SLO was 4 degrees hotter on average in 2017 — and even warmer than Paso

San Luis Obispo was on average about 4 degrees warmer than normal in 2017, according to data published by the New York Times.

The New York Times compiled data on more than 3,800 cities from Accuweather to create an interactive graphic. Users can type in whichever city they want and see how the temperatures over the year compared to averages. Last year was the second-hottest year on record, according to the New York Times.

The average temperature for San Luis Obispo was about 63.1 degrees — surprisingly, warmer on average than Paso Robles, the only other SLO County city the New York Times had data on.

The North County city was about 2.3 degrees warmer than average, with the average temperature coming in at 62.1 degrees.

According to PG&E meteorologist John Lindsey, SLO could look warmer now than in the past due to meteorologists now recording the city’s temperature at the airport. In the past, temperature data for San Luis Obispo was historically collected at Cal Poly, which is slightly cooler, Lindsey said.

According to Lindsey, the move took place just a few years ago.

“So we’re seeing is more temperature records in San Luis than we are in Paso Robles,” Lindsey said. “Even though we’re getting higher temperatures in Paso, there’s a greater occurrence in SLO.”

This story was originally published January 24, 2018 at 12:57 PM with the headline "SLO was 4 degrees hotter on average in 2017 — and even warmer than Paso."