NOAA has finally gotten their 2012 data set (almost) complete, and it turns out that 2012 was the second warmest year in the US after 1921 – and was slightly warmer than 1931 and 1934

They claim that 2012 was the warmest (by a large margin) because they tamper with the data before releasing it to the public. NOAA subtracted almost 1.5 degrees from the measured 1921 temperature.

CONTIGUOUS UNITED STATES Climate Summary

Most of the anomalous warmth in the US during 2012 occurred during colder seasons, and was manifested by mild winter and springtime temperatures.