The National Climatic Data Center in Asheville says “the average temperature for the contiguous U.S. in 2007 is officially the 10th warmest on record,” according to the Asheville scientists.
The average U.S. temperature for 2007 was 54.2°F; 1.4°F warmer than the 20th century mean of 52.8°F. NCDC originally estimated in mid-December that 2007 would end as the eighth warmest on record, but below-average temperatures in areas of the country last month lowered the annual ranking. For Alaska, 2007 was the 15th warmest year since statewide records began in 1918.