A Warm Cooldown: Global Feb. Temperatures "Only" 21st Warmest

The latest National Climatic Data Center global temperatures came out this morning, and worldwide, February, 2014 was the 21st warmest of the past 134 years.  

Two cold bullseyes, one in North America, one in eastern
Europe dragged down global temperatures a bit in
February, 2014, but overall it was a warmer
than normal month. Add caption

This represents a "cooldown" of sorts. The global warming denial club is going to have a field day with this, saying it's "proof" global warming is a myth.

But the data says no such thing.

February on a global scale was still quite a bit warmer than average, and it was the 348th consecutive month of worldwide warmer than average temperatures.

Most months in recent years have scored in the Top 10 warmest.  February's comparatively modest global warmth isn't a trend, though.

Now, if the world kept cooling down more and more month after month and year after year going into the future, that would be something to look at.

But the science so far tells me that continued "cooldown" won't happen.

It will be interesting how the rest of the months in 2014 pan out, especially if an El Nino develops. El Ninos tend to boost global temperatures a bit..

In February, 2014, central North America, parts of eastern Europe and northwestern Asia were very cold, compared to normal, while most of the rest of the world was warmer than. In some places, like Alaska, California and Scandanavia, it was way, way, way warmer than normal.

I'll be waiting for some analysis to share with you as to why this February didn't crack the Top 10 warmest on a global scale. But notice the extremes in the Northern Hemisphere. A wildly wavy jet stream that was stuck in place during February made some regions in the north hugely warmer than normal, while others were extremely cold.

I found it interesting that the data showed that worldwide ocean temperatures were the 7th warmest on record in February. But measurements taken exclusively on land showed terra firma was only 44th warmest on record in February, 2014.

Attention analysts who are above my pay scale:  Please offer more explanations as to why February, 2014 was wicked warm globally, but not near record warm like it's been in previous months.

Readers: I'll share any interesting information climate scientists offer.