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It has never been so hot in February in the US. Here's why that's not good

2023-02-23T15:32:29.165Z


As parts of the western and northern US face a winter storm, much of the rest of the country is experiencing heat never before felt during February.


This is what the winter storm looks like in the United States 1:03

(CNN) --

As parts of the western and northern United States grapple with a winter storm with blizzard conditions and significant snowfall, much of the rest of the country is experiencing summer-like heat that has never been felt before. during February.

More than 130 cities, from the Gulf of Mexico to the Great Lakes, could break new records for daily and monthly maximum temperatures this week.

Highs will reach 26.6 degrees Celsius in areas as far north as Ohio and West Virginia, unusual indeed, but less so with the warming climate.

Here's a stark example: Before this decade, Charleston, West Virginia, had only hit 26.6 degrees Celsius before March three times in more than 100 years of records.

But this week's incredible heat will mean that in four of the last six years it will have seen temperatures of 26.6 degrees Celsius in February, which is its normal high on June 1.

This is how temperatures are in the US right now: one part experiences cold from winter storms, while the other sees warm temperatures above average.

(Credit: CNN Weather)

Record heat in February — a time when it's supposed to still feel like winter — might not sound like such a bad thing, but its negative consequences ripple through the plant world, sports, tourism and agriculture.

And it's another clear sign that our planet is warming rapidly, experts say.

"Whenever these events occur, we should think that there is a possibility or probability that human-induced climate change is increasing the probability of freak weather events," Richard Seager, a climate researcher at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory at Columbia University.

"The longer it goes on, the more tremendous damage they can do."

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  • Winter storms in the US, live: news, forecast snow, rain and more

deathly thin ice

A satellite image taken on February 13 shows that only about 7% of the Great Lakes are covered in ice, which is significantly below average for this time of year.

(Credit: NASA)

On the Great Lakes, ice cover reached a record low for this time of year, the same time that the maximum annual ice extent usually occurs.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), last week only 7% of the five freshwater lakes were covered with ice, which is a big difference from the 35-40% that usually occurs. mid to late February.

  • Antarctic sea ice hits record lows again: Is it "the beginning of the end"? scientists wonder

According to NOAA scientists, ice on the Great Lakes is on a downward trend.

A recent study revealed a 70% decline in lake ice cover between 1973 and 2017.

The shrinking ice of the Great Lakes each winter may not appear to have a detrimental impact, but that ice acts as a buffer for large wind-driven waves in winter, the scientists reported.

Without ice, shorelines are more susceptible to erosion and flooding.

Ayumi Fujisaki-Manome, a research scientist with NOAA's Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research at the University of Michigan, said the poor ice cover could also set the stage for another severe lake-effect blizzard like the one that suffered Buffalo, New York, in December.

"Moisture and heat from the lake's surface water are sucked into the atmosphere by storm systems, then fall back to the ground as snow in winter," Fujisaki-Manome said in a statement.

The shore of Lake Champlain on February 16.

The lake near the access area is covered in ice, but authorities are warning fishermen to stay off the lake because unusually warm temperatures have made it unsafe.

(Credit: Wilson Ring/AP)

Thin ice has already had deadly consequences in New England.

On Vermont's Lake Champlain, the annual ice fishing tournament was canceled last weekend when three anglers died after falling through the ice.

The body of one of them was found hours after they were expected to return home from the lake, while the other two died after their utility vehicle drove through the ice.

Montpelier, Vermont, this year had its warmest January on record since 1948, and Burlington posted its fifth warmest January since 1884, according to the Burlington National Weather Service.

Robert Wilson, professor of geography and the environment at Syracuse University, said the Northeast as a whole is now a "rapid warming region," with winter seasons warming faster than summers due to the climate crisis.

And he underscored how this trend threatens some of New England's most cherished winter activities.

"In the coming decades, winter, as most people understand it, will be shorter and warmer, with less snow and more rain," Wilson said.

"This poses a serious threat to winter recreational activities: snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, and downhill skiing."

The risk to food crops

Daffodils bloom in Norfolk, Virginia, last Tuesday.

(Credit: Kendall Warner/The Virginian-Pilot/AP)

Plants are blooming much earlier than usual in much of the country, a clear sign that spring is just around the corner, or in some places it has already arrived.

