January Wasn’t Nearly as Cold as You Thought

Last month was the second-warmest January on record, according to new data released Thursday, despite the frigid temperatures that had many on the East Coast shivering.

Land and sea temperatures across the globe were on average 1.39 degrees Fahrenheit above the average for January, and on land temperatures were 2.57 degrees higher than normal, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Temperatures have only been higher once since the agency began tracking temperatures in 1880—in 2007, when the average land temperature was 3.31 degrees higher than normal throughout the month of January. According to NASA, 2014 was the hottest year since 1880.

While the East Coast faced a typical winter chill in January, the West Coast’s heat was more dramatic, USA Today reports. Seven states had the one of the 10 hottest January’s on record, while no states faced record cold.