The Triangle's springs have gotten much warmer in the past 50 years
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Raleigh's spring seasons are getting warmer, Alex Fitzpatrick and Alice Feng report from a recent Climate Central analysis — a trend that reflects human-caused warming, the group says.
Why it matters: Much of the seasonal climate change discussion is focused on summer and winter, when temperatures are typically at their annual high and low extremes. But the "between seasons" are affected, too.
By the numbers: Springtime in the Triangle warmed by 4.5°F to 62°F on average between 1970 and 2023, per the climate research and communications nonprofit.
- That's compared to warming of 2.2°F on average across nearly 230 U.S. cities.
Stunning stat: Spring has gotten notably warmer in the American Southwest, where average seasonal temperatures have risen by more than 6°F in some places.
Zoom in: The highest average springtime temperature increases were seen in Reno, Nevada (+6.8°F), El Paso, Texas (+6.3°F) and Las Vegas (+6.2°F).
What it did: The group's analysis is based on NOAA data and looks at meteorological spring, which begins March 1 and ends May 31.
What it's saying: Warmer springtime temperatures cause a variety of knock-on effects, per Climate Central, including earlier snowmelt (which in turn affects drinking water supplies), longer allergy seasons, changes in agricultural growing seasons and more.