This Assessment can assist energy managers in anticipating and analyzing fuel demand, because degree days quantitatively reflect the public need for energy to heat and cool businesses and dwellings. In both cases, smaller values represent less fuel demand, but values below 0 are set equal to 0, because energy demand cannot be negative. Furthermore, since energy demand is cumulative, degree day totals for periods exceeding 1 day are simply the sum of each individual day's degree day total. In this Assessment, degree day and temperature statistics are based on areally-averaged numbers for each of 102 climate regions of approximately equal area that cover the contiguous 48 states. The sum of each day's degree day forecast in each of 102 climate regions that cover the contiguous 48 states.
Negative numbers reflect less energy demand than normal.
Maps Publication of the web team, Climate Prediction Center.