How Was Your Winter?

Colder than normal? Warmer than normal? It's hard to tell.

Gallup asked a nationally representative sample of Americans in early March whether the winter had been warmer or colder than usual. Then it compared their answers to the February 2019 temperature mean and the historic mean (based on 1900 to 2000 NOAA data). Here are the findings by region...

• In the East: It was 4.4 degrees warmer than average in the East. But 34 percent of the region's residents told Gallup it was colder than usual. Another 42 percent said it was about the same. Only 22 percent reported it being warmer than usual.
• In the Midwest: Midwesterners did better. The Midwest was 4.9 degrees colder than average, and 62 percent of residents reported that it was colder than usual. 
• In the South: It was 3.6 degrees warmer than usual in the South, but only 32 percent of residents felt that way. The 43 percent plurality said it was about the same as usual and 23 percent said it was colder than usual.
• In the West: It was cold in the West, with the average February temperature 6.1 degrees below normal. Western residents felt it, with 64 percent reporting a colder than usual winter. 

How good are we at noticing climate change? Gallup's results show that we get it right only about half the time.

Source: Gallup, More Attributing Colder and Warmer Weather to Climate Change than in Past