Last month was coldest February in U.S. in 32 years, but also one of warmest globally

March 19 -- If it felt like last month's bitter cold was chillier than Februarys past, it was. New data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration puts February 2021 as the coldest in more than 30 years.

Last month was the coldest February in the United States since 1989, according to the NOAA report -- and the coldest for the entire world since 2014. In North America, last month was the coldest since 1994.

North America, Scandinavia and northern Asia were all significantly below average in temperature last month. Each of those regions measured temperatures at least 5.4 degrees Fahrenheit below average.

The central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean, Australia and parts of the southern oceans were also notably colder during February than in previous years.

However, not all places experienced below-normal average temperatures. Eastern Canada, western, central, and southeastern Europe and southern and northeastern Asia were notably warmer than average last month.

Back-to-back Sudden-Stratospheric Warming events -- or warming of the air in the atmosphere at an altitude of 4 miles up from the Earth's surface at the North Pole -- likely played a role in the exceptional cold during the month of February, according to AccuWeather Meteorologist Tyler Roys.

This type of warming event at the Arctic can cause wind patterns to change around the pole and can dislodge the polar vortex, a large storm that contains some of the most frigid air on Earth, southward -- and in this case, it directed cold across a large part of the lower 48 states.

A displacement of the polar vortex does not happen every year, Roys explained.

"If it does happen, it doesn't necessarily mean it is always going to impact the United States," he said.

Essentially, when the polar vortex is weakened or dislodged out of the North Pole, a displacement of some of the coldest air from the Arctic can spill into other regions -- and different weather patterns play a role in helping to dictate where that cold will head.

This winter, the polar vortex shifted from its typical residence up in the North Pole twice. The first occurred at the start of 2021 and pushed cold air into far eastern Europe, western Russia -- and historic cold to parts of eastern China, including Beijing, which will host the Winter Olympic Games a year from now.

People queue to fill propane tanks near Dallas, Texas, on February 16 after a rare winter storm swept through the state. Record cold, snow and ice blanketed Texas and millions were left without power -- and heat. File Photo by Ian Halperin/UPI

The second disruption occurred at the end of January and its effects were felt in February. Canada and the central United States were hit with the cold air, as were western Russia, central Europe, Ireland and Britain.

"The difference between the first and the second is that the first was a total displacement of the polar vortex to one side of the hemisphere, while the second one was more likely a split," Roys said.

Despite last month being the coldest February in seven years, it was still pretty warm in the grand scheme of things.

February ended up being the coldest in years and the 16th-warmest February on record worldwide. In the Northern Hemisphere, it was the 14th-warmest. The global surface temperature last month was 1.17 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than the 20th-century average.

Only Russia experienced an overall colder winter than usual this year.

Residents across the southern United States were also hit with a historic deep freeze that reached far south into Texas and caused widespread power outages and left millions without heat and electricity. It was Texas' coldest month since December 1989. The NOAA said cities like Austin and Waco broke records for the longest streak of below-freezing temperatures.

Nearly 60 deaths in Texas have so far been blamed on the winter storm, a figure that's still being assessed.

"The majority of storm-related deaths verified to this point were associated with hypothermia," the Texas Department of State Health Services told AccuWeather. "There have also been multiple deaths caused by motor vehicle accident, carbon monoxide poisoning, medical equipment failure, falls and fire."

February ranked in the top 10 coldest months in Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Oklahoma.

A chill that spread over Alaska also contributed to the colder month, as the state experienced its coldest February in 22 years. The temperature at Anchorage, the state's most populous city, never climbed above 30 degrees in February -- which also became the first month to record subfreezing high temperatures every day since 1998.