NOAA’s latest seasonal report was released late last week covering the February and December through February winter climate. It shows that for the lower 48 states, it was the warmest winter on record since official records began in 1895. The Southeast was the only region where the temperatures were near normal due to the cooler temperatures and rainy and cloudy weather associated with the strong El Nino, as predicted. You can read the news release at https://www.noaa.gov/news/us-had-its-warmest-winter-on-record and a more detailed discussion at https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/national-climate-202402. The Upper Midwest and Great Lakes area, my home stomping ground, had one of their warmest winters on record, and it was reflected in low snow amounts, short iced-in periods on local lakes, and the first ever February tornado in Wisconsin.
