BEYOND THE FORECAST: THE FASTEST WARMING CITIES AND STATES IN AMERICA AND ABOUT TEMPERATURE CHANGE.

Temperatures have risen at nearly 98% of U.S. cities since 1970. Ten cities have warmed by at least 4 degrees, and 59, have warmed by at least 3 degrees. New Jersey is one of the fastest warming cities in America. Its average temperature has climbed by close to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) since 1895 - double the average for the Lower 48 states.  Today, more than 1 in 10 Americans - 34 million people - are living in rapidly heating regions, including New York City and Los Angeles.  Alaska is the fastest-warming state in the country, but Rhode Island is the first state in the Lower 48 whose average temperature rise has eclipsed 2 degrees Celsius. Other parts of the Northeast - New Jersey, Connecticut, Maine and Massachusetts - trail close behind.  Nationwide, trends are clear. Starting in the late 1800s, U.S. temperatures began to rise and continued slowly up through the 1930s. The nation then cooled slightly for several decades. But starting around 1970, temperatures rose steeply. Along the Canadian border, a string of counties from eastern Montana to Minnesota are quickly heating up. The topography of warming varies. It is intense at some high elevations, such as in Utah and Colorado, and along some highly populated coasts: Temperatures have risen by 35 degrees F 2 Degrees C in Los Angeles and three neighboring counties. New York City is also warming rapidly, and so are the very different areas around it, such as the beach resorts in the Hamptons and leafy Westchester County.   The Northeast is warming especially fast.  NOAA data shows that in every Northeast state except Pennsylvania, the temperatures of the winter months of December through February have risen by 35 degrees F 2 degrees Celsius since 1895-1896. And U.S. Geological Survey data shows that ice breaks up in New England lakes nine to 16 days earlier than in the 19th century. This doesn't mean the states can't have extreme winters anymore. Polar vortex events, in which frigid Arctic air descends into the heart of the country, can still bring biting cold. But the overall trend remains the same and is set to continue. One recent study found that by the time the entire globe crosses 2 degrees Celsius, the Northeast can expect to have risen by about 3 degrees Celsius (5.4 degrees Fahrenheit), with winter temperatures higher still.