{"id":2563903,"date":"2026-02-03T15:00:04","date_gmt":"2026-02-03T20:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/climate-change-was-supposed-to-make-dc-winters-more-southern-and-its-colder-than-its-been-in-three-decades\/"},"modified":"2026-02-03T15:05:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-03T20:05:17","slug":"climate-change-was-supposed-to-make-dc-winters-more-southern-and-its-colder-than-its-been-in-three-decades","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/climate-change-was-supposed-to-make-dc-winters-more-southern-and-its-colder-than-its-been-in-three-decades\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Climate Change\u2019 Was Supposed to Make DC Winters &#8216;More Southern&#8217;\u2014And It\u2019s Colder Than It\u2019s Been in Three Decades"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">36<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fclimate-change-was-supposed-to-make-dc-winters-more-southern-and-its-colder-than-its-been-in-three-decades%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2563903&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The piece examines the tension between predictions that climate change woudl soften Washington, D.C.\u2019s winters and the reality of a sharp cold spell in early 2026. DC endured nine consecutive days below freezing\u2014the longest streak as 1989\u2014challenging narratives that warming would make winters \u201cmore Southern.\u201d It contrasts forecasts from outlets like the Washington Post and axios that anticipated milder, less snowy winters with later reporting linking climate change to persistent cold extremes, highlighting how attribution and media framing can be inconsistent.The article also notes a broader trend in headlines such as \u201cThe End of Snow\u201d and uses examples from other regions to illustrate that extreme winter weather remains possible even <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >amid longer-term warming trends<\/a>. it argues that climate reporting often contains circular reasoning and mixed signals about how global warming should shape local winter conditions.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<section id=\"article\">\n<article data-post-title=\"&lsquo;Climate Change&rsquo; Was Supposed to Make DC Winters 'More Southern'&mdash;And It&rsquo;s Colder Than It&rsquo;s Been in Three Decades\" data-post-slug=\"http:\/\/portland-area-county-launches-sanctuary-fund-providing-taxpayer-funded-grants-to-assist-illegal-immigrants\" data-post-url id=\"print-2111266\">\n<div>\n<h2>Temperatures in the district remained below freezing for nine straight days for the first time since 1989<\/h2>\n<figure><figcaption> \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\tWashington, D.C., on Jan. 31 (Alex Kent\/Getty Images)\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Mainstream media outlets have long reported that climate change would bring &#8220;mild-ish&#8221; winters to Washington, D.C., that are &#8220;more like the South&#8221; than the Mid-Atlantic. Then D.C. experienced its longest cold streak in more than three decades.<\/p>\n<p>Temperatures in the district remained below freezing for a nine-day period ending on Feb. 2, 2026, the longest streak since December 1989, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/weather\/2026\/01\/27\/dc-extreme-record-cold-explained\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">according to the <em>Washington Post<\/em><\/a>. That may surprise the <em>Post<\/em>&#8216;s readers: In <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/weather\/2020\/02\/12\/global-warming-is-nudging-washingtons-climate-southward-this-winter-it-most-resembles-atlanta\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">February<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/weather\/2020\/12\/03\/washington-warming-winters-snow\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">December<\/a> of 2020, the outlet reported that &#8220;global warming&#8221; and &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/americans-believe-climate-change-is-happening-but-are-only-willing-to-pay-1-in-carbon-tax-poll-shows\/\" title=\"Americans Believe ... Is Happening But Are Only Willing To Pay  In Carbon Tax, Poll Shows\">human-caused climate change<\/a>&#8221; were making D.C.&#8217;s winters &#8220;more Southern.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Thanks mostly to a combination of human-caused climate change and urbanization, winters in Washington are warming hastily and taking on an entirely new character,&#8221; wrote &#8220;climate reporter&#8221; Ian Livingston and &#8220;climate editor&#8221; Andrew Freedman in their December 2020 piece headlined, &#8220;Washington winters are rapidly warming up and feeling more Southern.&#8221; &#8220;Our winter climate is on a southbound journey, with nothing in the way. &hellip; The frequency of bitterly cold winter days is in decline.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Months earlier, Jason Samenow, another writer on the <em>Post<\/em>&rsquo;s climate team&mdash;which at its height was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/pr\/2022\/03\/18\/zachary-goldfarb-juliet-eilperin-monica-ulmanu-lead-posts-climate-environment-coverage\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">staffed<\/a> by more than 30 people&mdash;came to a similar conclusion. He penned a piece headlined, &#8220;Global warming is making Washington&#8217;s climate more Southern. This winter, it most resembles Atlanta&#8217;s.