16 states see their warmest February ever
145 million Americans revel in record temps
The USA might not have recorded its warmest winter since data-keeping began more than 120 years ago, but it didn’t feel that way for nearly half of Americans whose states basked in their warmest February on record.
Overall, the country recorded its second-warmest February since climate tracking started in 1895 and its sixth-warmest winter, federal scientists announced Wednesday. Sixteen states experienced their warmest February ever recorded.
The average U.S. temperature last month soared to 7.3 degrees above average, scientists from NOAA’s National Centers for Environmental Information said. Only February 1954 was warmer.
Cities and towns across the nation tallied an incredible 11,743 record highs compared with 418 record lows in February, meteorologist Guy Walton says.
Some scientists blame humancaused climate change for playing a role in the unusual warmth. “We found clear and strong links between last month’s record warmth in the United States and climate change,” says Geert Jan van Oldenborgh, senior researcher at the Netherlands Meteorological Institute.
Other notable weather anomalies last month included Massachusetts’ first February tornado on record and Chicago’s third snow-free February ever, NOAA said.
No state recorded record cold, though below- to near-average temperatures were recorded in the Northwest.