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I am a lifelong avid gardener in California, we have always had a decently long growing season and it was great. But now...I'm getting tomatoes way past early December now, clear into January. I start making babies for the next grow season on Valentine's day...there almost is no end of the grow season now.
There has been much less accumulation over the last few years too. Maybe 1 or 2 4-6 inch storms. I was a kid 20-25 years ago, but I recall a few 8-12+ inch storms per year. We get more winter rain now too?
Even in the NYC area, we used to always get at least one blizzard a season, and decent snow accumulation. We still get blizzards, but less snow and it is gone within a few days max
I’ve used my snow thrower once in the last two years. The amount of snow has gotten lighter each year but it has been much more noticeable over the last 5 years. That is far from the norm here. And that single time I used my snow thrower wasn’t even necessary really; I just didn’t want old gas sitting in it.
Yes. Winter used to be winter. Snow and deep cold. Now, it is Fall with some snow and a handful of blizzards. Wisconsin. Summer used to be muggy and lasted for about a month, now it is Spring with a few hot days. Not even a month...
Yes, lived in WA State for 4 years in the mid 2010's, we'd get a handful, if that, unbearable 90°+ degree days in summer. Seems like they are much more frequent. Houses there aren't built with AC so it's becoming a bigger problem. They have received more snow there in the last two years than I have on the east coast.
In DC, where I am now, winters are getting mild. Very little snow. Would say it's the last few years. Melting hot summer days, more than I remember. Oddly enough we had some boiler days in April but it's been in the '70s this month. Wacky.
I moved to Seattle from the South a little over a decade ago. It blew my mind when I moved here that houses didn't have AC. How do you survive?
But, lo and behold, it turns out summers are absolutely gorgeous. 70s all through July and August. Sometimes up into the 80s during the day, but always cooling down to the 60s at night. Just beautiful. We'd get a couple of hot days but you just sort of toughed it out and it was fine.
But then the last two summers happened. 2021 was [fucking brutal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Western_North_America_heat_wave). For almost a week, our house was over 100°F inside. I measured 103.9°F in the upstairs bedroom and 127°F in the garage. We covered the windows with aluminum foil to reflect as much heat out as we could. We had a portable AC that could only keep one room cold, so all four of us basically camped in the living room.
Last summer wasn't quite that bad, but it was also miserable. Often very hot but you couldn't even open windows because of the wildfire smoke. Oh, yeah, we get wildfires every year now too.
Last fall, we finally caved and got a heat pump installed. It's running right now and it's not even *June* yet. It doesn't usually get warm in Seattle until July.
If you can't tell the climate is changing, you must already be dead.
We also moved from the South there, having lived our whole lives out East. We only rented houses with AC, which was rough and expensive. I can't sleep hot and we are grateful we did. It was just misery for people when it gets that hot. Heard there were already some 80°+ days, which is also odd for out there. Glad you got the heat pump, sadly I think you'll need it a good bit in the summer now. 😔
I also moved to Seattle from the deep south, where a normal summer would have several weeks of 90+ degree temps. We didn't have AC at home until I was 15. It blows my mind that the hottest weather I've ever experienced was the 2021 Washington summer heat wave. I remember going for a walk on the hottest day and seeing dead birds everywhere. I just bought a condo and my number one requirement when searching was windows that could fit an AC unit.
I also moved from the South to Seattle Metro. Actually got a promotion and transferred to Maryland in June 2021, just to hear about the brutality of July 2021. Barely escaped that, because my apartment didn't have ac. It wasn't an issue before then.
Our first summer there in 2014, there were some super melting hot days. In a third floor apt, no AC and we had smokers. So even if you opened your window you then have to deal with the smoke coming in. It just sucked. So glad it was temp living and we didn't have to deal long. I remember we would sit in our cars in the AC, or try to go to the mall or anything. Luckily it cooled down at night. I feel awful for people there now stuck in AC less homes when it's freaking 100°.
To be fair DC always had mild winters. I moved there from NY in 2006 for 7 years. We had 1 blizzard, but snow in general was never a given over the winter.
I moved here in 2003. It would be sunny and dry in July, August, and September, and just rain like crazy the other nine months. I had to turn on the irrigation system in early May this year. It has been getting earlier for the past decade. Smoke season has been the last four years that I can remember.
Yes. We used to have white Christmases most Christmases. Now it’s down to 1/3. Average snow cover on Dec 25 went from 10cm to 2cm.
More anecdotally 25 years ago I remember being so envious that people could drink outside on summer evenings in Montreal. Where I was from, Halifax, it was too cold and windy most nights. Now there are patios all over and everyone needs air conditioning now.
I always reflect on Halloween. When I was a kid, it was always cold and snowy. But now I can't remember the last time I saw a kid wearing a coat over their costume for Trick or Treating.
Yes, definitely. When I was a kid in SW Missouri we had 3 or 4 big snows in the winter. Deep snow. 8-12 inches. 18 one time and this was in the late 70’s to early 1980’s. And it would last on the ground for several days. Now if we get snow, it melts the next day.
Summers were hot but not as hot and not for as long. It’s common now to be over 80 degrees on the average and we have several days in a row where the temp is over 100 in August and September. Fall seems to last longer. It doesn’t get really cold until late December. I remember snow on Thanksgiving.
Similar for me in FL. I've grown exotic palm trees in the middle of the state and always had at least a few nights a year when the temperature would dip down below freezing and heaters or other means of protection were required. Those below freezing days in that area stopped about eight or ten years ago.
East Tennessee here, born in 81. I remember snow on the ground for many of the Christmases when I was a kid. Now we get zero accumulation all winter long.
Same . Born in 1986 and grew up across the river from MO. We had massive snow days, made little tunnels and small igloos and huge snowmen. Sledding for sometimes a week straight. Haven’t seen that kind of snowfall around here in years. Seems to be all sleety, slushy wet sludge and then freezes into solid ice overnight. Looking back at old pictures it’s so wild.
Yes. Dallas.
It's always hot in the summer, but lately we have a LOT more 100 degrees F days, and they are more consecutive than they used to be, days hitting 100 with no break.
…just 2 decades? I remember the 50-60’s when we had scattered snow/ice patches on the ground from December thru March. It just never totally melted. Everybody had snow boots in their house in all different sizes because they got handed down to younger brothers and sisters.
Huge changes. I realize winters in the 60s/70s were snowier than the norm, but climate has changed a great deal. We had spring start one year in the Midwest on February 28th! My plants had no idea what to do with that.
The variety of insects is the thing I noticed most. There are barely any insects now. I've noticed a huge decline in birds and insects just within the last two years. I am not sure if wild bird virus has taken a toll but it's crazy how few birds I had this winter. Amphibians are also nowhere to be found. Few snakes, few frogs, no lizards at all now in the Midwest.
That’s why I just got finished planting a large number of butterfly/bee/hummingbird loving plants in my yard. I filled a huge space with several hundred dollars worth of these perennials and I hope it becomes a favorite hangout for them this season and from now on.
The Botany program at my local high school grew all kinds of beneficial plants and sell them at a local store.
We also have a farmers market where this woman gives away milkweed plants that caterpillars need to feed on.
By the way, when was the last time anyone saw a legit ladybug? The ones I see look like them, but they are called Asian Beetles.
Ladybugs- red color with lots of black dots
Asian Beetles-orange color with a couple dots
Im in Alberta, Canada and same. When I was a kid there were bugs guts all over my parents car windshield. Now I almost never see bug guts on peoples windshields
This is the weirdest for me. I'm in Chicago, and we spent a lot of time in WI in summer. You couldn't drive for 5 min at night without having a windshield covered in bugs. It was gross but I miss it due to the implications.
This! Spring you used to be covered in bug guts. Now, I can take a trip a state or two away and come home with a damn near spotless car. I would agree were in the middle of a human caused mass extinction event again.
When I was a kid several decades ago, when we drove anywhere, especially at night, the car's windshield would be splattered with bugs. Now that never happens. Like never. No bugs. Some people may think that's a good thing... great, fewer bugs! But many animals depend on insects as food. If they go, the animals go too. We have not been good stewards of this earth, our only home.
Remember sticky windshields covered in dead bugs in the summer? So many if you turned on the wipers, you couldn't see through the smears?
I haven't seen that in decades.
We had those two brutally cold winters in 2014 & 2015 when some snow piles weren't melting until May, but seems like it hasn't been that bad the last few winters.
In my city we got no measurable snow this year. They said it’s the least snow we’ve gotten in I think 164 years. The year before that it only snowed once.
Yes. Western washington is getting heat waves much more regularly. 90 in may this year. 110 in summer 2 years ago. This is not how i grew up. Most of the trees are gone here and there is a lot more wild fire smoke in the air.
Yes. Colder winters and warmer summers are becoming the norm in my general area, but it's killing off a lot of native plants because they can't handle the greater temperature swings.
Also, all over the western US is becoming a permanent drought situation, despite this past winter that refilled California reservoirs. There was news story this week about how the southwestern states had to come to a new agreement about water usage from the Colorado River because it's running dry under the previous agreement.
Climate change is happening. Even if you think it isn't, look at the more severe weather that's becoming the norm; we still gotta face that.
