Analysis: ‘Which Year Was Most Extreme?’ in U.S. ‘2012 came out first & 2nd most extreme on the top 2 categories, respectively’

‘The winter in 1936 was the 2nd coldest on record. Only the winter of 1979 was colder.
The summer of 1936 was the hottest on record.
Annually, 2012 was warmest, whereas 1936 was ranked 72.

So, a very hot summer and very cold winter in 1936 cancelled each other out, to something about average! It is no surprise then that the “US Climate Extremes Index” for maximum temperature shows 1936 as one of the least extreme on record, while 2012 is top.

So, which year really was the more extreme?