This past weekend's negative 13 degree weather is quite rare in recent years. We've only had two days colder then that over the past two decades, and that was 15 years ago. Some of it's the urban heat island effect, while other is the climate is warming everywhere, New York included.
Data Source: Department of Interior, Climate Divisions.This is a coverage of climate divisions from the National Climatic Data Center. https://catalog.data.gov/dataset/climate-divisions
Between 1951 and 1969, the Punxsutawney Phil always saw his shadow. In comparison, between 2005 and 2024, the Punxsutawney Phil didn’t see his shadow 7 times. 🐻
The facts are simple — the Ground Hog is seeing his shadow less today then in years past. Long winters are becoming rarer.
It wouldn't be Ground Hog Day without this song.