2023 Weather in Review: Gauley River National Recreation Area

NPS photo

In order to better understand ecosystem health in national parks, the Eastern Rivers and Mountains Network measures ecosystem "vital signs" in select national parks in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York. One of those vital signs is weather and climate. Below is a summary of 2023 weather conditions at Gauley River National Recreation Area.

This brief provides county-scale weather data averaged from all of the counties surrounding the park, including data from 1895–2023 (i.e., period of record). These counties include Fayette and Nicholas counties, West Virginia. Data and analyses herein are courtesy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) Climate at a Glance Program.

Weather vs. Climate

First of all, what is the difference between weather and climate? Weather consists of the short-term (minutes to months) changes in the atmosphere. Weather is what is happening outside at this very moment, be it rain, snow, or just a warm sunny day. Climate is what you expect to see based on long-term patterns of over 30 years or more. An easy way to remember the difference is that climate is what you might expect, like a hot summer, and weather is what you get, like a warm rainy day.

The following information includes a discussion of 2023 weather placed in the context of long-term climate (i.e., how did 2023 compare to a "normal" year?).

2023 Summary

In all, 2023 was a very warm year in Fayette and Nicholas counties, West Virginia, with total precipitation that was close to normal. The year ended as the 10^th warmest and 52^nd driest on record. Data indicate that over the long term, annual average temperature and annual total precipitation have both increased (+0.1°F per decade and +0.14 inches per decade, respectively).

Temperature

In total, 2023 was the 10^th warmest year recorded in the counties surrounding the park (Figure 1). The winter and fall were particularly warm. In all, eight months had higher than normal temperatures with January and February both being at least 7.9°F above long-term averages (Table 1).

Figure 1. Seasonal and annual temperature rankings. An arrow at the top of the figure would represent the warmest year/season on record (since 1895); at the bottom, the coldest year/season on record. Winter = Jan–Mar, Spring = Apr–June, Summer = July–Sept, Autumn = Oct–Dec.

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_{Table 1. Monthly and annual average temperature and departure from long-term averages. Departures from average show how different 2023 was compared to relevant averages from 1895-2022.}

Month/Year	Average temperature (°F)	Departure from long-term average (°F)
January	38.8	+7.9
February	41.9	+8.8
March	42.8	+1.2
April	54.2	+2.9
May	58.4	−1.8
June	63.9	−3.5
July	71.5	+0.6
August	69.5	−0.3
September	64.6	+0.3
October	55.3	+1.8
November	42.5	0.0
December	39.0	+5.4
2023	53.5	+1.9

Precipitation

The year 2023 had total precipitation that was slightly below normal and ranked as the 52^nd driest recorded in Fayette and Nicholas counties, WV since 1895 (Figure 2). Eight months had below normal precipitation though the summer was very wet (Table 2). In total, 46.33 inches of precipitation fell, almost 2 inches less than the long-term average.

Figure 2. Seasonal and annual precipitation rankings. An arrow at the top of the figure would represent the wettest year/season on record (since 1895); at the bottom, the driest year/season on record. Winter = Jan–Mar, Spring = Apr–June, Summer = July–Sept, Autumn = Oct–Dec.

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_{Table 2. Monthly and annual total precipitation and departure from long-term averages. Departures from average show how different 2023 was compared to relevant averages from 1895-2022.}

Month/Year	Total precipitation (in.)	Departure from long-term average (in.)
January	3.64	−0.12
February	4.55	+1.21
March	2.52	−1.73
April	3.42	−0.54
May	4.46	−0.09
June	2.78	−2.06
July	7.88	+2.36
August	5.29	+0.75
September	3.79	+0.36
October	2.20	−1.00
November	2.36	−0.90
December	3.44	−0.12
2023	46.33	−1.90

Temperature and Precipitation Trends
(1895-2023)

Data for Fayette and Nicholas counties, West Virginia indicate that annual average temperature has increased approximately +0.1°F per decade and annual total precipitation has increased approximately +0.14 inches per decade since 1895 (Figure 3).

National Park Service scientists have forecast future changes in climate too. Models estimate that by 2100, annual average temperature at the park will increase by 2.9–8.8 °F (from a best-case to worst-case scenario, respectively). Annual total precipitation is expected to increase by 6–11% (see Gonzalez et al., 2018 for details).

Figure 3. Annual average temperature (°F) and annual total precipitation (in.) from 1895–2022 for counties surrounding the park. Dashed lines represent linear estimates of change.

Climate Change

Today's rapid climate change challenges national parks in ways we've never seen before. Wildlife migrations are altered, increasingly destructive storms threaten cultural resources and park facilities, habitat is disrupted—the list goes on. Go to the NPS Climate Change site to discover how climate change is affecting our nation's treasures, what the National Park Service is doing about it, and how you can help.

For more information, contact Mid-Atlantic Network Biologist, Jeb Wofford or Eastern Rivers and Mountains Network Program Manager, Matt Marshall. Data included in this article were obtained from NOAA's NClimDiv dataset (version v1.0.0-20240105).