spring and summer were particularly warm (Figure 1). Eight months had higher than normal temperatures, with February and May both being more than 3 °F above normal (Table 1).

Figure 1. Seasonal and annual temperature rankings for counties surrounding the park. 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.

Month/Year	Average temperature (°F)	Departure from long-term average (°F)
January	23.8	-0.6
February	29.4	+3.6
March	32.9	-1.9
April	48.7	+2.9
May	59.9	+3.2
June	64.2	-0.5
July	70.7	+2.0
August	67.5	+0.5
September	63.4	+2.9
October	51.8	+2.3
November	35.3	-3.2
December	31.0	+2.5
2019	48.2	+1.1

_{Table 1. Monthly and annual average temperature and departure from long-term averages. Departures from average show how different 2019 was compared to relevant averages from 1895-2018.}

Precipitation

In total, 2019 was the 22nd wettest year at the park since 1895 (Figure 2). By the end of the year, the area received 49.0 inches of precipitation, which is 5.3 inches more than the long-term average (Table 2).

Figure 2. Seasonal and annual precipitation rankings for counties surrounding the park. 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.

Month/Year	Total precipitation (in.)	Departure from long-term average (in.)
January	3.8	+0.5
February	4.8	+2.0
March	2.0	-1.8
April	4.2	+0.5
May	7.7	+3.5
June	4.5	0.0
July	4.7	+0.3
August	4.6	+0.8
September	2.5	-1.1
October	4.2	+1.0
November	1.6	-1.6
December	4.4	+1.2
2019	49.0	+5.3

_{Table 2. Monthly and annual total precipitation and departure from long-term averages. Departures from average show how different 2019 was compared to relevant averages from 1895-2018.}

Temperature and Precipitation Trends
(1895-2019)

Data from 1895–2019 for Cambria County, PA show increasing trends in annual average temperature (+0.07 °F per decade) and annual total precipitation (+0.46 inches per decade; Figure 3).

Figure 3. Annual average temperature (°F) and annual total precipitation (in.) for counties surrounding the park from 1895–2019. Dashed lines represent linear trends.

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. Click here 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.

For more information, contact Mid-Atlantic Network Biologist, Jeb Wofford or Eastern Rivers and Mountains Network Program Manager, Matt Marshall.