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Despite the size and severity of the recent U.S. winter storm, long-term trends show that the planet is overheating, winter is warming quickly, and the coldest days of the year are losing their chill.

by Climate Central

January 30, 2026

Much of the U.S. typically experiences the coldest day of the year in mid- to late-January. That’s what many experienced heading into the last week of January 2026 as a significant winter storm brought heavy snow, sleet, and dangerously cold wind chills over an area extending from the Southern Plains to the Northeast. 

Despite the severity of this recent winter storm and the serious hazards and safety concerns it brought — from widespread travel disruptions to power outages and tree damage — long-term climate trends show that the planet is overheating, winter is warming quickly, and the coldest days of the year are losing their chill. 

That’s the difference between weather and climate. 

As the cold extremes of winter thaw, the warm extremes of winter are on the rise. So far in 2026 (through January 26), major U.S. cities have set over four times more daily record-high temperatures (171) than daily record-low temperatures (40). 

• That’s according to Climate Central’s Local Records Tracker based on weather station data for 247 U.S. cities.  

New Climate Central analysis shows that unusually warm winter days are becoming more common across the U.S. — consistent with what we’d expect in our rapidly warming climate. 

Using data from 244 U.S. weather stations, Climate Central analyzed the change in the number of winter days with extremely warm temperatures since 1970. 

Extremely warm winter days have maximum temperatures that are warmer than 90% of all winter daily highs measured from 1970 to 2025 (see Methodology for details). 

• The number of extremely warm winter days has increased since 1970 in most (86% or 210) of the locations analyzed. 

• On average, these 210 locations now experience six more extremely warm winter days than they did in the 1970s. 

• Upper Midwestern cities have seen the sharpest rise in very warm winter days, with an average of seven more such days now than during the 1970s. The Upper Midwest’s many ski areas may be affected by more extreme winter warmth.