February global temperature records smashed

Some stunning news from the first temperature data set to come in for February. Global satellite temperature records for February show it was the warmest month ever compared to average globally.

Satellite data analyzed by the University of Alabama Huntsville shows February's record departure from average. The off the charts magnitude of the record is opening some eyes.

Dr. Roy Spencer from UAH elaborates. Here are some excerpts.

The Version 6.0 global average lower tropospheric temperature (LT) anomaly for February, 2016 is +0.83 deg. C, up almost 0.3 deg C from the January value of +0.54 deg. C (click for full size version), which is a new record for the warmest monthly anomaly since satellite monitoring began in late 1978.

The February warmth is likely being dominated by the warm El Nino conditions, which tends to have peak warmth in the troposphere close to February…but it appears that isn’t the whole story, since the tropical anomaly for February 2016 (+0.99 C) is still about 0.3 C below the February 1998 value during the super-El Nino of that year. In addition to the expected tropical warmth, scattered regional warmth outside the tropics led to a record warm value for extratropical Northern Hemispheric land areas, with a whopping +1.46 C anomaly in February…fully 0.5 deg. C above any previous monthly anomaly (!):

Slate's Eric Holthaus has some interesting perspective and context of just how far out of balance this winter has been across the globe.

Our planet’s preliminary February temperature data are in, and it’s now abundantly clear: Global warming is going into overdrive.

There are dozens of global temperature datasets, and usually I (and my climate journalist colleagues) wait until the official ones are released about the middle of the following month to announce a record-warm month at the global level. But this month’s data is so extraordinary that there’s no need to wait: February obliterated the all-time global temperature record set just last month.

Using unofficial data and adjusting for different base-line temperatures, it appears that February 2016 was likely somewhere between 1.15 and 1.4 degrees warmer than the long-term average, and about 0.2 degrees above last month—good enough for the most above-average month ever measured. (Since the globe had already warmed by about +0.45 degrees above pre-industrial levels during the 1981-2010 base-line meteorologists commonly use, that amount has been added to the data released today.)

Keep in mind that it took from the dawn of the industrial age until last October to reach the first 1.0 degree Celsius, and we’ve come as much as an extra 0.4 degrees further in just the last five months. Even accounting for the margin of error associated with these preliminary datasets, that means it’s virtually certain that February handily beat the record set just last month for the most anomalously warm month ever recorded. That’s stunning.

It also means that for many parts of the planet, there basically wasn’t a winter. Parts of the Arctic were more than 16 degrees Celsius (29 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than “normal” for the month of February, bringing them a few degrees above freezing, on par with typical June levels, in what is typically the coldest month of the year. In the United States, the winter was record-warm in cities coast to coast. In Europe and Asia, dozens of countries set or tied their all-time temperature records for February. In the tropics, the record-warmth is prolonging the longest-lasting coral bleaching episode ever seen.

 

Twin Cities:  8th warmest winter on record 

Here in Minnesota it was the 8th warmest winter on record.

• +5.4 degrees winter temps vs. average at MSP Airport.

• 8th warmest winter on record in the Twin Cities.

February came in 4 degrees warmer than average in the Twin Cities. It was the 7th consecutive warmer than average month in Minnesota, a string of warm months dating back to last September.

It was even warmer in western Minnesota and the Dakotas last month. Here's the February snapshot from the Midwest Regional Climate center.

Several U.S. Cities had the first or second warmest winter on record according to Capital Weather Gang's Jason Samenow.

The record warm satellite reading in February follows news that meteorological winter (encompassing December, January and February) was among the warmest on record in many parts of the northern contiguous United States and Alaska. The Weather Channel reported the following cities had their warmest and second-warmest winters on record:

Warmest: Albany, N.Y.; Allentown, Pa.; Barrow, Alaska; Burlington, Vt.; Caribou, Maine; Concord, N.H.; Minot, N.D.; and Providence, R.I.

Second-warmest: Anchorage; Boston; Buffalo; Flint, Mich.; Hartford, Conn.; Medford, Ore.; New York; and Wichita.

Was I the only one noticed voters in Alaska in sweatshirts with no snow on the ground on Super Tuesday? It's been a record mild winter in much of Alaska.

After two months 2016 is on pace to surpass 2015 as the warmest year on record globally. Most climate watchers expect a fading El Nino and the development of a potential La Nina by next winter to trim global temperatures later this year. The question is will it come soon enough to prevent 2016 from becoming the next 'new warmest year' on record?

Stay tuned.