The Annual Cycle Part I: The Annual Variation of Surface Temperature Over the United States and Canada

Daily maximum and minimum surface temperatures for 354 second-order U.S. and Canadian stations generally spanning 40-80 years are used to calculate the following quantities for each station: (i) daily mean maximum, minimum, and average temperatures for each day of the year; (ii) monthly, seasonal, and annual means; (iii) the amplitudes and phases of the mean annual cycle; (iv) the interannual variability of each of the aforementioned quantities; and (v) mean spectra for the four seasons.

Several examples from individual stations are chosen to illustrate various regional and local peculiarities. Enough information is provided to allow the modeling of the annual surface temperature cycle and its variability.