This year, winter is likely to be between two and 10 days shorter if you live in the Mountain West. That’s according to a new report from Climate Central, which says there are fewer below-freezing days due to climate change.
Some areas have been hit harder than others. Southwest states Arizona, New Mexico and Nevada have lost around 10 below-freezing days on average each year. Climates are naturally warmer there.
“And so a little bit of warming can have a much bigger impact on things like whether precipitation falls as rain or snow,” said Kristina Dahl, the vice president of science at Climate Central.
Credit: Climate Central
Dahl said the higher altitudes in Utah, Colorado, Montana and Wyoming keep temperatures lower, so they’re not losing as many winter days. Wyoming has lost two below-freezing days on average.
“ It's not like places like Wyoming aren't warming as well,” Dahl said. “It's just that they’re still below that threshold.”
Idaho and Colorado have both lost an average of four winter days. Should the trend hold, the research has serious implications for ski resorts, which may need to shorten seasons, along with ecosystems.
“If it is warm in the winter and flowers bloom early, the pollinators may not be there yet to pollinate those flowers and sustain crops,” Dahl said.
She added that having less snow in the winter also threatens water supplies.
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Colorado and KANW in New Mexico, with support from affiliate stations across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
