Record-Warm Autumn Solidifies 2nd-Hottest Year for US

It's almost certain that 2016 will be the second-hottest year on record for the contiguous U.S., with new data showing that November was the second warmest on record for the Lower 48, capping off a record-hot autumn (for the second year in a row).

Through November, 2016 as a whole has been the second hottest in 122 years of record keeping, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Wednesday, and now there’s only one month to go.

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Alaska, meanwhile, continues to see its hottest year by a large margin. All of these temperature records are in line with the broader warming of the planet caused by heat-trapping greenhouse gases that will also help 2016 easily beat out 2015 as the hottest year on record globally.