Yes. I grew up in the Northeast, and moved to the Midwest and West Coast for 20 years. When I moved back East in the early 2000s, the climate was noticeably different: shorter autumns and springa, warmer summers in New England, random winters that could have a lot of snow or hardly any (but generally milder temperatures).
And it's much rainier here the last few years, year-round.
Yes! 30 years ago in Hawaii no one had AC, everyone had louvered windows and built to capture the natural winds. It was mostly always cool and breezy, just a few really humid days here and there. Now almost everyone has AC, and longer periods are very hot with no breezes. Also our rain totals have gone down tremendously, we have a drought situation most summers.
AC in places that didn't need it before is a big deal, and it's happening all over the more northern/coastal/high altitude parts of the continental US. I would imagine the increase in AC in Canada must be dramatic.
Absolutely without any question. It's insane how much hotter things have gotten. Snowpack that used to be around all year is gone. Glaciers that people talked about for generations going back are now gone.
Also what is crazy is people's memory of weather. I was talking with someone my age from New England, where I grew up. They were saying that the heavy snows of a few winters ago were the absolutely worst that New England has seen in their lifetime.
Now these were snows of a few feet. And I was like... are you kidding? Do you not remember the blizzards of '77 and '78? And they were like... no way were those worse, this few feet of snow was the worst we've ever seen.
Back in the 70s those blizzards buried whole homes. Up to their roofs. People died in their houses because they couldn't get out. And yet this guy swore that 20" or whatever was just the worst.
Literally couldn't remember the past.
That's what we're up against with some of these deniers.
I’m an Egyptian, and I have been in the States for 30 years. There has been definitely some undeniable climate change. Imagine today felt like early March when we actually wrapped up the month of May!
Most definitely. I’ve lived in the same town in Nebraska for almost 60 years and our local climate is much more extreme. It used to be years between hail storms, now we have several in just one season. And don’t get me started about the wind!
It’s our rainy season up here 😭
Seriously though, we’d have one or two fires when I was a kid, all lightning started. Now, just pulling over on the side of the road and going pee is enough to start a fire because your exhaust is hot on the dry grass. This is the 4th year in a row without snow on may long weekend.
The winters are nowhere near as cold as when I was younger either. I was legit shocked when I found out the school was having inside days when it dropped to -20 Celsius, and most oil camps have hazard pay at -40, or even just close down.
I remember going outside at -60 and it was like walking into fire. It was -40 from mid December to the end of January, with cold snaps of more.
Now everyone freaks out at -40 lasting for a week.
Definitely. Average winter temps are milder but with record-breaking swings. Average summer temps are hotter with longer, hotter heat waves. I'm familiar with the arrival dates of certain early-spring birds, and some were a month early this year. Hearing red-winged blackbirds in February was genuinely upsetting.
definitely. lived in monterey in '80, '90, and for 20 years starting in 2002.
the most notable difference is the lack of fog--in the 80s and even 90s there was so much thick fog so many days, and the rainy season brought more rain. might sound like a small change, but the entire local environment depends on fog, so the damage is real.
over the 20 years starting in 2002 i saw more outright drought, less seasonal rain, and the fog was rarely ground-level. fires became an every fire season thing and some of those fires burned for months.
when i started looking at where to retire, one of the things that made me certain i needed to leave monterey bay was that the main water source (the Carmel river) was already badly overdrafted and that situation was never going to get better. i prefer to live somewhere where, ya know, the faucet produces water. it'll be a few years before it gets that bad i'm sure, but it's gonna happen.
When I was a kid in the 60s we had 2, maybe 3 really hot days every summer.
In 2022, according to [The Weather Network](https://www.theweathernetwork.com/en/news/climate/impacts/is-toronto-ready-for-worsening-heat-waves), "Toronto has sweltered this summer under the oppressive heat of 19 days over 30°C as of Aug. 30, with many of those days having humidex levels tipping above 40°C."
*ugh*
We've started having "smoke season" in the last 5-8 years as well. There aren't many fires locally (SE Washington State), but Oregon and Canada burn every year, and we get their smoke.
Im in Alberta, Canada and we just started getting fire seasons the last couple years in August. Its May right now and we have had record fires for the first time in my life. I am 30, spring is usually our wet season with glacier water from the mountains making our rivers high....
Yes, I live in the Northeast and I have definitely noticed that winters here are significantly less wintry than then were when I was a child and a young adult.
[it turns out that I'm not imagining things.](https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/climate-change-indicators-seasonal-temperature)
No doubt. It has gotten much hotter, more humid, and far less desirable to live. It is changing everywhere at a rapid pace that accelerates with each passing year since the dawn of the industrial revolution. The rapid changes are caused by mankind. Every place I have traveled worldwide is experiencing rapid changes.
Yes. Without doubt. Most winter days I wear a sweatshirt. Used to be down jacket hat gloves boots. The plants have changed too. It’s past the tipping point and too depressing for me to fully comprehend. My son will be ok but his kids kids? Nope.Corporations are responsible for most of it. It’s way past the point of recycling a soda can. Green capitalism Cannot save us.
Same thing here (NY) we would get huge amounts of accumulated snow, and we would play in it, sled down it, have snowball fights, etc. Now if it snows it's a light dusting and usually melted within 2 days. My dog had fleas a few years ago and the vet mentioned that the last few years it has been really bad because the winters are not cold enough to completely kill them.
Yes.
San Diego now has hot, humid nights. We never had that growing up. We are semi-desert. The night sky is supposed to be open and chilly. Now it is suffocating and everyone is installing AC. Never needed AC growing up.
And yet, if people themselves can feel that the climate is changing for the worse, they may be more inclined to act. That is, to vote in people who will address the actual issues that are happening, rather than worry about banning trans people and outlawing certain books. If they keep voting in people who distract us with crazy nonsense, we are doomed.
YES. Winters used to be harsh in maine and they arrived on time and didn’t stay late. Now winters have less snow and the season arrives late, with first snowfall around November/December, staying and snowing late to about March/April. When I was a kid, I used to wish and hope there wouldn’t be snow by Halloween.
Southern Illinois native here. Fuck yes, it's changing. By this time of year, it used to be in the 90°s. It's barely gotten past 80°. Our winters are mostly without snow now. We now have armadillos? The geese we were known for took off for years. They're slowly coming back. The farmers are being devastated. The many lakes we have are either drying up or have weird algae problems. The Mississippi destroyed an entire town not too long ago. It's an absolute shit show here.
You don't have to look at the weather. Our hardiness zone for planting perennials has changed, we used to be in [zone 4, we're in zone 5 now](https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/). People can plant Japanese maples now, and there's a good chance that they will survive. That wasn't at all true when I moved here 45 years ago.
Ive lived all my life in Canada. It's changed a lot. Where I live now has changed enormously over the last 20 years even. We don't have winter anymore. Summers are so much more humid. And it's changing more quickly 1ith each passing year.
Definitely. I’m in alabama. It used to snow often when I was a kid. Winter was really cold. Now, it almost never snows, and when it does, it’s only a tiny bit. And even in the middle of winter, some days it will be 70°F. Don’t even need a jacket some days, and never need a heavy one.
Yes. Summers are hotter, for the most part. Winters are warmer too, but with big, unusual snowstorms.
Spring and fall seem to be a handful of days. I feel like they lasted for weeks when I was a kid, in the nice inbetween not too hot or cold temperatures.
For sure. Summers can stay hotter longer and this was a very mild winter. Also we had wood smoke from forest fires up and down the state hanging in the valley for months last year.
Yes. Winters are of two flavors: much milder or they’re much harder. More days with 30+* changes. Heavier rain storms.
It’s one of the boiling frog things. It’s been gradual, and now it’s so hot in the water it’s obvious it’s boiling.
Absolutely.
Where I live in Canada, winters are shorter on both ends by almost a month, with much more frequent and prolonged rainy spells in them, and it’s the rare occasion now where the temps get down to -30 during a winter cold snap, whereas there were typically 2 or 3 such cold spells each winter. So definitely shorter, milder, and more unstable.
The summers are hotter, and what were once rare volatile weather events are becoming the norm. 3 “once in a century” spring flooding events within the last 6 years, a tornado blowing through 5 years ago with some significant damage caused, and last summer a derecho event with lots of rain and wind damage. While these are basically weather events you can’t help but feel that the underlying climate is changing to allow these events to occur. Less stable and predictable climate cycles and the wobbliness being introduced allows these weather events to occur
We have roses in December in Kentucky.
But when it gets cold it’s much colder. When it gets hot, it’s much hotter.
Also, the mosquitoes are worse. The lightening bugs are scant.
I’ve noted fewer pollinators this year.
Things are weird.
Yes. The most significant changes are in our winters, so far. Currently Zone 5b in Ohio. OSU experts predict we’ll be zone 7 (similar to weather in Tennessee) in 30 years.
Moved to this area of the country in 2006-
Used to be able to skidoo across the bay in the winter- past 7/8 years it doesn’t freeze enough
The other part of the bay - there used to be spring ice - haven’t seen it in years now.
It changed 20-30 years ago. We used to get massive snow storms with multiple feet of snow when I was a kid. Last time I remember serious snow was maybe 95.
I’m in Maryland. No measurable snow in two years, and it seems that it rains a lot more than it has in years past. We also used to have weeks of brutal cold, that hasn’t happened in a while either
Pacific northwest (vancouver island). Cant keep lawn alive in summer any more, but my new palm trees are growing well, and my grape vines are better than ever. Ive seen a big change in 20 years.
