Winter was world record warmest
With Bostonians digging out of their snowiest season and New York expecting flurries on the first day of spring, it might be hard to believe, but a report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association released Wednesday said that globally, winter 2014-15 was the warmest on record. From December through February, NOAA reported, the average temperature across global land and ocean surfaces was 1.42 degrees F (0.79 degrees C) above the 20th century average. This was the highest for that period since record keeping began in 1880. It surpassed the previous record set in 2007 by 0.05 degrees F. Average temperatures for 2015 to date also set a worldwide record, with last month coming in as the hottest February since 1998. The new data follow on the heels of the official word in January that 2014 was the hottest year on record.But the story has seemed much more complicated here in the U.S. The Pacific Northwest is seeing an early spring and heat stifled runners in the Los Angeles Marathon Sunday. Meanwhile, Boston has seen 108.6 inches of snow, more than has fallen there in a single season since 1872, and cities all around the Northeast are dealing with record-low temperatures of their own.