Somehow, I don't think those in the Midwest are convinced

This just in my e-mail from CNN:

2014 was Earth's warmest year on record, a U.S. weather agency announced today, with average temperatures 0.07 degrees Fahrenheit above the previous high.
The National Climatic Data Center, a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, noted the average temperatures over land and oceans were higher in 2014 than any year since 1880, when record-keeping began.
This past December also had the third-highest average global land temperature -- out of any December in the past 135 years -- at 2.45 degrees Fahrenheit above average, according to the same agency.

The problem with climatology is that it deals in averages, and local conditions may not fit averages. I think the midwesterners who were dealing with temperatures down to -50 F in December *might* find this data hard to believe.