ON THIN ICE: How Climate Change is Shaping Winter Recreation

Climate Central's analysis of U.S. weather data from 1970 to 2018 reveals a broad warming trend, with 91% of assessed stations seeing winter temperatures rise by at least 1°F. This warming threatens the winter sports economy, which supported over 191,000 jobs and contributed $11.3 billion to the national economy in the 2015-16 season. The report highlights a decline in below-freezing days and divergent snowfall trends, with significant decreases in the Western U.S. and increases in the Great Lakes region. Future projections suggest that unchecked emissions could rob states like Colorado of more than a month of below-freezing days by midcentury.

• Winter sports have a significant economic impact in the U.S.; in the 2015-16 season, nearly 24 million Americans participated in winter sports, with skiing and snowmobiling alone supporting more than 191,000 jobs and contributing approximately $11.3 billion to the national economy.
• Analysis of 244 U.S. weather stations from 1970 to 2018 shows widespread winter warming: 91% of stations saw average winter temperatures rise by at least 1°F, and 78% warmed by 2°F or more. The most significant warming occurred in traditionally cold locations, such as Burlington, Vermont, where winters warmed 7°F.
• The number of weather stations with average winter temperatures below freezing declined by roughly 11%, dropping from 107 stations in the 1970s to 95 between 2009 and 2018. Cities like Salt Lake City and Boston saw average winter temperatures climb above freezing.
• Future projections indicate that every state in the contiguous U.S. will see fewer below-freezing days by midcentury. In Colorado, unchecked emissions could result in a loss of 34 below-freezing days per year by the 2040-2059 period compared to recent conditions.
• Annual snowfall trends from 1970 to 2018 show stark regional differences. 57 of 107 assessed stations saw declines of at least an inch, with the largest losses in Flagstaff, Arizona (48 inches), Salt Lake City, Utah (31 inches), and Casper, Wyoming (29 inches).
• Conversely, snowfall increased in the Great Lakes region due to warmer water temperatures and more open water, which enhance lake effect snow. The largest increases were recorded in Marquette, Michigan (68 inches), Erie, Pennsylvania (33 inches), and Youngstown, Ohio (30 inches).

APA

Climate Central (2019). ON THIN ICE: How Climate Change is Shaping Winter Recreation. https://assets.climatecentral.org/pdfs/Jan2019_Report_OnThinIce.pdf?pdf=OnThinIce-Report

Chicago

Climate Central. ON THIN ICE: How Climate Change is Shaping Winter Recreation. 2019. https://assets.climatecentral.org/pdfs/Jan2019_Report_OnThinIce.pdf?pdf=OnThinIce-Report.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Central |title=ON THIN ICE: How Climate Change is Shaping Winter Recreation |date=23 January 2019 |url=https://assets.climatecentral.org/pdfs/Jan2019_Report_OnThinIce.pdf?pdf=OnThinIce-Report |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatecentral2019thin, author = {{Climate Central}}, title = {{ON THIN ICE: How Climate Change is Shaping Winter Recreation}}, institution = {Climate Central}, year = {2019}, month = jan, url = {https://assets.climatecentral.org/pdfs/Jan2019_Report_OnThinIce.pdf?pdf=OnThinIce-Report}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }