December was pretty nasty around southeastern Michigan. Most of the month was extremely cold and only a very warm couple of days in the last week moved the average temperature up to within 4°F of normal.
The February through December average was 2.4°F below normal with most of the cold conditions in the early and late part of the year... adding significantly to heating billings.
All-in-all, 2008 reinforced the downward trend in average temperatures in this area. It is possible that somehow North America is simply a giant anomaly in the inexorable progress of global warming... but I doubt it, seriously...