New Jersey Not Alone In Sweltering Through 2012

Even before watching a powerful mid-autumn hurricane drown the island, many Monmouth County residents might remember 2012 for its mild winter and hot summer.

A study of climate data from the past year confirms that 2012 was a warm one — the hottest year ever recorded, according to a new report by Justin Gillis in the New York Times.

"How hot was it? The temperature differences between years are usually measured in fractions of a degree, but last year’s 55.3 degree average demolished the previous record, set in 1998, by a full degree Fahrenheit," Gillis writes.

Gillis reports that 34,008 daily high records were set at weather stations across the country. At Atlantic City's weather station, which is the weather station reporting records that was closest to the Manasquan, Belmar area, the summer of 2012 was the second hottest on record.

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Read "Not Even Close: 2012 Was Hottest Ever in U.S."
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The nationwide trend reflects local data that shows higher-than-average temperatures in 10 of 12 months in 2012 — including a period between January and March 2012 that saw average high temperatures 7.7 degrees above normal.

Here's the data from Atlantic City International Airport's weather station, the nearest mentioned in the report:

The "normal" data is from the period between 1981 and 2010. 

Average High Temperatures by Month
(in degrees fahrenheit)