GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — The data confirms what many have felt: the winter of 2023-24 is the warmest on record in the state of Michigan.

A strong El Nino has been creating significantly mild conditions throughout the winter, with impacts most pronounced in the Great Lakes. Through Feb. 22, Michigan’s average temperature has been more than 8 degrees above average, enough for the warmest on record. Wisconsin and Minnesota are also experiencing their warmest winters at 10.4 degrees and 11.4 degrees above average, respectively. Records date back to 1893, 132 winters ago.

While the statewide average temperature is warm enough to be the highest on record, Grand Rapids has experienced an average temperature this winter of 33.3 degrees, just shy of the record 33.9 degrees during the winter of 1931-32 but more than a degree above third place.

Temperature anomalies have been most pronounced in December and February, with each holding temperatures more than 8 degrees above normal, both enough for the second warmest on record. January was lower because of the cold blast that hit during the middle of the month, with eight straight days of a high temperature below 25 degrees.

While mild low temperatures have helped drive up the averages, warm high temperatures are to blame as well. More than two-thirds of December and January saw an above-average high temperature, with February seeing 86% of highs above average through the 22nd.

The cold stretch in mid-January also delivered more than 75% of the measly 40 inches of snowfall recorded in Grand Rapids this winter. While more snow is possible before the end of winter, Grand Rapids’ total is more than three feet below the seasonal average.

While meteorological winter ends on March 1, Grand Rapids averages more than 7 inches of snow during the month of March. Last winter featured the fourth-snowiest on record, with nearly 2 feet falling.