Remarkably warm weather will settle across New England Tuesday and Wednesday with temperatures soaring into the 70s in some locations. In the Hartford area we're forecasting 72F on Tuesday! This kind of warmth is extraordinary for February with 70F temperatures having been achieved only 5 times since 1905.
- 2/24/1985 - 73F
- 2/24/2017 - 72F
- 2-16/1954 - 72F
- 2/25/2017 - 70F
- 2/25/1976 - 70F
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Something doesn't seem right here.
As the earth warms extreme periods of warmth during all seasons will become more frequent. According to the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report it is very likely that the number of cold days and nights has decreased and the number of warm days and nights has increased. Human influence is by far the largest driver of climate change.
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As the earth continues to warm we're essentially loading the dice. Extreme warmth in winter, or any time of year for that matter, is more likely. Sure it can still get cold and we can still get a lot of snow (in fact, no decrease in annual snowfall has been observed even as temperatures warm locally) but extreme warmth year after year is becoming more common.
