The U.S. is seeing its warmest period in recorded history. “The latest one-, two-, three-, four- and five year periods — ending in March — rank as the warmest in 122 years of record-keeping for the Lower 48 states, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,” says The Washington Post.
The effects of climate change have been felt around the nation. Chicago experienced several 70-degree days in February, and Spring began as much as three weeks earlier in the Southeast this year. “In November [2016], the nation was nearly snow-free in the middle of the month for the first time on record,” says the Post.
Unusually warm days are becoming normal occurrences, but extremely cold days are less frequent — suggesting that the patterns of climate change are leaning decidedly toward rising temperatures, says the Post.