Abstract

Increasing global temperatures lead to higher rates of evaporation. Higher evaporation rates and the ability of a warmer atmosphere to hold more water vapor can contribute to more frequent and extreme precipitation events, provided that sufficient surface moisture is available. This project analyzed temperature and precipitation data from the National Climatic Data Center for the past 50 years to determine if average annual temperature and precipitation totals have been rising, and whether there was a positive correlation between temperature and precipitation. The results suggest that each of the urban areas have experienced a significant increase in temperature as well as precipitation. An examination of decadal averages reveals the association between the two variables is moderately strong. Further research will examine other regions of the U.S. and evaluate the seasonality of this relationship.