February global surface TempLS up 0.163°C from January; warmest February in record.

The TempLS FEM anomaly (1961-90 base) was 1.256°C in February, up from 1.093°C in January. It was the warmest February in the record, ahead of 1.16°C in 2016. The NCEP/NCAR reanalysis base index rose by 0.061°C.

It was very warm in N America, most of Europe, and the Arctic. Cold patches in Central Asia and far NE Siberia. Antarctica was cold.
Here is the temperature map, using the FEM-based map of anomalies. Use the arrows at bottom to see different 2D projections.

As always, the 3D globe map gives better detail. There are more graphs and a station map in the ongoing report which is updated daily.

Here is the updated stacked plot of monthly values

This post is part of a series that has now run since 2011. The TempLS mesh data is reported here, and the recent history of monthly readings is here. Unadjusted GHCN is normally used, but if you click the TempLS button there, it will show data with adjusted, and also with different integration methods. There is an interactive graph using 1981-2010 base period here which you can use to show different periods, or compare with other indices. There is a general guide to TempLS here.

The reporting cycle starts with the TempLS report, usually about the 8th of the month. Then when the GISS result comes out, usually about the 15th, I discuss it and compare with TempLS. The TempLS graph uses the FEM solution on a regular near equal area grid on the sphere ; the residuals are displayed more directly using a triangular grid in a WebGL plot here.

A list of earlier monthly reports of each series in date order is here:

1. NCEP/NCAR Reanalysis report
2. TempLS report
3. GISS report and comparison with TempLS