Fastest Warming Seasons

Climate Central's analysis of 246 U.S. locations since 1970 reveals that winter is the fastest warming season for 74% of these sites, particularly in the Northeast and Great Lakes regions. While winter warming disrupts snowfall and water supplies, other regions experience faster warming in different seasons: western U.S. locations often see faster spring and fall warming, while parts of Washington, Oregon, Texas, and Florida experience the most rapid summer warming. These shifts contribute to increased wildfire risks, altered agricultural cycles, and higher energy demands for cooling.

• Winter has been the fastest warming season for the majority of the analyzed U.S. locations, specifically 74% (182) of the 246 locations studied since 1970. These trends are most concentrated in the Great Lakes region and the Northeast, though they occur nationwide.
• In many western U.S. locations, spring and fall are the fastest warming seasons. This trend leads to earlier mountain snowpack melt, which strains water supplies during peak summer demand, and increases the duration of allergy and pest seasons.
• Rapid summer warming is most prominent in specific states, including Florida, Texas, Oregon, and Washington. This contributes to hazardous humid heat, a higher frequency of extremely hot days, and degraded air quality due to pollutant buildup.
• Seasonal warming affects agriculture and ecology by disrupting the timing of flower blooms, pollination, and migration. Specifically, some migratory birds in the eastern U.S. are failing to keep pace with the earlier arrival of spring, which may harm breeding success and food availability.
• Warming trends impact energy consumption by increasing the demand for cooling. EPA data indicates that electricity use for cooling in the average American home has nearly doubled since 1973.

APA

Crimmins, T., Kolden, C. A., Gleason, K., & Rosemartin, A. (2022). Fastest Warming Seasons. Climate Central. https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-matters/fastest-warming-seasons-2022

Chicago

Crimmins, Theresa, Crystal A. Kolden, Karin Gleason, and Alyssa Rosemartin. Fastest Warming Seasons. Climate Central, 2022. https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-matters/fastest-warming-seasons-2022.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Crimmins |first1=Theresa |last2=Kolden |first2=Crystal A. |last3=Gleason |first3=Karin |last4=Rosemartin |first4=Alyssa |title=Fastest Warming Seasons |publisher=Climate Central |date=16 November 2022 |url=https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-matters/fastest-warming-seasons-2022 |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{crimmins2022fastest, author = {Crimmins, Theresa and Kolden, Crystal A. and Gleason, Karin and Rosemartin, Alyssa}, title = {{Fastest Warming Seasons}}, institution = {Climate Central}, year = {2022}, month = nov, url = {https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-matters/fastest-warming-seasons-2022}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }