Never mind what the groundhog says, spring weather is arriving earlier in the Mountain West..
Winters are getting shorter in 80% of major U.S. cities and spring is beginning earlier, getting warmer and lasting longer. A new study by Climate Central, an independent non-profit climate research group, found spring temperatures in the Southwest have increased an average of 3.4 degrees and the season is lasting one to two weeks longer since the 1970s.
Climate change is bringing earlier seasonal warming to many pockets of the Mountain West. With that come implications for wide-ranging impacts from fewer snow days at ski resorts to parched farms and ranches. Zachary Labe, a climate scientist with Climate Central, said that sets the stage for potential disaster.
“The combination of the warming temperatures and soils that are drying out is creating conditions that are more favorable for wildfires. We’re also seeing changes to invasive species and disease carrying pests.”
Some of the fastest warming cities in the study include Phoenix, Las Vegas, Reno, and Albuquerque. And, parts of Utah, Colorado and Idaho are facing warmer springtime temperatures.
Labe said understanding data can lead to actions that can change outcomes.
“The level of greenhouse gas that’s emitted in the future will determine how much more warming and how significant impacts will be into the future. So the answer for that really remains up to us.”
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Nevada Public Radio, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUNR in Nevada, KUNC in Northern Colorado, KANW in New Mexico, Colorado Public Radio, KJZZ in Arizona and NPR, with additional support from affiliate newsrooms across the region. Funding for the Mountain West News Bureau is provided in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Eric and Wendy Schmidt.
