State Sees Warmest Winter Since 2002

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) - - A meteorologist says Indiana's mild winter, that's lured some spring flowers into early bloom, has been the state's warmest in a decade.

Senior National Weather Service Meteorologist Michael Koch in Indianapolis says Indiana's winter has averaged temperatures about 5.6 degrees warmer than normal, making it the warmest since 2002.

He says through Feb. 16, it's been Indiana's eleventh warmest winter, based on weather records that go back 142 years.

Koch tells the Herald-Times of Bloomington that the mild weather is likely due to a cooling of the central Pacific (known as La Nina) that's forced the jet stream further north. That means cold, snowy weather has stayed farther north as well, giving the state a mild winter.