Tagged: heat wave

If you're a Missourian and felt hot under the collar in 2012, there is good reason.

The National Weather Service says 2012 was the warmest year on record in St. Louis and Columbia and tied for the fourth-warmest in Joplin.

St. Louis recorded an average temperature of 61.2 degrees for last year, a full 1.1 degrees higher than the previous mark of 60.1 degrees set in 1921. St. Louis had 21 days reach triple-digit temperatures.

This year may turn out to be the warmest on record in parts of Missouri, a continuation of a trend of warmer weather that is having an impact on flowers, plants and agricultural crops.

National Weather Service meteorologist Jayson Gosselin says that 2012 through Nov. 24 is the warmest year on record in both St. Louis and Columbia, Mo., compared to other years through the same date. St. Louis records date back to 1874 and Columbia weather records date to 1890.

In fact, five of the 10 warmest years on record in St. Louis have occurred since 2005.