Megan Hall: Welcome to Possibly, where we take on huge problems like the future of our planet and break them down into small questions with unexpected answers. I’m Megan Hall. 

Today we’re answering a question about the weather. How has climate change affected our winters? And what kind of weather can we expect in the future? Kolya Shields and Ashley Junger from our Possibly team looked into this question. Welcome, Kolya!

Kolya Shields: Hey, Megan!

Ashley Junger: Hi, Megan!

Megan Hall: So, Kolya, let’s start with some background— here in the Northeast, what were our winters like 50 years ago? 

Kolya Shields: To find out, we spoke with Harvey Leonard, a chief meteorologist on Boston Channel 5… He’s actually been forecasting the weather for more than 50 years.

Harvey Leonard [7:03 – 7:13]: “there would be times where some snow or ice, you know, maybe on the side streets by the curbs in the woods, could be on the ground to some extent from early December into March”

Megan Hall: How does that compare to the weather he sees today? 

Ashley Junger: Well, Harvey says winters are getting a lot shorter. 

Harvey Leonard: the frequency of a long, hard continuous winter is already less and probably will continue to be less going forward.

Megan Hall: Are our winters shorter because of climate change? 

Kolya Shields: Yes. a 2021 study reported that the number of days that feel like summer is increasing because of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere released by human activity.  

Ashley Junger: Scientists predict that by 2050, every US state, except for Alaska, will see fewer days with temperatures below freezing each year1. 

Megan Hall: But if that’s true, how do you explain some of those big snowstorms we’ve gotten over the past few years?

Kolya Shields: Yeah, I was curious about that too. I mean, the majority of New York City’s biggest snowstorms have happened in the past two decades. 

Ashley Junger: To understand why, we spoke to another experienced meteorologist, TJ Del Santo, who has worked for Rhode Island channel 12 for 24 years. 

TJ Del Santo: … winters have gotten about three degrees warmer, 3.1 degrees warmer since 1904.

Kolya Shields: And this warmer weather can actually cause more snow because if air is warmer it can hold more moisture.

TJ Del Santo: 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit of warming can hold 7% more water. So the warmer it gets, the more water is available in the atmosphere for a storm.”

Megan Hall: So, we can expect even more snow?

Kolya Shields: In the short term yes, but as the weather gets warmer, more and more precipitation will fall as rain, not snow.

TJ Del Santo: We’re still warming, eventually, it’s probably going to get too warm for it to snow with regularity here in southern New England.”

Megan Hall: So, no more sledding in New England?

Kolya Shields: More than that- less snow will impact seasonal businesses, shift growing seasons for farmers, and change which plants and animals can thrive here . Harvey says climate change will be particularly bad for the ski industry.

Harvey Leonard: I’ve seen these tropical incursions of air… it’s gonna wipe out a snow cover, it’s just going to eat it up, number one, and… then if you abruptly get cold, you have ice. And that’s the worst thing for ski areas.

Megan Hall: That sounds bad. Is there anything we can do to prevent this from happening? 

Ashley Junger: To avoid the really extreme weather, and prevent our snow from disappearing for good, we’ve got to address the things that contribute to climate change. 

Kolya Shields: So, doing the stuff we talk about on this podcast all the time- invest in renewable energy, transition to electric cars, and heat our buildings with electricity not natural gas or oil. 

Megan Hall: Got it. Thanks, Kolya and Ashley! 

That’s it for today. For more information, or to ask a question about the way your choices affect our planet, go to the public’s radio dot org slash possibly. Or subscribe to us wherever you get your podcasts. 

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Possibly is a co-production of the Institute at Brown for Environment and Society, Brown’s Climate Solutions Initiative, and the Public’s Radio.

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