New Normals Start Today

You'd never know it, but there is a new normal starting today.  What I'm referring to is the instituting of a new set of 30-year averages around the country.

Every 30 years, our average temps, average precipitation, etc. that we report is updated to include the previous 10 years.  In other words, we have been using and reporting averages from 1971-2000..until today.  Now our normals reflect the averages from 1981-2000.

The World Meteorological Organization mandates these updates every decade.  These are used to get an idea on climate changes and provide important historical context.

Here's the effect in North Texas on going from the old period ('71-'00) to the new period ('81-'10)

Here's more good information on the new climate averages.  It does not necessarily indicate broader climate change, but also shows changes when it comes to instrumentation updates, new technology, and other reporting site changes.