'Lost Winter' Ends With Meteorological Extremes
Ten days of extreme weather across the country — including a heatwave in the central U.S., a massive blizzard in California, and (ongoing) wildfires in Texas — punctuated the beginning of meteorological spring and capped what many are calling a "Lost Winter." The warmest winter on record across the contiguous 48 states, according to AccuWeather, smashed records across the northern part of the country, where cold winters help define regional identities. Buffalo, Detroit, and Cleveland all broke daily records on Monday with high temperatures in the 70s, Topeka Kansas hit 82°F on Sunday, and Fargo, North Dakota, saw average temperatures 14°F above average from December through February. Climate change, mainly caused by the extraction and combustion of fossil fuels, also creates conditions favorable for massive precipitation events like the blizzard that dumped as much as 11 feet of snow on California's Sierra Nevada mountains.
(Lost Winter, Fargo: Axios; Detroit, Buffalo, Cleveland, Topeka: Washington Post $; Warmest winter: E&E $; Blizzard: Axios, Washington Post $; Wildfires: AP, NBC, AP, Axios, Bloomberg $; Climate Signals background: Extreme heat and heatwaves, Extreme precipitation increase; Wildfires)
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