Climate Matters: Winter storms are rarer, but sometimes wetter, due to climate change
A major winter storm is expected to affect millions of Americans this weekend, bringing dangerous wind chills and heavy snow and ice to a vast swath of the country.
Scientists say that conditions causing winter storms like this are becoming less common in a warming climate.
Winter is warming faster than any other season for most of the country, and over 60% of U.S. locations now see less snow than in the past, according to a study by the nonprofit Climate Central.
Climate Central also developed its Global Climate Shift Index to show how climate change impacts daily temperatures worldwide. The Climate Shift Index indicates that the cold snap in Missouri this weekend is up to 1.5 times less likely due to climate change.
In the Deep South, the extreme cold is even more unusual, with climate change making these temperatures up to 3 times less likely in central Arkansas, the Arklatex, and eastern Texas.
Cold spells will become less frequent but more noticeable and severe as winter averages rise. Other atmospheric factors might also produce heavier snowfall as the climate changes.
Warmer air can hold more moisture, so slightly higher temperatures during a winter storm can generate more snow. This partly explains why 30% of U.S. locations have recorded more snow in recent years compared to the past.
This weekend, the clash of moist Gulf air with frigid Arctic air may produce over a foot of snow in some areas. Mid-Missouri can expect moderate snowfall, between 2 and 8 inches, from north to south.
