It has been warm this winter for much of the country. But even with that said, temperatures recorded during a four-day period in late February 2017 across the central and eastern United States were extraordinary for the end of meteorological winter—December through February.

The record-breaking heat started in the Midwest on February 22 before spreading east over the next several days. In particular, high temperatures on February 24 were remarkably warm for the end of February. The map at right shows the daytime high temperature across the contiguous United States on February 24, 2017, using data from NOAA’s Real-Time Mesoscale Analysis (RTMA). A broad swath of the eastern United States observed temperatures that reached into the 70°Fs, a late spring-like temperature. In parts of the South, temperatures were downright summer-ish. Meanwhile, temperatures across the West were markedly cooler.  

More at https://www.climate.gov/news-features/featured-images/late-winter-heatwave-hits-us-february