"Spring is getting early in much of the southern and eastern US," Brad Rippey, a meteorologist with the US Department of Agriculture, told CNN.

"Here in the mid-Atlantic, that means everything from budding trees to blooming crocuses to spring blackbirds making a lot of noise, and in February no less."

Many species of plants - such as daffodils, witch hazel, forsythia and even cherry blossoms - are beginning to sprout in the east of the country.

Theresa Crimmins, director of the US National Phenology Network, says it's the plants that respond to very early warm temperatures.

"Plants, especially those in temperate systems, respond to a number of cues to wake up in spring, such as cold exposure in winter, heat exposure in spring, and day length," he explained to CNN.

Dead or dying peach trees in Carlson Orchards, Massachusetts.

Temperatures have dipped below freezing in recent weeks, after abnormal heat in January threatened the harvest.

(Credit: Lane Turner/The Boston Globe/Getty Images)

If another cold snap follows an early warm spell, Crimmins says it could be disruptive and detrimental to the plant cycle.

As flower buds develop, many species lose their ability to tolerate cold temperatures, meaning a frost could kill off flowers and leave fruit crops and other staples vulnerable to spring frosts.

Rippey said warm winters followed by a spring frost have become more common in recent years.

In 2017, for example, a severe spring frost in March damaged several fruit crops—peaches, blueberries, apples, and strawberries—in states like Georgia and South Carolina, at an economic cost of roughly $1.2 billion.

"As nice as it is to have temperatures between 21 and 26 degrees Celsius at this time of year, the fact that it's not 'normal' can have a profound impact on the ecosystem," says Rippey.

"Even a typical spring frost can damage backyard and commercial fruit crops that have been pushed into blooming by late winter heat."

It's not just a US problem.

India issued its first heat wave alert, with temperatures in some states reaching 39 degrees Celsius (102 Fahrenheit), that is, up to 9 degrees Celsius above normal, according to data released Monday by the India Meteorological Department. India.

"Heat wave warnings already in February are a scary situation," Krishna AchutaRao, a professor at the Center for Atmospheric Sciences at the Indian Institute of Technology in Delhi, told CNN.

There are fears of a repeat of last year's deadly heat wave, which scorched swaths of India and Pakistan.

The searing heat has devastating consequences for people's health, water supplies and crops;

last year, crop yields dropped by as much as a third in some parts of the country.

When temperatures soared last spring, India banned wheat exports, dashing hopes that the world's second-biggest wheat producer would cover a supply shortfall caused by the war in Ukraine.

Several passers-by cover their faces with clothing to protect themselves from the sun as temperatures soar in Hyderabad, India, on Wednesday.

(Credit: Mahesh Kumar A./AP)

This February, with high temperatures battering wheat-producing states including Rajasthan and Gujarat, India set up a commission to monitor the impact of rising temperatures on the crop, according to Reuters.

Unusually high temperatures have also been recorded in Europe, and 2023 began with an extreme winter heat wave that broke January temperature records in several countries.

Low levels of snow and precipitation have fueled concern for the region's rivers and lakes.

Winding its way through the agricultural heart of northern Italy, the River Po, fed by snow from the Alps and spring rains, is at very low levels, while the water of Lake Garda in northern Italy, hit record lows.

It is feared that Italy, which declared a state of emergency last year after the worst drought in 70 years, is facing another drought.

Look at the canals of Venice without water due to the drought 0:47

Unusually warm weather also left ski resorts in the Alps with little to no snow.

In February, leading skiers wrote an open letter to the International Ski and Snowboard Federation demanding action against the climate crisis.

"The seasons have changed," they wrote.

"Our sport is threatened in its existence."

Although ski resorts have adapted to warming by making artificial snow - a process that uses a lot of water and energy - Wilson noted that resorts would still need cold nighttime temperatures to do so.

"The long-term survival of skiing and other winter sports will depend on countries reducing their carbon emissions to avoid more serious consequences and more severe warming in the future," he said.

CNN's Keith Allen contributed to this article.

High winter temperatures Heat

Source: cnnespanol

All news articles on 2023-02-23

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