Climate change is making the world, on average, a warmer place. The United States is no exception.
The graph above shows average temperature data for the last 117 meteorological winters (December through February, 1895-96 to 2011-2012) for the contiguous 48 states, taken directly from the National Climatic Data Center, an arm of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The red line is the long-term trend line; while it doesn't capture smaller-scale trends, it shows that overall the Lower 48 has been warming at a rate of 1.66 degrees Fahrenheit per century during the period of record.
However, not all states have warmed equally. In the next pages, we'll look at the states that have warmed the most -- but first, we start with nine states that are actually going the opposite direction -- what you might call "local cooling."
See whether you notice any patterns as we guide you through the charts on the next several pages.
Alabama is in a tie for the state with the largest cooling trend in the winter months; its temperatures have fallen at a rate of 0.6 degree per century.
As the graph clearly shows, Alabama's seven warmest winters on record all occurred before 1960.
Click on the Next button to see which state tied Alabama's cooling trend and to step through the rest of these pages.
Being a neighbor to Alabama, perhaps it's not surprising that Mississippi ties for the largest winter cooling trend in the country over the long-term, dropping 0.6 degree per century.
Like Alabama, Mississippi's seven warmest winters on record were all before 1960.
Louisiana has cooled at a rate of 0.4 degree per century over the past 117 winters, the third-fastest cooling rate in the nation. Its nine warmest winters were all before 1960.
Arkansas has a long-term cooling trend of 0.3 degree per century. Of its 11 warmest winters on record, 10 of them were before 1960.
Like its Southern neighbors, Georgia winters just aren't quite as mild as they used to be; the state's eight warmest winters were all before 1960. Georgia's long-term cooling rate is 0.3 degree per century.
South Carolina is also cooling at a rate of 0.3 degree per century. Its ten warmest winters were all before 1980, and eight of those were before 1960.
The Volunteer State has perhaps volunteered to give up some of its winter warmth, albeit just 0.2 degree per century over the long term. Its five warmest winters on record all pre-date 1960.
The data is a bit noisier for Texas; nevertheless, four of its five warmest winters were before 1960, and three of its five coldest winters have come since 1970. Overall, Texas shares Tennessee's cooling rate of 0.2 degree per century.
The Sunshine State has pretty much flatlined in terms of winter temperatures since the 1890s, at least in the big picture. Its warmest winters on record are clearly quite a long time ago, but recent winters have not been as frequently cool as they were in the 1960s and 1970s.
Next, let's take a look at the top ten states with the fastest-warming winters.
Connecticut has warmed at a rate of 2.4 degrees per century since 1895, a rate of change that dwarfs that of any of the cooling Southern states. And it's only tied for the ninth-fastest warming winters in the country.
Connecticut's three warmest winters have all occurred since 1998.
Utah ties Connecticut with a warming rate of 2.4 degrees per century, long term. The trend is largely due to a reduced frequency of colder winters; in other words, the lows just aren't as low these days.
Marylanders' coldest winters seem to be long behind them; the ten coldest winters were all before 1980, and the four coldest were all before 1940. The state is warming at a rate of 2.5 degrees per century.
If Minnesota's warming trend continues, there will be a lot more thin ice to watch out for in future winters. Seven of the state's eight warmest winters have occurred since 1980. The long-term trend is +2.5 degrees per century.
The Silver State's winter climate is warming at a rate of 2.5 degrees per century. Like its neighbor, Utah, it seems that a reduced frequency of bitterly cold winters is driving the warming trend in Nevada.
There's not quite as much shivering going on in South Dakota in recent winters. While nine of the past 23 winters (1990-2012) have been colder than average, that leaves 14 warmer-than-average winters -- and seven of those rank among the top 10 warmest South Dakota winters on record.
The state's long-term winter warming rate is 2.5 degrees per century.
The Garden State might be growing vegetables in the winter if the long-term trend keeps up. The long-term trend is +2.7 degrees per century. The chart clearly shows that bitterly cold winters are becoming increasingly rare, while three of the four warmest winters have come since 1998 (including 2011-12, the fourth-warmest).
Vermont is warming at a rate of 3.1 degrees per century. Its eight coldest winters on record were all before 1960, while its warmest was just 11 winters ago in 2001-02.
New Hampshire's winter temperatures have been warming at a rate of 3.5 degrees per century. The Granite State's ten coldest winters on record were all before 1960, while its two warmest winters have been in this century: 2001-02 and 2011-12.
By far the fastest winter warming trend in the Lower 48 belongs to North Dakota, where winter temperatures have been trending upward at an alarming rate of 4.7 degrees per century.
Eight of the state's ten warmest winters have come since 1983, but the last winter to rank among the 10 coldest was 1978-79.
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