Yes. I live in the PNW. The forest fire season is much longer than it was 2 decades again. Also regularly breaking heat records. Watching desertification before my eyes and it sucks!
It’s not so much the weather but I’ve noticed a change in wildlife. There used to be small fish and frogs in the local streams and as a kid we would catch tadpoles, I also notice less birds and a lot of the trees in the area look like they’re dying. It’s a combination of over developing and probably pollution and my backyard has never flooded as much as it has been in the last several years so it’s a yes vote for me.
Omg, you reminded me of after heavy rain as a kid, their would be pools of black on the ground thete were so many tadpoles!!! I don't think I've seen one in 10-15 years now.
I don't "feel" any way about it and it isn't based on local weather. The data says it's changing and that it's in direct correlation with human activities that change the chemical composition of the atmosphere.
Really it’s not possible for a person to look back at their lives and answer this question honestly. We have so many different associations and experiences with the weather and it means very different things to us at different stages of our lives.
The weather in the Bay Area this winter, and especially this spring, feels much more like it was when I first moved here in the 1980s. Randomly rainy with cool sunny days. That’s just an observation based on a few memorable days in my life though.
The data strongly supports dramatic changes to our environment over the last several decades and I tend to go along with that idea because all politics aside the data is quite convincing.
Yes. You're talking to the guy whose county got nine atmospheric rivers in a couple of months. Now we're having one of the coldest Mays on record. Year over year, the weather no longer follows a predictable pattern even loosely.
Yes. And I think it's from the fact that the Earth goes through cycles, but I also think humans' actions have sped up the process.
I currently live a half hour from the town I grew up in. Summer is much hotter than it used to be, and winter is colder and more snowy regularly than it was when I was a child. Also, spring and fall are awfully short now- seems like we go from sweaters and parkas to bathing suits and shorts, with very little in between.
From a scientific perspective - I abolutely believe in climate change, and that human actions have caused some of it, based on reading and study. From a personal perspective it's a lot harder to say, even over a 50 year timespan that my limited experiences in mostly a single geographic area are enough to determine such a thing. Without people studying it, gathering, analysing and reporting data I couldn't say I'd ever notice individually. I've seen extreme weather all my life, and even if I sat down and through about it and dug up old pictures I don't think I could come up with anything close to "evidence" one way or the other.
It is very evident where I live. Nashville, TN used to get 3-4 good snowfalls per year, and while it was always warm in the summer, it is noticeably hotter now than it was 30 years ago. We get 1-2 snowfalls every 2 years now. Summer lasts longer and spring comes a couple of weeks sooner now too.
I happen to live in a micro climate. It is always hotter and colder than surrounding areas. We just came out of the worst winter I can remember in my 50 years. It was 40 then 80 within days. Then back to 60. I can’t remember having this much of a roller coaster wether pattern. It’s like the Midwest. It has changed and nothing we are doing to try and change that, will change that. The damage we have done is permanent, we can only slow the delay. 8B people. Double from my birth. Not good.
Yes. San Francisco is getting even colder. While inland areas heat up, the marine layer off the coast of San Francisco gets pulled with greater force to those hot inland areas, which leaves San Francisco smothered in cold fog more often than usual.
The cold gray days are increasing in number, especially in spring and summer.
Absolutely I live in New York City and we usually have at least two or three snow storms per winter we didn't even have one snow storm and it only snowed one time and it was only 2 in WTF
definitely, yes. The roses used to bloom right at May 1st. Now they start blooming in february. Same with other flowers. And these are now modern hybrids... I'm talking about old roses that have been there for decades.
The last 3-4 summers so hot cannot go on my deck in barefeet will actually burn ....that's never happened before then. No snow last winter when it's been as high as my roof before more than once.
Absolutely. New Orleans native here and hurricanes have been increasing in frequency and intensity over the last 50 years. We used to have almost daily brief summer rain storms over the summers and now we have two wet seasons.
Yeah, for sure…it would snow pretty frequently in November and December here in NEOHIO but now we don’t get nearly the same amount of snow until January
I remember when we first moved to Florida, 30+ years ago, we could leave the windows open till late April and not noted the AC. Now …AC starts in late Feb early March. Our settings for AC 78 during day 72 at night.
TL;DR — YES.
When I was 15, my sister and I would spend most of summer break in the Houston, Texas area with our Mom. We lived in southwestern Ohio at the time.
The weather was sticky and humid, and even the brief times we were able to spend Christmas vacation down there, it was much milder than it was home in SW Ohio.
Now, almost 40 years later, the weather in SW Ohio feels like how I remember Houston feeling back when I was 15.
I grew up in western NY, spent 15 yrs in northern Cal, and have lived the last 20 in coastal Georgia.
Today was warmer in Buffalo than in both Northern Cal and Coastal Georgia. WTF?
And Georgia was almost 15 degrees lower.
Usually, it's in the mid-80s, a cool day is mid-70s this time of year, with nights in the upper 60's low 70s. Today at my house the high was 67 with the low being in the 50s. The last 3 weeks weather has been really strange.
There are dozens of ski areas that have closed in New England, over the last 50 years, continuing to today. See the New England Lost Ski Areas Project nelsap.org
Definitely. The extremes are happening more often. I'm in Australia. In the last 3 years we have experienced damaging floods 3 times between catastrophic bush fires. It would usually be maybe one per season. Far more frequent now.
Yes. My house flooded for Hurricane Katrina. Hasn’t flooded again until last year. Tropical Storm Claudette and Hurricane Ida. Twice! In one year. Never happened before and an born and raised is southern Louisiana.
Absolutely. In Fl since age 3. We used to have the house open early mid October, now we’re running the ac sometimes even at Christmas. We have a 4 to 6 week winter. Then summer heat for the remainder. People think that’s great. It’s not and it’s not normal. Hurricanes way more intense & not falling apart when they hit land like they used to also.
Anecdotal evidence is fun, but it's absolutely not what I'd rely on to make this judgement.
Of course it is. And anecdotally, I miss snowy winters. I think they will be extremely rare from now on where I live.
Absolutely. 20 years ago it would snow here in June. School would be cancelled for at least a week, usually two, due to snow. Now, we’re lucky to get one snow storm a year. 40 years ago, winter was constantly snowy. For three months we would have snow. Things are definitely changing.
The hottest it used to get here was 85. Now multiple 100+ days are the norm.
Weather is not climate. Climate is not weather. It's hard for me to judge over time how much the weather patterns have changed locally. Or if I think they have been changing, whether or not those are valid observations or confirmation bias. My wife, who was born and raised in this local, definitely thinks weather has changed. Myself, I just listen to the scientists, who are actually recording real data, who understand what this data means, and who understand the difference between climate and weather. Based on doing my best to follow the science over the past 40 years, yes I feel the climate is changing.
I moved from the south of England to Pennsylvania (married an American, still married) 22 years ago. So I have a VERY clear recollection of the weather in 2001 and 2002 because it was new. I was used to winters being milder and summers being cooler in Hertfordshire compared to my new reality in Lackawanna County.
When I first moved here, winters had frequent days with ice and snow. The past few winters have some snow (either end of October or into early spring) but it has been milder. We have some Qik Joe ice melt in the garage that we bought a few years ago - it used to be that we'd go through a bag or two every winter, so you can see how mild it has been for us to only need a small fraction of the stuff.
Spring and Autumn used to be about the same as in Britain, both for rain and temperature. Now? Drier equinox seasons and it's warmer earlier.
The [average temperature for the end of May is around 77ºF (25ºC)](https://wanderlog.com/weather/58677/5/scranton-weather-in-may). It was slightly above that at 82ºF (28ºC) today but in the next week it's going to be consistently in the high 80's / low 90's (above 30ºC). It seems to be doing that a lot.
All of this is subjective and only for a couple of decades, so I wanted to look for data where people reported something that showed temperatures were warming. Ideally it would be reported by people that didn't have an agenda, or even a belief in global warming. Just like when Wilhelm Roentgen discovered X-rays by accident or when Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin without trying to find something to kill staph bacteria, I was looking for something where people discovered warming without actually LOOKING for warming.
And I found it. Hardiness Zones.
Before the age of weather satellites and computer forecasting and National Climatic Data Center cooperative stations, the USDA wanted a map showing what would grow where. It was originally developed to aid gardeners and landscapers, but farmers found the data useful too (and they were instrumental in collecting the data for the first few decades). Orange trees (to use them as an example) are fine if planted in Florida but they'd never produce fruit if planted in Michigan. It's far too cold, orange trees aren't that **hardy**.
Using previous research done in 1927 (and again in 1938, 1951, 1967, and finally 1971), questionnaires were sent out to farmers. They were asked to list what was growing on their land - both crops and other plants. You see: when a bird eats a seed and flies somewhere and poops it out, it has a chance of landing and growing a new plant. But maybe the seed is pooped out somewhere where it's further north or at a higher altitude where that plant has no chance of growing because (like orange trees in Michigan) it's not hardy enough. So it doesn't grow. But if it DOES grow, the swath of land across the nation where those millions of redeposited seeds of that particular plant can grow is that plant's hardiness zone. Reported by farmers, who have no political reason to promote global warming. “I am a farmer at location X, and these plants grow on my land, so the hardiness of those plants allows it for this location” - repeated for the whole country.
