Contiguous U.S. has record warm winter: NOAA

The contiguous U.S. just had its warmest winter in its 122 years of record keeping, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said Tuesday.

The December-February average temperature for the Lower 48 states was 36.8 degrees Fahrenheit (2.67 degrees Celsius), 4.6 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th century average, surpassing the previous record of 36.5 degrees Fahrenheit set in the 1999-2000 winter.

"Forty-six states across the contiguous U.S. had a winter temperature that was above average," NOAA said its monthly report.

"The Much-above average winter temperatures were observed across the West, Great Plains, Midwest, Southeast, and Northeast. Each of the six New England states had a winter temperature that was record warm," it said.

A strong El Nino that was present in the Equatorial Pacific and the "exceptionally warm" December helped push the country's winter temperature to a record high, the U.S. agency added. Endit