Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

3 days ago

Trump Says He’s Willing to Let Migrant Farm Laborers Stay in US

3 days ago

US Electric Vehicle Tax Breaks Will Expire on Sept. 30

4 days ago

Eyeing Arctic Dominance, Trump Bill Earmarks $8.6 Billion for US Coast Guard Icebreakers

4 days ago

Trump’s Sweeping Tax-Cut and Spending Bill Wins Congressional Approval

4 days ago

Americans Celebrate Their Independence With Record-Breaking Travel Numbers

4 days ago

US Supreme Court to Decide Legality of Transgender School Sports Bans

4 days ago

Nvidia Set to Become the World’s Most Valuable Company in History

4 days ago

Poll: 41% in US ‘Extremely Proud’ to Be American, Near Historic Low

4 days ago
Past 10 Years in Fresno Were the Hottest Decade on Record
NANCY WEBSITE HEADSHOT 1
By Nancy Price, Multimedia Journalist
Published 4 years ago on
January 5, 2022

Share

 

Is it hot enough for you? If you’ve lived in Fresno for the past decade, the answer is likely a resounding yes.

According to National Weather Service historical records for Fresno, the past 10 years — from 2012 through 2021 — were the hottest on record.

The hottest-ever was 2014, with an annual mean temperature of 69 degrees. Mean temperatures are the average of daily highs and lows.

By contrast, the lowest annual mean was 60.5 degrees in 1975.

Fresno sweltered under its hottest summer ever last year, making 2021 the second-hottest on record with an annual mean of 67.2 degrees, only two-tenths of a degree hotter than 2020.

[activecampaign form=15]
The last 10 years in Fresno were the hottest on record, National Weather Service data shows. (GV Wire illustration/Johnny Soto)

Global Warming Gets the Blame

Is it global warming? Or are other factors at play?

There’s no question that global warming is occurring, said Jim Andersen, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Hanford. Melting glaciers and raging wildfires are clear signs that the heat has been turned up on the planet, he said, so the fact that the past decade was the hottest ever in Fresno is not entirely surprising.

But Andersen said the warm spell also could be the result of things like sun cycles or “Milankovitch cycles,” how the earth’s orbit can wobble a bit on its axis as it spins around the sun and affects climatology. (NASA, however, says Milankovitch cycles can’t account for the current period of global warming that started before the Industrial Revolution and is accelerating through the present day.)

Back in the Midwest where Andersen hails from, people used to be able to go ice fishing on lakes and rivers before Thanksgiving, but these days ice hasn’t even formed yet, he said. And the geese-shooting clubs that proliferated in southern Illinois had to close when the birds’ southward migration landed in northern Illinois, he said.

“If you say there’s no global warming, how do you explain what’s happening around the world?” Andersen said.

This winter’s weather also has been somewhat of a head-scratcher, he said. Forecasters were expecting a weak La Nina winter, with a decent amount of rain. December’s rainfall total of 3.64 inches was the 12th highest ever, but only about half of the record 6.73 inches that fell in 1955.

Andersen said the weather and stock market share at least one thing in common: “Past performance doesn’t indicate future results.”

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

How Trump’s ‘Big, Beautiful Bill’ Will Make China Great Again

DON'T MISS

What’s Caitlin Clark Worth to the WNBA? A Lot More Than Her $78,066 Salary.

DON'T MISS

Trump to Sign Tax-Cut and Spending Bill in July 4 Ceremony

DON'T MISS

Madre Fire Spurs Evacuations Across 3 Counties, Grows to More Than 70,000 Acres

DON'T MISS

Clovis, Sanger, Madera, and Bass Lake Will Light the Sky With Fireworks Shows Tonight

DON'T MISS

Oil Dips Ahead of Expected OPEC+ Output Increase

DON'T MISS

613 Killed at Gaza Aid Distribution Sites, Near Humanitarian Covoys, Says UN

DON'T MISS

Fresno County Authorities Investigating Suspicious Death of Transient Man

DON'T MISS

West Bank Town Becomes ‘Big Prison’ as Israel Fences It In

DON'T MISS

Israeli Military Kills 20 in Gaza as Trump Awaits Hamas Reply to Truce Proposal

UP NEXT

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Rachelle Maria Blanco

UP NEXT

Fresno Police to Conduct DUI Checkpoint on Fourth of July, Boost Holiday Patrols

UP NEXT

Fresno Crash Involving Unlicensed Teen Driver Sends Woman to Hospital

UP NEXT

RIP John Harris: Fresno County Rancher, Racehorse Breeder Was a Visionary Leader Who Leaves a ‘Profound Legacy’

