by Winter is here, but for most of the United States, it’s feeling less and less like it.
At 10:27 pm ET Thursday, the Earth’s Northern Hemisphere will be at its furthest from the sun, marking the winter solstice: the shortest day of the year and the official start of the coldest season.
But winter is warming rapidly due to human-caused climate change and is affecting snow, tourism, winter sports, local economies, dinner plates and even allergies.
The winter period from December to February is now the fastest warming of the three-month seasons for nearly 75% of the US, according to an analysis of NOAA temperature data by Climate Central, a nonprofit climate research group.
The analysis looked at average winter temperatures for 240 locations across the US and found that the winter warming trend covers every corner of the map – 97%, or 233, of the spots have warmed since 1970.
Winter temperatures have increased an average of 3.8 degrees Fahrenheit since 1970 in these warming locations. Winter in the fastest cities is warming up to 7 degrees.
The Northeast and Upper Midwest are the fastest warming regions, running nearly 5 degree winter temperatures. This includes several ski towns such as Burlington, Vermont, (degree increase 7.7) and Concord, New Hampshire (degree increase 6.6). Winters in notoriously cold Milwaukee are now 6.7 degrees warmer on average.
For many, a little extra winter warmth might be a plus. But milder winters come with consequences.
“Winter plays an important role in the life cycles of plants, animals and insects, in recharging freshwater supplies, and in sustaining snow and ice for winter recreation, which supports local economies,” said Lauren Casey, meteorologist at Climate Central .
A warmer winter doesn’t mean it’s sweltering like summer all season – there will still be cold days in a warmer climate. But the winter cold will be less frequent and less extreme. As the average temperature rises, it will leave less room for very cold swings.
Cold snaps across the U.S. are now an average of six days shorter than they were in 1970, Climate Central data show. And while cold temperatures will occasionally break records, they are much more likely to surpass warm records.
There are twice as many record warm temperatures as cold records in 2023. At night, the discrepancy widens, and the number of warm low temperatures is a record high compared to cold temperatures on record, NOAA data shows.
Overnight minimum temperatures are warming faster in winter than in any other season since records began in 1896. Winter overnight temperatures have been warming at a rate of 1.78 degrees per century since 1900 – 25% faster than the rate of winter highs during the day, according to CNN. analysis of NOAA data.
A Central Climate analysis of overnight low temperatures at 231 locations in the US found that 88%, or 204 cities, had a long-term decrease in the average number of freezing nights each year since 1970.
Reno, Nevada now averages 91 fewer freezing nights each year, losing more than anywhere else on the list. Cities in Nevada, Arizona, California and Florida that used to have freezing nights are no longer feeling the cold.
Even cities known for cold snaps — like Buffalo, New York, Chicago, New York City, Boston, and Detroit — no longer have two or three weeks of freezing nights a year.
These changes are bad news for some industries that rely on predictable cold weather.
A study by the International Olympic Committee found that rising temperatures could cause the ski season to “start up to a month later and finish up to three months earlier,” threatening to cost $1 billion in revenue. the US economy, according to a 2018 study by the climate advocacy group POW and REI.
On farms in the United States, the $27 billion fruit and nut industry is losing time to cool and warm the winter – which is necessary for the crops to cool temperatures that allow them to bloom properly in the spring, another Central Climate analysis found.
For example, viable cooling time in California’s fertile Central Valley, where 40% of US fruit and nuts are grown, could drop 25% by the end of the 21st century, the US Department of Agriculture said.
With less cooling time, there may be less produce like walnuts, pistachios, and cherries to go around, and what’s left is likely to be of poorer quality, the USDA said.
“There could be impacts, of course, on food companies, as well as increased food prices that could add to or exacerbate food insecurity,” Casey told CNN.
The warmer and longer growing season also increases exposure to pests and pollen, making allergies worse.
Even worse, for winter lovers: The season of sniffles and sneezes will be here sooner than you might expect – a warming winter is causing spring to start weeks early.
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