Hot winter?

Park City finally got some decent snow in January and February in spite of a rather warm winter. While we observe a lowest temperature of -11 degrees Farenheit last winter, we only registered 0 once this year. In fact, the continental US just experienced the warmest winter in 130 years of record-keeping, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

Temperatures were more than 5 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than average! According to the Agency, our winters are warming faster than any other season in most of the country. As humans add green-house gasses to the atmosphere, the coldest places and coldest temperatures are not so frigid anymore, leaving huge implications for food and water supplies.

From December to February, the biggest temperature effects were in the Upper Midwest, Great Lakes and Northeast. In February, Alaska was 10.3 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than average. It was also the hottest February on record globally, according to the European Union climate agency Copernicus. These warm temperatures come on the heels of a record year in 2023. 

Scientists found it was the hottest year recorded, driven by both human-caused warming and a strong El Niño climate pattern, causing large amounts of heat stored in the ocean to be widely released and circulated around the planet, messing up both temperatures and weather patterns. 

If warmer winter temperatures can spell relief to some, the impacts are not for the better. Mosquitoes can appear earlier in the spring, increasing the spreading of disease, some crops, like fruit and nut trees need enough cold every winter to literally chill out in order to stay productive. 

A shrinking snow-pack in the West affects water supply for millions of people as states from Colorado to California depend on the slow melt of mountain snow during the spring and summer for irrigation. Let’s just hope that it’s not yet the beginning of a devastating trend. 

At any rate, let’s make sure to keep skiing while we still can!