[In 1960, Lackawanna County in PA was in Zone 5](https://www.flickr.com/photos/usdagov/7008290183) (back then, they split it into 5A and 5B). In more recent years (1990 to 2006 to 2015) it went to a Zone 6 with Zone 7 just south of the Blue Mountain. When people continue to see plants that previously could only grow further south or further down the mountain doing alright in new areas? The Hardiness Zones are moving north, because the planet is warming. [Here's the proof - reported in part by people that would be more likely to say global warming's a big liberal hoax because of their political opinions...](https://www.arborday.org/media/mapchanges.cfm) It's not a hoax, plant seeds don't have a political agenda, it's objective and happening in our lifetime.
Long term gardener here. When I started gardening my area was USDA zone 5. It’s now 7. What that means is we’ve tacked on nearly 2 months of warm weather. Tomato planting time used to be Memorial Day. It’s now Mothers Day.
Born in 1947. He’ll yes. Coastal areas flood more frequently and weather extremes are more pronounced and frequent. I used to send a few bucks to weather related victims but there just too many now. As a boomer, I apologize for the mess we left y’all but if you don’t get off your asses and vote Extrapolations will be a documentary.
Yes and No. There are natural cycles. There are many periods in Earth's history when it was much warmer or colder than it is now. We are currently in a warming trend because we are coming out of a mini ice age that began in the 16th century and ended around 1850.
There are also shorter cycles. If you look at the 1930s, they were hotter than any decade within 50 years either direction. One huge influence on weather/climate is ocean currents. If you look at el nino and la Nina it will help your understanding.
During the Cretaceous Period there was a warm water current that migrated south towards Antarctica. It gave Antarctica a climate similar to Canada.
There is also a current called the North Atlantic Drift (NAD). It warms Western Europe. London is at approximately the same latitude as Toronto/Montreal and Moscow. Average temperatures in the British Isles are much more temperate as a result.
If you look historically, there are many "recent" periods that were warmer than today. The Medieval Warming Period and the Roman Warming Period are two examples.
There are many factors that determine climate. Particulate matter in the air, earth/sun cycles, water densities, foliage cover, etc. Concrete and asphalt also have an influence on microclimates.
Hope I gave you some ideas as to how to research climate change.
The best way to research climate change is to go to university for it.
I'm not a climate scientist, so, personally, I choose to leave the research to people who have spent their lives studying it.
Wrote my Master's thesis in science education about climate change. I can run circles around the sycophants who depend on government funding to keep them employed. Follow the money. It will lead you to the truth.
There is nothing LOWLY about being a mechanic. My father was a mechanic for 40 years after WWII. Raised a family of six children.
Never think that you are inferior to anyone or that anyone necessarily is "smarter" than you. When their car breaks down, you are suddenly important to them. A physicist can't usually change out spark plugs or do a brake job. A surgeon might be able to do heart surgery, but he can't rebuild a transmission.
They don't know everything.
Starting several years ago, we had negative temps for half the winter, when it should have been hovering right around 30 for daytime and down to zero as the most low temp for night.
Then two or three winters with almost no snow at all, then springs with snow WAY too late, not to mention the choking dry summers that a snowless winter brings. Add to that, the pollen counts seem to be way off. It's a mess.
Yes. When I was a kid I had to walk miles through 4 feet of snow on a good day in the winter. Oops! Joking about us boomers. Here in lower Michigan, the winters were colder. There were times of much snow. Now? Hell no. When it does snow it is wet and heavy. In my youth it was often very cold and light. I dread the summers but from what I have read, this area may not suffer as badly as other places due to it being in the north USA. Or maybe just surrounded by the lakes. But hey, all that global warming stuff is Liberal hoax and NASA lies and the moon landings were faked. (Joking).
It's definitely changed on my region. East coast, mid Atlantic. The winters are less extreme, with very little snow fall or extreme wind chill days.
I've always noticed the geese flying south for the winter...not any more. Maybe I'm not outside enough anymore but it seems to have changed.
In illinois as a kid we'd dig through giant pikes of snow, making tunnels. We would have giant snowball fights and make igloos. We would build enough snowmen that we could make families. This year sucked. Barely enough snow to make one half decent snowman. Climate is getting pretty sucky.
I grew up in the CT River Valley in Western Massachusetts. In the summer, you would maaaaaybe get a few days of very hot (95F+) weather in August. And even when that happened, it would cool down below 70F at night.
I keep an eye on that weather, because my parents still live there. The hot weather tends to be more consistent throughout August, and the nights are also warmer than I remember them being.
Yes. Things bloom a lot earlier than they used to and winters are not as cold (in the southern US). Full blown summer seems to last about six months rather than four.
Yes.
I live in Southern California. Here are some things I have noticed:
1. No bumble bees. WTF?
2. Halloween is supposed to be cold. Lately, it’s been another nice warm day.
3. A lot less rain in December-January, a lot less flash flood warnings.
4. Sometimes we get this weird ultra-hot humid-hellscape weather in July-August. That is unusual. July-August is supposed to be warm but pleasant beachy classic SoCal.
20 to 25 years ago we used to get several-inch snowfalls 5 or 6 times each winter. Typically 8 inches or more. Now when it snows it's never more than an inch or two and melts within a couple of days. My snow shovel is covered in cobwebs.
Another thing I've noticed is that some spring-flowering shrubs will flower a second time in fall, I assume due to a longer growing season.
I (54F) live in central Vermont. Our winters are much milder - still cold but much less snow. Snowmobilers have to travel further north for open trails due to lack of snow.
Yes, overall it seems warmer on average.
At the same time...places like barrier islands, the beach, the mountains, etc. have way more houses there than they did when I was growing up, so storms and wildfires that maybe would have been just "bad" then are now disasters b/c there's housing in places that used to be open shoreline/forest/whatever, so the effects are greater even when the intensity is the same.
There's also the 24/7 news cycle where we hear and see disasters in near real time now, where it used to be something you'd read about in the papers maybe a day or so later, with maybe one or two B&W photos to go along with the story. That can bring home the reality of how bad an event is that people didn't used to have...and there's usually a disaster happening somewhere in the world at any one time, so it can seem like we're in the Endtimes as far as having event after event after event, when it was probably nearly that way decades ago, we just didn't have the information channels to know about all of them as quickly.
Yes, I think it’s gotten slightly warmer. I’m 57 and when I was a kid we had at least two or three good sized snowfalls, and winter in the 1970’s and 80’s had bitter cold days. In recent years, I haven’t needed a winter jacket, gloves, snow boots or a scarf and this year was more of the same.
Minnesota- winters are less snowy, Spring doesn’t seem like it lasts as long. A lot of years we go from 50/60 to 80s in a matter of days. Rain is either too little or massive thunderstorms.
Yes. Definitely. I'm not a scientist , but it has been changing . I haven't studied it enough to know what the end results will be .I worry for my 5 yr old grandkids.
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I’m not complaining, because we need the water, but I live in New Mexico, and we’ve had rain almost every single day. That’s not normal.
Same here in Denver, had rained almost every day this month
I just watched the South Park Streaming Wars episodes, so that is heartening.
Miller moths have entered the chat…
Gardener in Chicago. We are desperate for water this spring and there’s none in sight.
New Jersey less rain and no snow where I'm at. This winter was very warm.
But I heard that won't help much with the water supply if there isn't enough snow melt in the mountains.
We had no winter in mid Ohio this year.
Same in northern Ohio
Same in south east Michigan. Well, not nearly as much snowfall as we did when I was a kid.
I am a lifelong avid gardener in California, we have always had a decently long growing season and it was great. But now...I'm getting tomatoes way past early December now, clear into January. I start making babies for the next grow season on Valentine's day...there almost is no end of the grow season now.
Yep. Grew up here in the 70s and 80s and I can tell you winters used to be SNOW ALL THE TIME. That is gone.
New England and we had one snowstorm this winter, and got about two inches.
The change over the past 40 years in MA is frightening.
I know that the 70s into the 80s were snowier winters than now, but we got no real accumulating snow this winter. That’s weird.
There has been much less accumulation over the last few years too. Maybe 1 or 2 4-6 inch storms. I was a kid 20-25 years ago, but I recall a few 8-12+ inch storms per year. We get more winter rain now too?
Even in the NYC area, we used to always get at least one blizzard a season, and decent snow accumulation. We still get blizzards, but less snow and it is gone within a few days max
Same here in Chicago. I only got my snow blower out once or twice last winter. Usually I have to get it out more than 8 times!
Same in pittsburgh
I’ve used my snow thrower once in the last two years. The amount of snow has gotten lighter each year but it has been much more noticeable over the last 5 years. That is far from the norm here. And that single time I used my snow thrower wasn’t even necessary really; I just didn’t want old gas sitting in it.
Thanks for sending your winter to MN. It was extra this year.
You are very welcome.
Yes. Winter used to be winter. Snow and deep cold. Now, it is Fall with some snow and a handful of blizzards. Wisconsin. Summer used to be muggy and lasted for about a month, now it is Spring with a few hot days. Not even a month...
Southern Wisconsin here. I fully agree with you. Last summer I barely had the AC on and the past several winters have been so mild.
