During the winter of 2014 and 2015, the US west coast (USWC) experienced record high temperatures extending from Baja California to the Gulf of Alaska. This record warming, as high as 3°C in some areas, greatly impacted the California Current System (CCS) and Gulf of Alaska marine ecosystems. However, tropical Pacific sea surface temperature anomalies were weak during 2014, calling into question their role in the USWC warming period.