2012 was record warm year in much of Missouri

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Credit jetsandzeppelins / Flickr

Hot child in Missouri.

If you're a Missourian and felt hot under the collar last year, there is good reason.

The National Weather Service says 2012 was the warmest year on record in St. Louis and Columbia, and was among the warmest in other cities.

St. Louis recorded an average temperature of 61.2 degrees for last year, a full 1.1 degrees higher than the previous mark set in 1921.

In Columbia, the average temperature of 59.4 degrees topped the 1938 record.

In other Missouri locations, Springfield's 2012 average temperature was the second-warmest for that city. Kansas City tied for its third-warmest year, Joplin's was fourth and St. Joseph's tied for sixth.