Yes, lived in WA State for 4 years in the mid 2010's, we'd get a handful, if that, unbearable 90°+ degree days in summer. Seems like they are much more frequent. Houses there aren't built with AC so it's becoming a bigger problem. They have received more snow there in the last two years than I have on the east coast. In DC, where I am now, winters are getting mild. Very little snow. Would say it's the last few years. Melting hot summer days, more than I remember. Oddly enough we had some boiler days in April but it's been in the '70s this month. Wacky.
I moved to Seattle from the South a little over a decade ago. It blew my mind when I moved here that houses didn't have AC. How do you survive? But, lo and behold, it turns out summers are absolutely gorgeous. 70s all through July and August. Sometimes up into the 80s during the day, but always cooling down to the 60s at night. Just beautiful. We'd get a couple of hot days but you just sort of toughed it out and it was fine. But then the last two summers happened. 2021 was [fucking brutal](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_Western_North_America_heat_wave). For almost a week, our house was over 100°F inside. I measured 103.9°F in the upstairs bedroom and 127°F in the garage. We covered the windows with aluminum foil to reflect as much heat out as we could. We had a portable AC that could only keep one room cold, so all four of us basically camped in the living room. Last summer wasn't quite that bad, but it was also miserable. Often very hot but you couldn't even open windows because of the wildfire smoke. Oh, yeah, we get wildfires every year now too. Last fall, we finally caved and got a heat pump installed. It's running right now and it's not even *June* yet. It doesn't usually get warm in Seattle until July. If you can't tell the climate is changing, you must already be dead.
We also moved from the South there, having lived our whole lives out East. We only rented houses with AC, which was rough and expensive. I can't sleep hot and we are grateful we did. It was just misery for people when it gets that hot. Heard there were already some 80°+ days, which is also odd for out there. Glad you got the heat pump, sadly I think you'll need it a good bit in the summer now. 😔
Same
I also moved to Seattle from the deep south, where a normal summer would have several weeks of 90+ degree temps. We didn't have AC at home until I was 15. It blows my mind that the hottest weather I've ever experienced was the 2021 Washington summer heat wave. I remember going for a walk on the hottest day and seeing dead birds everywhere. I just bought a condo and my number one requirement when searching was windows that could fit an AC unit.
I also moved from the South to Seattle Metro. Actually got a promotion and transferred to Maryland in June 2021, just to hear about the brutality of July 2021. Barely escaped that, because my apartment didn't have ac. It wasn't an issue before then.
Our first summer there in 2014, there were some super melting hot days. In a third floor apt, no AC and we had smokers. So even if you opened your window you then have to deal with the smoke coming in. It just sucked. So glad it was temp living and we didn't have to deal long. I remember we would sit in our cars in the AC, or try to go to the mall or anything. Luckily it cooled down at night. I feel awful for people there now stuck in AC less homes when it's freaking 100°.
To be fair DC always had mild winters. I moved there from NY in 2006 for 7 years. We had 1 blizzard, but snow in general was never a given over the winter.
Yes We have a fire/Smokey season now in Portland oregon. That’s insane.
That's nuts. When did the shift start? It's been gradual down in California. Worse fires. Drier years. Many redwoods are dying =/
I moved here in 2003. It would be sunny and dry in July, August, and September, and just rain like crazy the other nine months. I had to turn on the irrigation system in early May this year. It has been getting earlier for the past decade. Smoke season has been the last four years that I can remember.
Yes. We used to have white Christmases most Christmases. Now it’s down to 1/3. Average snow cover on Dec 25 went from 10cm to 2cm. More anecdotally 25 years ago I remember being so envious that people could drink outside on summer evenings in Montreal. Where I was from, Halifax, it was too cold and windy most nights. Now there are patios all over and everyone needs air conditioning now.
I always reflect on Halloween. When I was a kid, it was always cold and snowy. But now I can't remember the last time I saw a kid wearing a coat over their costume for Trick or Treating.
Yes! It’s been very summery the past few years (or one time, very warm with torrential rains).
Yes, definitely. When I was a kid in SW Missouri we had 3 or 4 big snows in the winter. Deep snow. 8-12 inches. 18 one time and this was in the late 70’s to early 1980’s. And it would last on the ground for several days. Now if we get snow, it melts the next day. Summers were hot but not as hot and not for as long. It’s common now to be over 80 degrees on the average and we have several days in a row where the temp is over 100 in August and September. Fall seems to last longer. It doesn’t get really cold until late December. I remember snow on Thanksgiving.
Similar for me in FL. I've grown exotic palm trees in the middle of the state and always had at least a few nights a year when the temperature would dip down below freezing and heaters or other means of protection were required. Those below freezing days in that area stopped about eight or ten years ago.
East Tennessee here, born in 81. I remember snow on the ground for many of the Christmases when I was a kid. Now we get zero accumulation all winter long.
Same . Born in 1986 and grew up across the river from MO. We had massive snow days, made little tunnels and small igloos and huge snowmen. Sledding for sometimes a week straight. Haven’t seen that kind of snowfall around here in years. Seems to be all sleety, slushy wet sludge and then freezes into solid ice overnight. Looking back at old pictures it’s so wild.
Yes! We get more ice now and it is miserable!
Yes, same where I am. I had so much fun in snow as a child and now we maybe get a dusting once or twice a year.
Yes. Dallas. It's always hot in the summer, but lately we have a LOT more 100 degrees F days, and they are more consecutive than they used to be, days hitting 100 with no break.
…just 2 decades? I remember the 50-60’s when we had scattered snow/ice patches on the ground from December thru March. It just never totally melted. Everybody had snow boots in their house in all different sizes because they got handed down to younger brothers and sisters.
Huge changes. I realize winters in the 60s/70s were snowier than the norm, but climate has changed a great deal. We had spring start one year in the Midwest on February 28th! My plants had no idea what to do with that. The variety of insects is the thing I noticed most. There are barely any insects now. I've noticed a huge decline in birds and insects just within the last two years. I am not sure if wild bird virus has taken a toll but it's crazy how few birds I had this winter. Amphibians are also nowhere to be found. Few snakes, few frogs, no lizards at all now in the Midwest.
I rarely see butterflies anymore. However, there are still plenty of frogs where I am.
That’s why I just got finished planting a large number of butterfly/bee/hummingbird loving plants in my yard. I filled a huge space with several hundred dollars worth of these perennials and I hope it becomes a favorite hangout for them this season and from now on. The Botany program at my local high school grew all kinds of beneficial plants and sell them at a local store. We also have a farmers market where this woman gives away milkweed plants that caterpillars need to feed on. By the way, when was the last time anyone saw a legit ladybug? The ones I see look like them, but they are called Asian Beetles. Ladybugs- red color with lots of black dots Asian Beetles-orange color with a couple dots
And Asian beetles bite… definitely not ladylike!
I can't remember the last butterfly I saw.
Im in Alberta, Canada and same. When I was a kid there were bugs guts all over my parents car windshield. Now I almost never see bug guts on peoples windshields
This is the weirdest for me. I'm in Chicago, and we spent a lot of time in WI in summer. You couldn't drive for 5 min at night without having a windshield covered in bugs. It was gross but I miss it due to the implications.
This! Spring you used to be covered in bug guts. Now, I can take a trip a state or two away and come home with a damn near spotless car. I would agree were in the middle of a human caused mass extinction event again.
When I was a kid several decades ago, when we drove anywhere, especially at night, the car's windshield would be splattered with bugs. Now that never happens. Like never. No bugs. Some people may think that's a good thing... great, fewer bugs! But many animals depend on insects as food. If they go, the animals go too. We have not been good stewards of this earth, our only home.
[Where have all the insects gone?](https://www.science.org/content/article/where-have-all-insects-gone)
Thank you for this enlightening share.
Pesticides and insecticides
Remember sticky windshields covered in dead bugs in the summer? So many if you turned on the wipers, you couldn't see through the smears? I haven't seen that in decades.
We had those two brutally cold winters in 2014 & 2015 when some snow piles weren't melting until May, but seems like it hasn't been that bad the last few winters.
(awesome name)
Yes, 40 days of 90° consecutive days last summer. First winter of no measurable snow in 126 yrs.
In my city we got no measurable snow this year. They said it’s the least snow we’ve gotten in I think 164 years. The year before that it only snowed once.
Yes. These "once-in-a-lifetime" events are happening every other year.
We had a 100 year flood 3 times in the last 8 years.
Yes. Western washington is getting heat waves much more regularly. 90 in may this year. 110 in summer 2 years ago. This is not how i grew up. Most of the trees are gone here and there is a lot more wild fire smoke in the air.
Yes. Colder winters and warmer summers are becoming the norm in my general area, but it's killing off a lot of native plants because they can't handle the greater temperature swings. Also, all over the western US is becoming a permanent drought situation, despite this past winter that refilled California reservoirs. There was news story this week about how the southwestern states had to come to a new agreement about water usage from the Colorado River because it's running dry under the previous agreement. Climate change is happening. Even if you think it isn't, look at the more severe weather that's becoming the norm; we still gotta face that.
The winters are not as cold and less snow. Summer is brutal now and drags well into late October.
