In 50 Yrs, 96% Of 244 US Cities Saw Average 6F Rise In Annual Coldest Temperatures

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Wiith a polar outbreak plunging down through the Great Lakes, some cities may be dropping to their coldest temperatures in decades. But how do this week’s extremes compare to the long-term trend? As our greenhouse gas emissions continue to drive climate change, cold extremes are trending warmer across the country.

In the last half-century, 96 percent of our 244 locations have recorded a rise of at least 1°F in their yearly coldest temperature, while only 2 percent have seen a decrease of at least 1°F. The average trend across these cities is a 6°F rise, and 33 cities in 20 states have recorded an increase of 10°F or more. The top five warming trends include Boise, Idaho; Las Vegas, Nevada; Albany, New York; Butte, Montana, and Minneapolis, Minnesota.

We can also track the imprint of climate change by comparing the ratio of record highs to record lows. In a stable climate, we would still experience extreme cold and extreme heat, but those extremes would balance out over time. However, with human-caused climate change, record highs are clearly outpacing record lows. In the 2010s alone, there have been twice as many record highs as record lows — the largest imbalance since record-keeping began a century ago. This is not a seasonal trend; all 12 months have had more record highs than lows in the 2010s. And according to a 2016 study, the ratio of record highs to lows could increase to 15:1 with 3°C (5.4°F) of U.S. mean temperature warming — a threshold we may reach unless we rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

EDIT

https://www.climatecentral.org/gallery/graphics/less-extreme-cold