The nation’s third warmest February on record secured a place for winter 2023-24 as the warmest in U.S. records going back to 1895, according to the monthly climate update issued by NOAA on March 8.
Using the climatological definition of the season — December through February — winter 2023-24 averaged 37.6°F for the 48 contiguous U.S. states, soaring 0.82°F above the previous record from winter 2015-16. This stands as the biggest margin from one year to the next-warmest year across the entire 129-year database of winter temperatures. As in 2015-16, this winter’s U.S. warmth was boosted by a strong El Niño event.
Each of the four seasons has now seen record U.S. warmth since 2010, including spring 2012, summer 2021 (tying 1936), and autumn 2016.
Winter 2023-24 was the warmest on record for eight states stretching across the nation’s northern tier, from North Dakota to New Hampshire. A phenomenal three-quarters of the 48 contiguous states had a top-10-warmest winter (see Figure 2).
Winter as a whole would have been even more record-smashingly mild had it not been for a sharp few days of cold and widespread snow in mid-to-late January. That month only came in as the nation’s 48th-warmest January, but December’s record warmth and February’s third-place finish pushed the season as a whole to the top of the heat rankings.