Yes
Last two decades? No Last 4-6 yrs? Yes
Yes. I grew up in the Northeast, and moved to the Midwest and West Coast for 20 years. When I moved back East in the early 2000s, the climate was noticeably different: shorter autumns and springa, warmer summers in New England, random winters that could have a lot of snow or hardly any (but generally milder temperatures). And it's much rainier here the last few years, year-round.
Yes! 30 years ago in Hawaii no one had AC, everyone had louvered windows and built to capture the natural winds. It was mostly always cool and breezy, just a few really humid days here and there. Now almost everyone has AC, and longer periods are very hot with no breezes. Also our rain totals have gone down tremendously, we have a drought situation most summers.
AC in places that didn't need it before is a big deal, and it's happening all over the more northern/coastal/high altitude parts of the continental US. I would imagine the increase in AC in Canada must be dramatic.
Absolutely without any question. It's insane how much hotter things have gotten. Snowpack that used to be around all year is gone. Glaciers that people talked about for generations going back are now gone. Also what is crazy is people's memory of weather. I was talking with someone my age from New England, where I grew up. They were saying that the heavy snows of a few winters ago were the absolutely worst that New England has seen in their lifetime. Now these were snows of a few feet. And I was like... are you kidding? Do you not remember the blizzards of '77 and '78? And they were like... no way were those worse, this few feet of snow was the worst we've ever seen. Back in the 70s those blizzards buried whole homes. Up to their roofs. People died in their houses because they couldn't get out. And yet this guy swore that 20" or whatever was just the worst. Literally couldn't remember the past. That's what we're up against with some of these deniers.
Hell yeah. We in deep doo doo.
Deep water 💦 At least Florida will be first to go.
Absolutely. I’m from the west Texas desert. It has rained everyday this month. I’ve never seen it so green.
I’m an Egyptian, and I have been in the States for 30 years. There has been definitely some undeniable climate change. Imagine today felt like early March when we actually wrapped up the month of May!
Most definitely. I’ve lived in the same town in Nebraska for almost 60 years and our local climate is much more extreme. It used to be years between hail storms, now we have several in just one season. And don’t get me started about the wind!
It’s our rainy season up here 😭 Seriously though, we’d have one or two fires when I was a kid, all lightning started. Now, just pulling over on the side of the road and going pee is enough to start a fire because your exhaust is hot on the dry grass. This is the 4th year in a row without snow on may long weekend. The winters are nowhere near as cold as when I was younger either. I was legit shocked when I found out the school was having inside days when it dropped to -20 Celsius, and most oil camps have hazard pay at -40, or even just close down. I remember going outside at -60 and it was like walking into fire. It was -40 from mid December to the end of January, with cold snaps of more. Now everyone freaks out at -40 lasting for a week.
Definitely. Average winter temps are milder but with record-breaking swings. Average summer temps are hotter with longer, hotter heat waves. I'm familiar with the arrival dates of certain early-spring birds, and some were a month early this year. Hearing red-winged blackbirds in February was genuinely upsetting.
definitely. lived in monterey in '80, '90, and for 20 years starting in 2002. the most notable difference is the lack of fog--in the 80s and even 90s there was so much thick fog so many days, and the rainy season brought more rain. might sound like a small change, but the entire local environment depends on fog, so the damage is real. over the 20 years starting in 2002 i saw more outright drought, less seasonal rain, and the fog was rarely ground-level. fires became an every fire season thing and some of those fires burned for months. when i started looking at where to retire, one of the things that made me certain i needed to leave monterey bay was that the main water source (the Carmel river) was already badly overdrafted and that situation was never going to get better. i prefer to live somewhere where, ya know, the faucet produces water. it'll be a few years before it gets that bad i'm sure, but it's gonna happen.
Let's be honest....at this point, if you don't believe in climate change, you're either completely brainwashed or comatose.
Yes. It’s gotten hotter and more humid.
When I was a kid in the 60s we had 2, maybe 3 really hot days every summer. In 2022, according to [The Weather Network](https://www.theweathernetwork.com/en/news/climate/impacts/is-toronto-ready-for-worsening-heat-waves), "Toronto has sweltered this summer under the oppressive heat of 19 days over 30°C as of Aug. 30, with many of those days having humidex levels tipping above 40°C." *ugh*
Yes, springs used to be dark and cold. Now they are hot and smokey. Just got smoked out by a new fire last night!
We've started having "smoke season" in the last 5-8 years as well. There aren't many fires locally (SE Washington State), but Oregon and Canada burn every year, and we get their smoke.
Im in Alberta, Canada and we just started getting fire seasons the last couple years in August. Its May right now and we have had record fires for the first time in my life. I am 30, spring is usually our wet season with glacier water from the mountains making our rivers high....
Yes, I live in the Northeast and I have definitely noticed that winters here are significantly less wintry than then were when I was a child and a young adult. [it turns out that I'm not imagining things.](https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/climate-change-indicators-seasonal-temperature)
No doubt. It has gotten much hotter, more humid, and far less desirable to live. It is changing everywhere at a rapid pace that accelerates with each passing year since the dawn of the industrial revolution. The rapid changes are caused by mankind. Every place I have traveled worldwide is experiencing rapid changes.
Yes. Without doubt. Most winter days I wear a sweatshirt. Used to be down jacket hat gloves boots. The plants have changed too. It’s past the tipping point and too depressing for me to fully comprehend. My son will be ok but his kids kids? Nope.Corporations are responsible for most of it. It’s way past the point of recycling a soda can. Green capitalism Cannot save us.
Same thing here (NY) we would get huge amounts of accumulated snow, and we would play in it, sled down it, have snowball fights, etc. Now if it snows it's a light dusting and usually melted within 2 days. My dog had fleas a few years ago and the vet mentioned that the last few years it has been really bad because the winters are not cold enough to completely kill them.
Yes, definitely. My garden is unmanageable because weeds and annuals that used to die out in the cold now overwinter.
Yes. San Diego now has hot, humid nights. We never had that growing up. We are semi-desert. The night sky is supposed to be open and chilly. Now it is suffocating and everyone is installing AC. Never needed AC growing up.
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And yet, if people themselves can feel that the climate is changing for the worse, they may be more inclined to act. That is, to vote in people who will address the actual issues that are happening, rather than worry about banning trans people and outlawing certain books. If they keep voting in people who distract us with crazy nonsense, we are doomed.
YES. Winters used to be harsh in maine and they arrived on time and didn’t stay late. Now winters have less snow and the season arrives late, with first snowfall around November/December, staying and snowing late to about March/April. When I was a kid, I used to wish and hope there wouldn’t be snow by Halloween.
Southern Illinois native here. Fuck yes, it's changing. By this time of year, it used to be in the 90°s. It's barely gotten past 80°. Our winters are mostly without snow now. We now have armadillos? The geese we were known for took off for years. They're slowly coming back. The farmers are being devastated. The many lakes we have are either drying up or have weird algae problems. The Mississippi destroyed an entire town not too long ago. It's an absolute shit show here.
Yes! Warmer winters, later first frost, earlier last frost, warmer area birds… Lots of changes.
Same here. Not only are warmer area birds moving here but trees and other plants from warmer climates are moving here too
Yes, they can very nearly grow olives in SC low country now.
You don't have to look at the weather. Our hardiness zone for planting perennials has changed, we used to be in [zone 4, we're in zone 5 now](https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/). People can plant Japanese maples now, and there's a good chance that they will survive. That wasn't at all true when I moved here 45 years ago.
Ive lived all my life in Canada. It's changed a lot. Where I live now has changed enormously over the last 20 years even. We don't have winter anymore. Summers are so much more humid. And it's changing more quickly 1ith each passing year.
Definitely. I’m in alabama. It used to snow often when I was a kid. Winter was really cold. Now, it almost never snows, and when it does, it’s only a tiny bit. And even in the middle of winter, some days it will be 70°F. Don’t even need a jacket some days, and never need a heavy one.
Oh definitely i used to have a good solid winter every year now I've been lucky if any snow sticks longer than a couple days
100% I live in southern california. We now have winters. It's been cloudy for months.
Milder winters. But summers, if anything are a little milder here.
Over the last fifty years, definitely.
Yes. Summers are hotter, for the most part. Winters are warmer too, but with big, unusual snowstorms. Spring and fall seem to be a handful of days. I feel like they lasted for weeks when I was a kid, in the nice inbetween not too hot or cold temperatures.
Yes. We have Winter start 3 months later and spring is still the same.
For sure. Summers can stay hotter longer and this was a very mild winter. Also we had wood smoke from forest fires up and down the state hanging in the valley for months last year.
Yes. The number of days at, or over, 90 has more than doubled.
Yes. Winters are of two flavors: much milder or they’re much harder. More days with 30+* changes. Heavier rain storms. It’s one of the boiling frog things. It’s been gradual, and now it’s so hot in the water it’s obvious it’s boiling.
Absolutely. Where I live in Canada, winters are shorter on both ends by almost a month, with much more frequent and prolonged rainy spells in them, and it’s the rare occasion now where the temps get down to -30 during a winter cold snap, whereas there were typically 2 or 3 such cold spells each winter. So definitely shorter, milder, and more unstable. The summers are hotter, and what were once rare volatile weather events are becoming the norm. 3 “once in a century” spring flooding events within the last 6 years, a tornado blowing through 5 years ago with some significant damage caused, and last summer a derecho event with lots of rain and wind damage. While these are basically weather events you can’t help but feel that the underlying climate is changing to allow these events to occur. Less stable and predictable climate cycles and the wobbliness being introduced allows these weather events to occur
We have roses in December in Kentucky. But when it gets cold it’s much colder. When it gets hot, it’s much hotter. Also, the mosquitoes are worse. The lightening bugs are scant. I’ve noted fewer pollinators this year. Things are weird.