UP NEXT

Valadao, Costa Spar on What Passage of Trump’s Bill Means for Medicaid Recipients

UP NEXT

Kaweah Health Names Its New Chief Nurse. She’s From Texas

UP NEXT

Clovis Police Say At-Risk Missing Woman Found Dead in Mariposa County

UP NEXT

Fresno Police Recover Some of the $40,000 in Fireworks Stolen From Bullard High Team

UP NEXT

Riverdale High School Coach Arrested for Allegedly Arranging to Meet Minor

UP NEXT

Could Cuddly Colby Be the Darling Gem for You?

Nancy Price,
Multimedia Journalist
Nancy Price is a multimedia journalist for GV Wire. A longtime reporter and editor who has worked for newspapers in California, Florida, Alaska, Illinois and Kansas, Nancy joined GV Wire in July 2019. She previously worked as an assistant metro editor for 13 years at The Fresno Bee. Nancy earned her bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. Her hobbies include singing with the Fresno Master Chorale and volunteering with Fresno Filmworks. You can reach Nancy at 559-492-4087 or Send an Email

Planned Parenthood Sues Trump Administration Over Planned Defunding

58 minutes ago

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Injures 1 Firefighter, Burns Over 80,000 Acres

60 minutes ago

Two Border Patrol Officers Injured After Gunman Opens Fire in Texas

1 hour ago

Fresno Police Arrest 9 at Independence Day DUI Checkpoint

1 hour ago

Schumer Wants Probe of National Weather Service Response in Texas

2 hours ago

Israeli Guilt Over Gaza Lurks Beneath Silence and Denial

2 hours ago

Trump Criticized for Using Antisemitic ‘Shylock’ to Describe Bankers

2 hours ago

Iran President Says Open to Dialogue With US, Accuses Israel of Assassination Attempt

2 hours ago

Shy but Sweet Field Survivor, Poppy the Pup, Now Up for Adoption

2 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Douglas Wayne Brittain

2 hours ago

Trump Says Will Impose 25% Tariffs on Japan, South Korea

WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump on Monday said he would impose a 25% tariff on goods from Japan and South Korea starting on August...

37 minutes ago

Containers on a cargo ship are pictured at an industrial port in Tokyo, Japan, July 2, 2025. (Reuters File)
37 minutes ago

Trump Says Will Impose 25% Tariffs on Japan, South Korea

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., June 30, 2025. (Reuters/Brendan McDermid)
39 minutes ago

Wall Street Knocked Lower by Tariff Jitters, Musk’s Political Plan Hurts Tesla

Protesters march near the campus of Columbia University in upper Manhattan to demand the release of Mahmoud Khalil, a Palestinian activist and former Columbia student, on March 14, 2025. A federal judge in Boston on Monday, July 7, 2025, will hear opening statements in a trial expected to present the foremost challenge to the Trump administration’s aggressive posture toward foreign students who espoused pro-Palestinian views. (Dave Sanders/The New York Times)
43 minutes ago

Trial Over Free Speech on Campus, and Trump’s Student Crackdown, Begins

Activists for Planned Parenthood demonstrate as the U.S. Supreme Court hears oral arguments in South Carolina's bid to cut off public funding to Planned Parenthood, in Washington, D.C., U.S., April 2, 2025. (Reuters File)
58 minutes ago

Planned Parenthood Sues Trump Administration Over Planned Defunding

The Madre Fire near New Cuyama has burned over 80,000 acres, prompted widespread evacuations, and left one firefighter injured as crews work to contain the blaze. (CalFire)
60 minutes ago

San Luis Obispo’s Madre Fire Injures 1 Firefighter, Burns Over 80,000 Acres

Photo of caution tape
1 hour ago

Two Border Patrol Officers Injured After Gunman Opens Fire in Texas

Fresno Police arrested nine people for DUI and cited 20 others during a Friday, July 4, 2025, checkpoint that screened 227 vehicles. (GV Wire Composite/Paul Marshall)
1 hour ago

Fresno Police Arrest 9 at Independence Day DUI Checkpoint

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) speaks during a press conference after the Senate passes U.S. President Donald Trump’s sweeping spending and tax bill, on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S., July 1, 2025. (Reuters/Annabelle Gordon)
2 hours ago

Schumer Wants Probe of National Weather Service Response in Texas

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend