Despite a series of arctic air masses blasting the central and eastern U.S. during the first half of the month, January 2015 was warmer than average for the nation as a whole, according to a by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association.

January 2015 Statewide Ranks

Even some of the individual states affected by the bitterly cold conditions ended up warmer than average for the month. The New Year rang in that sent temperatures well below zero, particularly in the Great Plains, Midwest, and Northeast.

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But a long-lasting late-January thaw saw temperatures skyrocket over the western half of the country. Widespread above average temperatures prevailed from the West Coast to the Intermountain areas to the Northern Plains. Seven states -- California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming -- experienced a top 10 warmest January this year.

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Overall, January's average temperature for the continental United States was 33 degrees, which NOAA reports is 2.9 degrees above average. In addition, January 2015 ranked as the 24th warmest January in the 1895-2015 period of record, and it was the warmest January since 2012.

Precipitation Report: Dry January Overall

NOAA reports that the average precipitation throughout the continuous U.S. in January was 1.75 inches (0.65 inches below average), making January 2015 the 18th driest January on record.

January 2015 Statewide Ranks

In particular, for the third January in a row, precipitation in California was well below record. In fact, the monthly statewide precipitation total of 0.68 inches was 3.57 inches below average, making 2015 the fourth driest January on record.

In addition, for the first time in recorded history, . This is concerning, since January is typically the wettest month of the calendar year for California.

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According to the , the U.S. snow cover extended to 1.3 million square miles, which is 75,000 square miles below the 1981-2010 average. This is the 18th smallest January snow cover extent within the period of record. Nevertheless, the development of at the end of January dropped 24.6 inches of snow in Boston, Massachusetts, producing the sixth highest single-storm snowfall total for the city.

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