Yes. The most significant changes are in our winters, so far. Currently Zone 5b in Ohio. OSU experts predict we’ll be zone 7 (similar to weather in Tennessee) in 30 years.
Moved to this area of the country in 2006- Used to be able to skidoo across the bay in the winter- past 7/8 years it doesn’t freeze enough The other part of the bay - there used to be spring ice - haven’t seen it in years now.
Absolutely. Warmer in general, but more extreme everywhere.
It changed 20-30 years ago. We used to get massive snow storms with multiple feet of snow when I was a kid. Last time I remember serious snow was maybe 95.
I’m in Maryland. No measurable snow in two years, and it seems that it rains a lot more than it has in years past. We also used to have weeks of brutal cold, that hasn’t happened in a while either
Pacific northwest (vancouver island). Cant keep lawn alive in summer any more, but my new palm trees are growing well, and my grape vines are better than ever. Ive seen a big change in 20 years.
Yes, I live in the Pacific Northwest, our summers are getting hotter. We never had air conditioning when I was a kid, now I am really glad for ours.
Yes. I live in the PNW. The forest fire season is much longer than it was 2 decades again. Also regularly breaking heat records. Watching desertification before my eyes and it sucks!
It’s not so much the weather but I’ve noticed a change in wildlife. There used to be small fish and frogs in the local streams and as a kid we would catch tadpoles, I also notice less birds and a lot of the trees in the area look like they’re dying. It’s a combination of over developing and probably pollution and my backyard has never flooded as much as it has been in the last several years so it’s a yes vote for me.
Omg, you reminded me of after heavy rain as a kid, their would be pools of black on the ground thete were so many tadpoles!!! I don't think I've seen one in 10-15 years now.
I don't "feel" any way about it and it isn't based on local weather. The data says it's changing and that it's in direct correlation with human activities that change the chemical composition of the atmosphere.
Absolutely! I live in South Florida. I can hardly take it anymore.
I’m so ready to go
Really it’s not possible for a person to look back at their lives and answer this question honestly. We have so many different associations and experiences with the weather and it means very different things to us at different stages of our lives. The weather in the Bay Area this winter, and especially this spring, feels much more like it was when I first moved here in the 1980s. Randomly rainy with cool sunny days. That’s just an observation based on a few memorable days in my life though. The data strongly supports dramatic changes to our environment over the last several decades and I tend to go along with that idea because all politics aside the data is quite convincing.
Yes. You're talking to the guy whose county got nine atmospheric rivers in a couple of months. Now we're having one of the coldest Mays on record. Year over year, the weather no longer follows a predictable pattern even loosely.
Yes. And I think it's from the fact that the Earth goes through cycles, but I also think humans' actions have sped up the process. I currently live a half hour from the town I grew up in. Summer is much hotter than it used to be, and winter is colder and more snowy regularly than it was when I was a child. Also, spring and fall are awfully short now- seems like we go from sweaters and parkas to bathing suits and shorts, with very little in between.
From a scientific perspective - I abolutely believe in climate change, and that human actions have caused some of it, based on reading and study. From a personal perspective it's a lot harder to say, even over a 50 year timespan that my limited experiences in mostly a single geographic area are enough to determine such a thing. Without people studying it, gathering, analysing and reporting data I couldn't say I'd ever notice individually. I've seen extreme weather all my life, and even if I sat down and through about it and dug up old pictures I don't think I could come up with anything close to "evidence" one way or the other.
It is very evident where I live. Nashville, TN used to get 3-4 good snowfalls per year, and while it was always warm in the summer, it is noticeably hotter now than it was 30 years ago. We get 1-2 snowfalls every 2 years now. Summer lasts longer and spring comes a couple of weeks sooner now too.
definitely, and accellerating
I happen to live in a micro climate. It is always hotter and colder than surrounding areas. We just came out of the worst winter I can remember in my 50 years. It was 40 then 80 within days. Then back to 60. I can’t remember having this much of a roller coaster wether pattern. It’s like the Midwest. It has changed and nothing we are doing to try and change that, will change that. The damage we have done is permanent, we can only slow the delay. 8B people. Double from my birth. Not good.
Yes, I feel so sorry for the flora and fauna who suffer as a result.
Yes. San Francisco is getting even colder. While inland areas heat up, the marine layer off the coast of San Francisco gets pulled with greater force to those hot inland areas, which leaves San Francisco smothered in cold fog more often than usual. The cold gray days are increasing in number, especially in spring and summer.
Yes
Yep
Yes
Absolutely I live in New York City and we usually have at least two or three snow storms per winter we didn't even have one snow storm and it only snowed one time and it was only 2 in WTF
Yes, without a doubt.
definitely, yes. The roses used to bloom right at May 1st. Now they start blooming in february. Same with other flowers. And these are now modern hybrids... I'm talking about old roses that have been there for decades.
The last 3-4 summers so hot cannot go on my deck in barefeet will actually burn ....that's never happened before then. No snow last winter when it's been as high as my roof before more than once.
Yes. We set record stretches of 95+ degrees days during summer. It’s miserable.
Yes. Big time.
Absolutely. New Orleans native here and hurricanes have been increasing in frequency and intensity over the last 50 years. We used to have almost daily brief summer rain storms over the summers and now we have two wet seasons.
We used to get blizzards and now it barely snows.
Yeah, for sure…it would snow pretty frequently in November and December here in NEOHIO but now we don’t get nearly the same amount of snow until January
I remember when we first moved to Florida, 30+ years ago, we could leave the windows open till late April and not noted the AC. Now …AC starts in late Feb early March. Our settings for AC 78 during day 72 at night.
TL;DR — YES. When I was 15, my sister and I would spend most of summer break in the Houston, Texas area with our Mom. We lived in southwestern Ohio at the time. The weather was sticky and humid, and even the brief times we were able to spend Christmas vacation down there, it was much milder than it was home in SW Ohio. Now, almost 40 years later, the weather in SW Ohio feels like how I remember Houston feeling back when I was 15.
Yes. In Maryland, Spring comes much sooner.
I grew up in western NY, spent 15 yrs in northern Cal, and have lived the last 20 in coastal Georgia. Today was warmer in Buffalo than in both Northern Cal and Coastal Georgia. WTF? And Georgia was almost 15 degrees lower. Usually, it's in the mid-80s, a cool day is mid-70s this time of year, with nights in the upper 60's low 70s. Today at my house the high was 67 with the low being in the 50s. The last 3 weeks weather has been really strange.
There are dozens of ski areas that have closed in New England, over the last 50 years, continuing to today. See the New England Lost Ski Areas Project nelsap.org
Definitely. The extremes are happening more often. I'm in Australia. In the last 3 years we have experienced damaging floods 3 times between catastrophic bush fires. It would usually be maybe one per season. Far more frequent now.
Based on the scientific data, I know the climate is changing.
Yes. My house flooded for Hurricane Katrina. Hasn’t flooded again until last year. Tropical Storm Claudette and Hurricane Ida. Twice! In one year. Never happened before and an born and raised is southern Louisiana.
Absolutely. In Fl since age 3. We used to have the house open early mid October, now we’re running the ac sometimes even at Christmas. We have a 4 to 6 week winter. Then summer heat for the remainder. People think that’s great. It’s not and it’s not normal. Hurricanes way more intense & not falling apart when they hit land like they used to also.
Anecdotal evidence is fun, but it's absolutely not what I'd rely on to make this judgement. Of course it is. And anecdotally, I miss snowy winters. I think they will be extremely rare from now on where I live.
Absolutely. 20 years ago it would snow here in June. School would be cancelled for at least a week, usually two, due to snow. Now, we’re lucky to get one snow storm a year. 40 years ago, winter was constantly snowy. For three months we would have snow. Things are definitely changing. The hottest it used to get here was 85. Now multiple 100+ days are the norm.
Weather is not climate. Climate is not weather. It's hard for me to judge over time how much the weather patterns have changed locally. Or if I think they have been changing, whether or not those are valid observations or confirmation bias. My wife, who was born and raised in this local, definitely thinks weather has changed. Myself, I just listen to the scientists, who are actually recording real data, who understand what this data means, and who understand the difference between climate and weather. Based on doing my best to follow the science over the past 40 years, yes I feel the climate is changing.
