Two Winter Americas - California Warmth Nearly Off Scale, NE Buried In Snow, Hammered By Cold
The winter of 2014-15 was among the more unusually divisive such seasons on record, according to new data released on Friday. While the West saw record warmth and dryness, the Midwest and East shivered through brutal cold not seen since the 1930s in some places, along with large amounts of snow. In the end, though, the lower 48 states as a whole averaged out to 2.1 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th century average this winter, ranking as the 19th-warmest winter on record. February, however, was 0.7 degrees Fahrenheit below average, ranking near the median of the 121-year period of record, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
"Many northeastern states had February average temperatures that were the second coldest on record, with several individual cities being record cold," NOAA said in a statement. "Record snowfalls were widespread in the East, while record warmth engulfed much of the West."
EDIT
In addition to California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah and Washington also had their warmest winter on record. An additional five states, from the Rockies to West Coast, including Alaska, had one of their 10 warmest winters on record. In contrast, a mild first half of winter meant that no state had winter temperatures that ranked among the 10 coldest on record, NOAA says, despite the frigid February.
EDIT
Charts from NOAA also tell the divided country story quite effectively. For example, here is a graph (below) of California's average winter temperatures through time, including 2015. The two warmest winters on record occurred during the past two years, worsening the state's long-term, intense drought. A study published last week found that manmade global warming is increasing the chances that a drought would coincide with such warmth, thereby making the drought worse than it otherwise would be.
EDIT
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2015/03/10/3628921/health-ranger/