February was the 11th month in a row that temperatures in the Northeast averaged above normal and the fourth consecutive month that each of the region's 12 states posted warmer than normal temperature averages, according to Cornell Northeast Regional Climate Center data.

Overall, it was the warmest February in the Northeast since 1998 and the fourth warmest since 1895 -- with an average temperature of 31.6 F. That's 5.2 degrees warmer than normal and 6 degrees warmer than February 2011.

With an average temperature of 31.3 F this winter, it has been the third-warmest winter (December through February) since 1896 in the Northeast, according to climate center data.

The Northeast also averaged well below normal precipitation totals in February. It was the sixth-driest February since 1895, and the driest February since 1987. The region's average of 1.51 inches of precipitation was just over half (56 percent) of normal.

The "wettest" state was Delaware, where the total was 2.89 inches (96 percent of that state's normal amount). Massachusetts and Rhode Island were the driest states in the region, each averaging 31 percent of normal. New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont had their fourth driest February in 118 years; Connecticut, Massachusetts and New York saw its fifth driest.

The Northeast region and each of its states have also averaged below normal precipitation this winter. The region averaged 8.33 inches, which was 90 percent of normal.