U.S. Had Warm, Wet, Strange Winter; Just Like Here In Vermont

 It wasn't just us here in Vermont who had a really warm, kinda wet winter. 

Almost everybody east of the Mississippi River had one
of their warmest winters on record, new data shows,

The United States as a whole had that kind of winter, too.  Nationally, it was the 17th warmest and 21st wettest meteorological winter on record out of the last 128 winters, the NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information tells us. 

Meteorological winter runs from December 1 to February 28. 

Massachusetts had its warmest winter on record. Twenty-nine states - including Vermont  - had one of their 10 warmest winters. (Vermont's winter was flagged at #3 on the warm scale)

If you leave out December, twelve states, again including Vermont, had their all-time hottest January-February combo on record. 

A broad stripe of the nation from California, through the central and northern Plains, Great Lakes and on into New England had a wetter than normal winter. Wisconsin actually pulled off its wettest winter on record, and seven other states had one of their top 10 wettest. 

Vermont had its 31st wettest winter since 1895.

The storms in California meant that 98 percent of the state was in drought on January 3, but that number was down to 49 percent by February 28.  

A broad stripe of the nation from California through the
Great Lakes to New England had a wet winter. 

Of course, given the size of the nation, not everybody shared in the warmth. Or the storminess.

Seven states, all in the Rockies or west of them, had a cooler than normal winter, though none of them were in the top ten coldest. The Pacific Northwest and Florida were drier than normal, but again, not among the top ten driest. 

For most of the United States, the winter was warm far more often than not except for two brief but very dramatic cold snaps. A large scale one on Christmas week from the Rockies to the East Coast dropped temperatures by 50 or more degrees in many areas within 24 hours.  The cold snap contributed to an intense, lake effect blizzard in and around Buffalo, New York that killed 39 people.

Another intense, more localized brief cold shot in the Northeast, particularly in New England on February 3-4 plunged temperatures to record lows. But warm weather returned quickly.  

So basically, aside from the brutal storms in California and a snowy, but not super cold northern Plains and Great Lakes, America's winter lasted for less than a week in December and a couple days in early February. 

FEBRUARY

Along with the winter seasonal stats, the National Centers for Environmental Information also released their monthly report on the nation's climate for just the month of February. 

February was on the warm side almost everywhere east of the Rockies. Virginia had its warmest February on record, and 20 other states scored among the top 10 warmest Februaries out of 129 years of record.  

Like the rest of the winter, February was quite warm east
of the Mississippi River. 

The Rockies and Pacific Coast, on the other hand were chilly. California had its 20th coldest February out of the past 129 years. 

Here in Vermont, February was definitely on the warm side, but was only the 13th warmest out of 129 years of records. 

Overall, February for the nation as a whole was just ever so slightly on the dry side, despite the parade of storms that continued to smash into California all month. 

 February was very dry in the eastern half of New England, even if the overall winter was on the wet side. The Pacific Northwest was a little on the dry side for them, too.   Areas around the Great Lakes were quite a bit wetter than average during February. 

The month was also notable for three tornado outbreaks, on Feb 8-9, 16-17 and 26-27.  One other tornado, unusual for its strength for winter and its position so far north, hit New Jersey on February 21. 

Climate data for February and the entire winter for the whole world should become available in about a week or two.