Earth just had it’s warmest winter on record, and this past February was the second warmest on record.

The intense cold over the Eastern U.S. was an eye popping anomaly in February.

This from NOAA/NCDC

During February, the average temperature across global land and ocean surfaces was 1.48°F (0.82°C) above the 20th century average. This was the second highest for February in the 1880–2015 record. The highest temperature occurred in 1998, at 1.55°F (0.86°C) above average.

• • During February, the globally-averaged land surface temperature was 3.02°F (1.68°C) above the 20th century average. This was also the second highest for February in the 1880–2015 record. The highest temperature occurred in 2002, at 3.06°F (1.70°C) above average.
  • During February, the globally-averaged sea surface temperature was 0.92°F (0.51°C) above the 20th century average. This was the third highest for February in the 1880–2015 record.

More from NOAA here.