"While April was an uneventful month temperature-wise in the U.S., with most areas experiencing near-average temperatures, the month was the second-warmest April on record globally, according to new NASA data.

That makes April the 350th month in a row — more than 29 years — with above-average temperatures, largely caused by the buildup of manmade greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere.

The ho-hum record for the U.S., released Tuesday in the monthly climate summary from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is an example of the kind of regional variability that can happen from year-to-year, but doesn’t negate the overall warming trend, said NOAA climate scientist Jake Crouch.

According to the latest NASA data, the planet’s average April temperature was 58.5°F — 1.3°F above the average temperature from 1951-1980. That ranks behind only April 2010 in the warmest Aprils on record. In particular, Europe and Asia saw an extremely warm month."

Andrea Thompson reports for Climate Central May 13, 2014. [2]