But it’s not just the few weeks of 2022 that felt a bit warmer than normal, data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows.
And December records were smashed in Montana, Washington and Wyoming, signaling the region was in for a warmer than usual winter, data shows.
“Early spring thaw enhances the depletion of the reserve of water before summer when it is needed most,” Gleason said.
“The Earth is not warming evenly — certain places, seasons and even times of day are warming faster than others,” nonprofit climate analysis group Climate Signals said.
“Any one month or even any one year isn’t enough to tell us about where things are headed in the long run,” he said.
“This is something that’s emerging as a really important and urgent conversation that we’ve put off for many years hoping that things would get better on their own,” he said.