U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said on Monday that the past March was the warmest in recorded history, creating hazardous thunderstorms and tornadoes across the country.

According to an NOAA statement, the record and near-record breaking temperatures dominated the eastern two-thirds of the country and contributed to the warmest March on record for the contiguous United States, a record that dates back to 1895.

It said the average temperature of 51.1 degrees Fahrenheit was 8.6 degrees above the 20th century average for March and 0.5 degrees warmer than the previous warmest March in 1910.

A persistent weather pattern during the month led to 25 states east of the Rocky Mountains having their warmest March on record. An additional 15 states had monthly temperatures ranking among their ten warmest. That same pattern brought cooler-than-average conditions to the West Coast states of Washington, Oregon, and California.

In addition, every state in the country experienced a record warm daily temperature during March. Hundreds of locations across the U.S. broke their all-time March records.

The warmer-than-average conditions across the eastern U.S. also created an environment favorable for severe thunderstorms and tornadoes. According to NOAA's Storm Prediction Center, there were 223 preliminary tornado reports during March, a month that averages 80 tornadoes. The majority of the tornadoes occurred during the March 2-3 outbreak across the Ohio Valley and southeast, which caused 40 fatalities and damages exceeding 1.5 billion U.S. dollars.

In fact, not only March, according to the NOAA, but the entire first three months of 2012 were also record warm for the contiguous United States with an average temperature of 42 degrees, which is 6 degrees above the long-term average.