Though it was only figured out a little while ago. Since we've had discussions on this topic in the past, I thought some people might be interested. Here\'s the link I found that seemed to best summarize the results. Key paragraph:

Quote
NASA has now silently released corrected figures, and the changes are truly astounding. The warmest year on record is now 1934. 1998 (long trumpeted by the media as record-breaking) moves to second place. 1921 takes third. In fact, 5 of the 10 warmest years on record now all occur before World War II. Anthony Watts has put the new data in chart form, along with a more detailed summary of the events.
There are links in the original.

PJ
who's been "enjoying" triple-digit heat this week... yesterday we almost broke the record, set in 1988...

"You told me you weren't like other men," she said, shaking her head at him when the storm of laughter had passed.
He grinned at her - a goofy, Clark Kent kind of a grin. "I have a gift for understatement."
"You can say that again," she told him.
"I have a...."
"Oh, shut up."

--Stardust, Caroline K