"ASHEVILLE, North Carolina, April 10, 2012 (ENS) - Record-high temperatures prevailed across the eastern two-thirds of the nation in March, adding up to the warmest March for the lower 48 states since recordkeeping began in 1895, the National Climatic Data Center reports."

"The first quarter of 2012 was also the warmest on record; and the early March tornado outbreak across the Ohio Valley and Southeast, which caused 40 fatalities, is year's first "billion dollar disaster," the center said.

Every state in the nation experienced at least one record warm daily temperature during March, and more than 15,200 warm temperature records were broken during the month, says the Asheville-based center, which is a part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA. "

Environment News Service had the story April 10, 2012. [2]