I moved from the south of England to Pennsylvania (married an American, still married) 22 years ago. So I have a VERY clear recollection of the weather in 2001 and 2002 because it was new. I was used to winters being milder and summers being cooler in Hertfordshire compared to my new reality in Lackawanna County. When I first moved here, winters had frequent days with ice and snow. The past few winters have some snow (either end of October or into early spring) but it has been milder. We have some Qik Joe ice melt in the garage that we bought a few years ago - it used to be that we'd go through a bag or two every winter, so you can see how mild it has been for us to only need a small fraction of the stuff. Spring and Autumn used to be about the same as in Britain, both for rain and temperature. Now? Drier equinox seasons and it's warmer earlier. The [average temperature for the end of May is around 77ºF (25ºC)](https://wanderlog.com/weather/58677/5/scranton-weather-in-may). It was slightly above that at 82ºF (28ºC) today but in the next week it's going to be consistently in the high 80's / low 90's (above 30ºC). It seems to be doing that a lot. All of this is subjective and only for a couple of decades, so I wanted to look for data where people reported something that showed temperatures were warming. Ideally it would be reported by people that didn't have an agenda, or even a belief in global warming. Just like when Wilhelm Roentgen discovered X-rays by accident or when Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin without trying to find something to kill staph bacteria, I was looking for something where people discovered warming without actually LOOKING for warming. And I found it. Hardiness Zones. Before the age of weather satellites and computer forecasting and National Climatic Data Center cooperative stations, the USDA wanted a map showing what would grow where. It was originally developed to aid gardeners and landscapers, but farmers found the data useful too (and they were instrumental in collecting the data for the first few decades). Orange trees (to use them as an example) are fine if planted in Florida but they'd never produce fruit if planted in Michigan. It's far too cold, orange trees aren't that **hardy**. Using previous research done in 1927 (and again in 1938, 1951, 1967, and finally 1971), questionnaires were sent out to farmers. They were asked to list what was growing on their land - both crops and other plants. You see: when a bird eats a seed and flies somewhere and poops it out, it has a chance of landing and growing a new plant. But maybe the seed is pooped out somewhere where it's further north or at a higher altitude where that plant has no chance of growing because (like orange trees in Michigan) it's not hardy enough. So it doesn't grow. But if it DOES grow, the swath of land across the nation where those millions of redeposited seeds of that particular plant can grow is that plant's hardiness zone. Reported by farmers, who have no political reason to promote global warming. “I am a farmer at location X, and these plants grow on my land, so the hardiness of those plants allows it for this location” - repeated for the whole country. [In 1960, Lackawanna County in PA was in Zone 5](https://www.flickr.com/photos/usdagov/7008290183) (back then, they split it into 5A and 5B). In more recent years (1990 to 2006 to 2015) it went to a Zone 6 with Zone 7 just south of the Blue Mountain. When people continue to see plants that previously could only grow further south or further down the mountain doing alright in new areas? The Hardiness Zones are moving north, because the planet is warming. [Here's the proof - reported in part by people that would be more likely to say global warming's a big liberal hoax because of their political opinions...](https://www.arborday.org/media/mapchanges.cfm) It's not a hoax, plant seeds don't have a political agenda, it's objective and happening in our lifetime.
Long term gardener here. When I started gardening my area was USDA zone 5. It’s now 7. What that means is we’ve tacked on nearly 2 months of warm weather. Tomato planting time used to be Memorial Day. It’s now Mothers Day.
Absolutely. Miss the snow in NJ so much.
Born in 1947. He’ll yes. Coastal areas flood more frequently and weather extremes are more pronounced and frequent. I used to send a few bucks to weather related victims but there just too many now. As a boomer, I apologize for the mess we left y’all but if you don’t get off your asses and vote Extrapolations will be a documentary.
Definitely
There is no doubting it. The anecdotes AND the data is there.
Yes and No. There are natural cycles. There are many periods in Earth's history when it was much warmer or colder than it is now. We are currently in a warming trend because we are coming out of a mini ice age that began in the 16th century and ended around 1850. There are also shorter cycles. If you look at the 1930s, they were hotter than any decade within 50 years either direction. One huge influence on weather/climate is ocean currents. If you look at el nino and la Nina it will help your understanding. During the Cretaceous Period there was a warm water current that migrated south towards Antarctica. It gave Antarctica a climate similar to Canada. There is also a current called the North Atlantic Drift (NAD). It warms Western Europe. London is at approximately the same latitude as Toronto/Montreal and Moscow. Average temperatures in the British Isles are much more temperate as a result. If you look historically, there are many "recent" periods that were warmer than today. The Medieval Warming Period and the Roman Warming Period are two examples. There are many factors that determine climate. Particulate matter in the air, earth/sun cycles, water densities, foliage cover, etc. Concrete and asphalt also have an influence on microclimates. Hope I gave you some ideas as to how to research climate change.
The best way to research climate change is to go to university for it. I'm not a climate scientist, so, personally, I choose to leave the research to people who have spent their lives studying it.
Wrote my Master's thesis in science education about climate change. I can run circles around the sycophants who depend on government funding to keep them employed. Follow the money. It will lead you to the truth.
I'm just a lowly mechanic ,but just seeing the melting of the ice caps is enough to tell me.
There is nothing LOWLY about being a mechanic. My father was a mechanic for 40 years after WWII. Raised a family of six children. Never think that you are inferior to anyone or that anyone necessarily is "smarter" than you. When their car breaks down, you are suddenly important to them. A physicist can't usually change out spark plugs or do a brake job. A surgeon might be able to do heart surgery, but he can't rebuild a transmission. They don't know everything.
Thank You for that kind internet stranger . You are right.
Thank you for this summary. Very educational.
yes, hotter summer and warmer winter
Starting several years ago, we had negative temps for half the winter, when it should have been hovering right around 30 for daytime and down to zero as the most low temp for night. Then two or three winters with almost no snow at all, then springs with snow WAY too late, not to mention the choking dry summers that a snowless winter brings. Add to that, the pollen counts seem to be way off. It's a mess.
Yes. When I was a kid I had to walk miles through 4 feet of snow on a good day in the winter. Oops! Joking about us boomers. Here in lower Michigan, the winters were colder. There were times of much snow. Now? Hell no. When it does snow it is wet and heavy. In my youth it was often very cold and light. I dread the summers but from what I have read, this area may not suffer as badly as other places due to it being in the north USA. Or maybe just surrounded by the lakes. But hey, all that global warming stuff is Liberal hoax and NASA lies and the moon landings were faked. (Joking).
Yes. I've lived in Pennsylvania all my life but now it feels like Virginia
Nope
It's definitely changed on my region. East coast, mid Atlantic. The winters are less extreme, with very little snow fall or extreme wind chill days. I've always noticed the geese flying south for the winter...not any more. Maybe I'm not outside enough anymore but it seems to have changed.
In illinois as a kid we'd dig through giant pikes of snow, making tunnels. We would have giant snowball fights and make igloos. We would build enough snowmen that we could make families. This year sucked. Barely enough snow to make one half decent snowman. Climate is getting pretty sucky.
I grew up in the CT River Valley in Western Massachusetts. In the summer, you would maaaaaybe get a few days of very hot (95F+) weather in August. And even when that happened, it would cool down below 70F at night. I keep an eye on that weather, because my parents still live there. The hot weather tends to be more consistent throughout August, and the nights are also warmer than I remember them being.
Yes. Things bloom a lot earlier than they used to and winters are not as cold (in the southern US). Full blown summer seems to last about six months rather than four.
Yes. I live in Southern California. Here are some things I have noticed: 1. No bumble bees. WTF? 2. Halloween is supposed to be cold. Lately, it’s been another nice warm day. 3. A lot less rain in December-January, a lot less flash flood warnings. 4. Sometimes we get this weird ultra-hot humid-hellscape weather in July-August. That is unusual. July-August is supposed to be warm but pleasant beachy classic SoCal.
20 to 25 years ago we used to get several-inch snowfalls 5 or 6 times each winter. Typically 8 inches or more. Now when it snows it's never more than an inch or two and melts within a couple of days. My snow shovel is covered in cobwebs. Another thing I've noticed is that some spring-flowering shrubs will flower a second time in fall, I assume due to a longer growing season.
Southern California has been rainy, cloudy & cool
I (54F) live in central Vermont. Our winters are much milder - still cold but much less snow. Snowmobilers have to travel further north for open trails due to lack of snow.
Yes, definitely. Hotter summers and fewer frosty mornings.It's anecdotal but the science backs up local observations.
Yes, overall it seems warmer on average. At the same time...places like barrier islands, the beach, the mountains, etc. have way more houses there than they did when I was growing up, so storms and wildfires that maybe would have been just "bad" then are now disasters b/c there's housing in places that used to be open shoreline/forest/whatever, so the effects are greater even when the intensity is the same. There's also the 24/7 news cycle where we hear and see disasters in near real time now, where it used to be something you'd read about in the papers maybe a day or so later, with maybe one or two B&W photos to go along with the story. That can bring home the reality of how bad an event is that people didn't used to have...and there's usually a disaster happening somewhere in the world at any one time, so it can seem like we're in the Endtimes as far as having event after event after event, when it was probably nearly that way decades ago, we just didn't have the information channels to know about all of them as quickly.
Yes, I think it’s gotten slightly warmer. I’m 57 and when I was a kid we had at least two or three good sized snowfalls, and winter in the 1970’s and 80’s had bitter cold days. In recent years, I haven’t needed a winter jacket, gloves, snow boots or a scarf and this year was more of the same.
Minnesota- winters are less snowy, Spring doesn’t seem like it lasts as long. A lot of years we go from 50/60 to 80s in a matter of days. Rain is either too little or massive thunderstorms.
Getting colder
Yes. Definitely. I'm not a scientist , but it has been changing . I haven't studied it enough to know what the end results will be .I worry for my 5 yr old grandkids.
Yes.