U.S. has warmest winter on record – and no, that's not a good thing

In Minnesota, a lack of cold shutdown youth hockey games this winter. Ice cover on the Great Lakes was at historic lows in February. Snow cover disappeared on ski trails in Vermont. Texas saw the largest wildfire in state history, driven by heat and low humidity.

The lower 48 states just had the warmest winter in 130 years of record-keeping, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Temperatures were more than 5 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than average.

Winters are warming faster than any other season in most of the U.S. As humans add heat-trapping gasses to the atmosphere, the coldest places and coldest temperatures are being affected the most, having profound implications for food and water supplies.