Warmest Winter Days

Analysis of 240 U.S. weather stations shows that 86% of locations have experienced an increase in unusually warm winter days since 1970, with the most significant rises occurring in the Upper Midwest, Southeast, and Northeast. Winter is the fastest-warming season for 74% of the analyzed locations. These trends are accompanied by a decrease in freezing nights, shorter cold snaps, and a rise in the temperature of the coldest day of the year. The document notes that winter warming affects agriculture, water supplies, public health via allergy and mosquito seasons, and winter sports.

• Winter is the fastest-warming season for 74% of the 240 U.S. locations analyzed by Climate Central.
• Since 1970, 86% of the analyzed U.S. locations (206 out of 240) have seen an increase in the number of unusually warm winter days, with these locations experiencing five more such days on average.
• The increase in unusually warm winter days was most pronounced in the Northeast, Southeast, and Upper Midwest, while decreases were concentrated in the western U.S., particularly Idaho.
• Other winter temperature trends since 1970 include a reduction in freezing nights across 204 locations, a shrinking of winter cold snaps in 97% of 244 analyzed locations, and an average 7F increase in the temperature of the coldest day of the year across 242 locations.
• Winter warming has broad consequences, including longer allergy and growing seasons, disruption of chill requirements for fruit and nut crops, altered snowfall and water supply timing, reduced home heating demand, and increased mosquito activity.

APA

Climate Central (2024). Warmest Winter Days. https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-matters/warmest-winter-days

Chicago

Climate Central. Warmest Winter Days. 2024. https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-matters/warmest-winter-days.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Central |title=Warmest Winter Days |date=31 January 2024 |url=https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-matters/warmest-winter-days |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatecentral2024warmest, author = {{Climate Central}}, title = {{Warmest Winter Days}}, institution = {Climate Central}, year = {2024}, month = jan, url = {https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-matters/warmest-winter-days}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }