According to federal meteorologists, the average temperature in the lower 48 states from December 1, 2015, to the end of February, known as the meteorological winter, was 36.8 degrees Fahrenheit, 4.6 degrees above normal. It breaks the record set in 1999-2000.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) climate scientist Jake Crouch said February was the seventh warmest on record and the warmest February since 2000, with an average temperature of 39.5°F, bringing the temperature 5.7°F above the 20th-century average,
Climate scientists at NOAA blame the warm winter on super warm temperatures in December that continued to heat up the rest of the season. Interestingly, the winter precipitation total across the lower 48 averaged 8.05 inches and was 1.26 inches above normal for the 20th-century. This made the meteorological winter we just went through one of the wettest since 1997-1998.
All six of the New England states had their warmest winter, and every single state in the contiguous U.S. had winters that were at least 1.7 degrees above normal. The state of Alaska beat out all the lower 48 with an average temperature that was 10.6 degrees above normal.
NOAA is saying an extended analysis of regional temperature and precipitation patterns, as well as extreme events will be released on March 10.
