Weather Insider: The warmest winter on record for the continental United States

A new report from NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) has found that the 2023-2024 meteorological winter was the warmest on record for the continental United States. As a reminder, meteorological winter runs from December through February. The average temperature for the season was 37.6°F - 5.4° above average. This was the warmest winter on record across 8 states and in the top 10 warmest for another 26 states.

Warm temperatures weren't the only thing that made this winter significant. For instance, the Great Lakes saw the lowest coverage of ice for mid-February at just 2.7%. Also, unusually warm temperatures helped lead to the first February tornado ever recorded in Wisconsin. Closer to home, a series of atmospheric rivers led to one of the wettest Februaries on record for Los Angeles.

As the planet continues to warm, we will continue to see more record-breaking heat events as well as weather-related disasters.