Global, national, and local warming
For warming, the region once again a bellwether.
The national numbers are in, and we were surprised to learn that the nation had its second-warmest February on record with an average temperature of 41.2 for the contiguous 48 states.
We thought for sure it would be the warmest.
In any event, we did our part.
Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware all experienced their warmest Februaries on record, according to the monthly summary released Wednesday by the National Centers for Environmental Information.
More than half the country, including the entire Northeast experienced its warmest February daily maximums on record, and NCEI reported more than 11,700 daily-high temperature records broken.
To recap, the warmth in the Philadelphia region was other-worldly. The monthly average temperature officially in Philadelphia was 44.2, better than 8 degrees above normal and 2 degrees better than the 42.2 of 1925, the former champ.
In February, 70-degree readings are highly unusual Philadelphia, occurring in only 14 of the 144 Februaries in official recordkeeping.
Last month, however, it reached 70 or better an unprecedented four times, beating the three of 1930.
Incidentally, the warmest February nationally was 1954's, at 41.4. In Philadelphia that year, the February average was 41.2.
The background worldwide warming, which has been more robust on land than it has been globally, is a likely suspect the national balminess last month, if not February 1954's.
Enjoy the cool-down.