(Note that reporter and those he quotes have no problem attributing the record warmth that California, along with Alaska, Arizona and Nevada experienced last year to global warming, but not the near record cold that seven Midwestern and Mississippi Valley states experienced last year. Record cold: just weather; record heat: global warming. Though in all fairness, last year was the warmest on record, worldwide too, not just in California and the West)
“Driven by climate change and a persistent ridge of high pressure in the Pacific Ocean that caused California's drought, 2014 was the hottest year ever recorded in California history dating back to the late 1800s when modern weather instruments were first used, according to new data released Thursday by federal scientists.”
http://www.mercurynews.com/science/ci_27282528/new-report-2014-was-warmest-year-ever-recorded
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