January second-warmest on record globally
January picked up right where 2014 left off: with unusually warm temperatures recorded around the world.
Last month was the second-warmest January on record globally, trailing only 2007, according to data released Thursday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Climate records go back to 1880.
A separate analysis from NASA also concluded January was the second-warmest. Data released by both agencies a month ago found 2014 was the warmest year on record for the planet.
In the far north, Arctic sea ice in January was at its third-smallest extent on record. Smaller January sea ice cover was only previously recorded in 2011 and 2006.
Down below, however, NOAA reported sea ice extent in the Southern Hemisphere was the largest on record, surpassing the previous record that occurred in 2008.
Overall, global sea ice extent in January is decreasing at an average rate of 1% per decade.
The U.S. continued its Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde ways in January. There was freakish heat in the West and more typical winter chill in the East. The Western warmth was far more pronounced that the cool was in the East, however, as seven states had one of their 10 warmest January months on record, while no states were top 10 coldest.
In all, 3,499 daily warm temperature records were broken in January, compared with 775 cold ones.
"Winter seems to have completely forgotten about us out here," Kathie Dello, deputy director of the Oregon Climate Service at Oregon State University, said during a press call with reporters Thursday.
Ski areas are shut down due to the lack of snow in Oregon, she said, while people are mowing their lawns and flowers have blossomed.
California is also seeing its warmest and driest winter on record. As a whole, the U.S. had its 24th warmest and 18th driest January.
Looking ahead to March, the Climate Prediction Center is forecasting more of the same: continued warmth in the West and chillier than average temperatures around the Great Lakes and the Northeast.
As for precipitation in March, the center predicts more rain than usual in the Southeast and Desert Southwest and ongoing dryness in the Pacific Northwest.