Winter 2014-2015 Declared Warmest on Record

The winter of 2014-2015 was the warmest ever recorded for planet earth, according to the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). NOAA issued their report on Wednesday. 

Even though most of the east coast this past winter averaged colder than normal, the rest of the country and rest of the world was warmer than average. NOAA uses records taken from the 20th century and compares them to current weather to determine if the earth was warmer or cooler than normal. Based off that data, this past winter (December, January, and February-meteorological winter) was 1.42 degrees Fahrenheit above the average. The previous warmest winter on record was 2007. 

December was declared the warmest December on record while January and February were both declared the second warmest on record. 

The image attached to this story shows the global temperature departures from this recent winter. The only blue color that really stands out is over the eastern United States while the rest of the world is in the red. 

Just a couple months ago NOAA announced that 2014 was the warmest year on record. It looks like the record warmth continues into 2015, despite the eastern U.S cold.