By Mary Gilbert, CNN meteorologist
(CNN) — Winter is lost in the Midwest and Great Lakes, and time is running out to find it. Dozens of cities are on track for one of the warmest winters on record, making snow and ice rare commodities.
Many cities are missing feet of snow compared to a typical winter, ice on the Great Lakes is near record lows, and spring temperatures have even produced rare winter storms.
ONE classic El Niño pattern combined with its effects warming climate they are to blame for this “non-winter” winter, he said Pete Boulay, climatologist at the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.
Winter has come era of fastest warming for nearly 75% of the US and snowfall is decreasing around the world as temperatures rise due to human-induced climate change.
Minnesota is the epicenter of some of the most unusual heat of the season and the snow is missing.
“There have been previous winters where we've had a week or two like this, maybe even a few weeks,” Boulay told CNN, describing the strange nature of this Minnesota winter, before noting that it's never been this warm. for so long.
“I've never experienced anything like it,” Boulay said. “I hooked up the hose, which we wouldn't do in Minnesota during the winter, and washed my cars last weekend.”
The state had its warmest December on record and a toastier January than some short, brutal cold. According to Boulay, the 10 cold days in early January were the only ones that really felt like winter this season.
The unseasonably warm February continued in Minnesota, as temperatures in the first week of the month ranged between 18 and 23 degrees above average, sending people outdoors in the spring weather.
It's not just Minnesota: Dozens of cities from the Midwest to the Northeast are set to be listed one of the warmest winters recorded in the history books.
Spring warmth has even opened the door for severe spring weather. Destructive storms hit Wisconsin Thursday night and spawned the state's first February tornado.
Heat and snow don't go hand in hand, which is evident when looking at snowfall deficits Minnesota and the Midwest in general.
The Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport has recorded only 4.1 inches of snow since Dec. 1 — a deficit of nearly two feet. Snow has been so light this winter, even Nashville – 700 miles southeast of the Twin Cities – has had more.
The lack of snow and cold is a huge blow to the tourism industry across Minnesota, according to Boulay. Winter recreation staples such as snowmobiling, ice fishing, skiing and snowshoeing all suffer.
The lack of snowfall is even more pronounced in the areas surrounding the Great Lakes, especially those that are usually buried by lake-induced snow. Erie, Pennsylvania, is missing about four feet this winter.
The ice has done a disappearing act the Great Lakes.
“We're at the edge of low ice cover,” Melissa Widhalm, associate director of the Midwestern Regional Climate Center at Purdue University, told CNN.
About 36 percent of the Great Lakes should be covered in ice in early February, but as of Friday, total ice coverage hovered near an all-time low of 5 percent. They show the NOAA data.
The Great Lakes have experienced a decline in both total ice cover and longevity over the past 50 years as warmer winters increase the likelihood of ice-free lakes, according to Climate Centrala non-profit climate research group.
Weak ice cover is part of a larger, troubling trend in the Great Lakes. The total maximum ice extent has decreased by 25% over the past 50 years, according to Climate Central.
Strong, extensive ice is vital for winter recreation economy of the region. Without the ice, the coasts remain vulnerable to destructive waves and cities moving down the lakes are at risk of productive lake effect snow if cold air does arrive.
There are still a few weeks left before the snow, cold and ice return, but with more than half of winter behind us, a great season has already made its mark.
“This winter will really stand out,” Boulay said.
The-CNN-Wire
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