March 13, 2026
2 my read
Add us on GoogleAdd SciAm
No US state had a record cold winter. Nine had a record hot one
While it may surprise the East Coast, the story of this winter was not record cold, but record heat
Average temperatures for December through February across the contiguous U.S. Red indicates where the winter was record warm and dark orange where it was well above average. White areas were average and light blue was below average.
For those in the eastern half of the country, this winter seemed like an endless slog of frigid temperatures and stubbornly persistent piles of snow. So it may come as a surprise to many that nowhere in the US had a record cold winter this year. Nowhere came close.
What set a record was heat. The western half of the country spent the winter baking — nine states had their warmest winter on record and five their second warmest — exacerbating drought conditions and increasing the risk of damaging spring and summer wildfires. So much of the country was so warm that, despite the cold in parts of the East, it was the second warmest winter on record for the contiguous United States in 131 years.
“The grass is back for the second time this winter,” said climate scientist Daniel Swain of the California Institute for Water Resources. Scientific American in early February from his home in Colorado.
On supporting science journalism
If you like this article, please consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribes. By purchasing a subscription, you help secure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas that shape our world today.
And for much of the eastern United States, the winter was actually around average. Eight states had below-average temperatures, but they were only in the bottom third of the record books.
The reason why it felt so cold out east and so hot out west is the same: climate change. Winter is the fastest warming season, and the cold snaps are shorter and less cold than they used to be. An analysis of more than 200 locations around the United States by the nonprofit organization Climate Central found that the coldest winter temperatures today are seven degrees Fahrenheit (four degrees Celsius) warmer on average than they were in 1970. So when we get a wave of cold weather, it feels colder than it did in the past because we’re not acclimated to it.
It’s a long-term version of how 60 degrees F (16 degrees C) feels incredibly hot after a cold winter, but refreshingly cool after a hot summer—it’s all a matter of what your body has adapted to.
Climate change also means that even when the weather pattern causes arctic air to flow south, it is not as cold as it once was, making cold records increasingly rare.
“When people complain that all they hear about is record heat (‘Why don’t you ever talk about the record cold?’)—well, that’s why!” Swain wrote in a recent blog post. “Record cold has become a truly rare condition, while record heat now occurs with remarkable and alarming frequency.”
Heat records will continue to pile up as long as heat-trapping greenhouse gases continue to accumulate in the atmosphere. And the west has more record-breaking temperatures in store: a heatwave in the region in mid-March could see the mercury soar above 38C in some places.
It’s time to stand up for science
If you liked this article, I would like to ask for your support. Scientific American has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in its two-century history.
I have been one Scientific American subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I see the world. SciAm always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does for you too.
If you subscribe to Scientific Americanyou help ensure our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten laboratories across the United States; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself is too often not recognised.
In return, you receive important news, captivating podcasts, brilliant infographics, can’t-miss newsletters, must-see videos, challenging games, and the world of science’s best writing and reporting. You can even give someone a subscription.
There has never been a more important time for us to stand up and show why science is important. I hope you will support us in that mission.
