Ninth warmest February for globe, says NOAA

NOAA: The combined global land and ocean surface average temperature for February 2009 was the ninth warmest since records began in 1880, according to an analysis by NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C. The analyses in NCDC’s global reports are based on preliminary data, which are subject to revision. Additional quality control is applied to the data when later reports are received several weeks after the end of the month and as increased scientific methods improve NCDC’s processing algorithms.
Temperature Highlights – February

• The combined global land and ocean surface temperature for February was 54.80 degrees F, 0.90 degree F above the 20th century mean of 53.9 degrees F, ranking as the ninth warmest on record.
• Separately, the global land surface temperature was 39.38 degrees F, 1.58 degrees F above the 20th century mean of 37.8 degrees F.
• The global ocean surface temperature of 61.25 degrees F ranked as eighth warmest on record and was 0.65 degree F above the 20th century mean of 60.6 degrees F.

Temperature Highlights – Boreal (Meteorological) Winter

• The combined global land and ocean surface temperature for boreal winter (December-February) was 54.72 degrees F, 0.92 degree F above the 20th century mean of 53.8 degrees F and ranking eighth warmest.
• Separately, the global land surface temperature was 39.31 degrees F, 1.51 degrees F above the 20th century mean of 37.8 degrees F, ranking as ninth warmest on record.
• The global ocean surface temperature of 61.20 degrees F ranked as seventh warmest on record and was 0.70 degree F above the 20th century mean of 60.5 degrees F...