Record December pushes 2015 to 2nd warmest year for U.S.: NOAA

Record-setting December propelled the year 2015 to be the second warmest year and the third wettest year for the United States, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said Thursday.

The average U.S. temperature for the entire year was 54.4 degrees Fahrenheit (12.4 Celsius), 2.4 degrees above the 20th century average, the NOAA said in a report. What's more, every U.S. state was warmer than 20th-century average in 2015.

Only 2012 was warmer for the U.S. since the record-keeping began in 1895, the NOAA said, noting that 2015 marked the 19th consecutive year the annual average temperature exceeded the 20th century average.

For the United States alone, December 2015 was both the warmest and wettest on record, the NOAA said.

December 2015 was record warm for the contiguous U.S. with a temperature of 38.6 degrees Fahrenheit, 6.0 degrees above the 20th century average, the report showed.

The NOAA report also showed that there were 10 weather and climate disaster events in 2015, each of which caused losses exceeding 1 billion U.S. dollars. Endit