At the end of each year, there are often stories highlighting some of the most important news stories of the previous 12 months. In our climate, there are often numerous weather events that could also be listed.

If I had to pick the most significant weather event in 2012, it would come down to either the record-breaking warm temperatures or the dry conditions that plagued most of the area this past year. Neither would necessarily be a snapshot in time like a tornado or a horrific blizzard, but instead a process that occurred over the entire year.

Because the dry conditions this year came after an extended stretch of extremely wet weather, the impacts were lessened to some degree. It is because of that and the fact that 2012 was the warmest year since 1881 with two well-above-average months of January and March that the warmth of 2012 gets my vote for the weather event of the year.

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weather talk, news, weather

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