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Since the winter solstice on Dec. 21, Washington&rsquo;s weather has taken an excursion toward a far more southern clime,&#8221; Samenow wrote. &#8220;Because of human-induced climate warming, winters like this&mdash;characterized by a lack of extreme cold and spotty snowfall&mdash;may become the norm this century.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>Six years later, such conditions are far from the norm in the district. High temperatures remained in the 20s or lower for five consecutive days in late January, with lows near single digits and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/winter-storm-bringing-snow-sleet-and-ice-to-texas-and-gulf-coast\/\" title=\"... storm bringing snow, sleet, and ice to Texas and Gulf Coast\">subzero wind chills<\/a>. Had the temperature not briefly reached the mid-30s on Feb. 2, D.C.&#8217;s below-freezing streak would have hit 10 days. There hasn&rsquo;t been a 10-day streak since 1936.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p>The <em>Post<\/em>, with its prodigious climate team&mdash;recently rolled into a &#8220;futures&#8221; department&mdash;stands out for its aggressive coverage. But the <em>Post<\/em> was hardly the only liberal publisher predicting a rash of warm D.C. winters. In November, <em>Axios<\/em>, which has a large &#8220;Energy and Climate&#8221; vertical, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/local\/washington-dc\/2025\/11\/03\/winter-snow-forecast-2025-2026-dc-md-va\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">predicted<\/a> a &#8220;mild-ish&#8221; winter with less-than-average snowfall.&nbsp; In an example of the circular method of reporting common in Washington, <em>Axios<\/em> cited reporting from the <em>Post<\/em>, which in turn cited experts asserting that D.C. residents shouldn&#8217;t expect &#8220;loads of white stuff this winter.&#8221; (The record cold streak included nearly 10 inches of snow in D.C. and surrounding areas.)        <\/p>\n<p>Several news outlets have been quick to explain the weather away. The cause: climate change.<\/p>\n<p><em>Inside Climate News<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/insideclimatenews.org\/news\/26012026\/a-winter-storm-fueled-by-global-warming-tests-u-s-disaster-response\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">proclaimed<\/a> that the winter storm was &#8220;fueled by global warming.&#8221; Climate Central, a left-leaning research firm that pins extreme weather events on climate change and is often quoted in mainstream outlets, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.climatecentral.org\/climate-matters\/winter-warming-2026\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">told<\/a> its readers that &#8220;despite the size and severity of a 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.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Had D.C.&#8217;s winter indeed resembled Atlanta&#8217;s, the cold streak would have been more mild. Temperatures in the Georgia city <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ajc.com\/news\/2026\/01\/snow-falling-in-far-north-georgia-moving-south-toward-atlanta\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">remained below freezing<\/a> for a brief period between Jan. 31 and Feb. 1 before rising to 50 degrees on Monday.<\/p>\n<p>Other national publishers have been spreading the fears of climate doom well past Washington, D.C. Twice, 10 years apart, in 2014 and 2024, the <em>New York Times<\/em> published a piece with the same title: &#8220;The End of Snow.&#8221; The 2014 version had a question mark at the end (&#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2014\/02\/08\/opinion\/sunday\/the-end-of-snow.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The End of Snow?<\/a>&#8221; by Porter Fox, an editor at <em>Powder<\/em> magazine), while the 2024 version, by Gawker cofounder Elizabeth Spiers, dropped the question mark to flatly declare &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/01\/02\/opinion\/climate-angst.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The End of Snow<\/a>.&#8221; Spiers, not a meteorologist, wrote that &#8220;a few years ago, when it was in the high 60s in Brooklyn for a few days in January, I wondered if I should increase my anti-anxiety meds.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>This past weekend, the last weekend in January, temperatures in Brooklyn dropped to the low teens. Thirteen hundred miles south, in &#8220;subtropical&#8221; New Orleans, in the middle of Mardi Gras, temperatures dropped to the low twenties, with wind making it feel more like single digits.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8211; Paraphrase:<br \/>\nFor years, many mainstream outlets predicted that climate change would bring milder, more southern-style winters to Washington, D.C. However, the city then endured its longest freezing spell in over three decades: nine consecutive days below freezing through Feb. 2, 2026, per the Washington Post. The Post and other climate reporters had previously argued that warming and urbanization would reshape D.C.\u2019s winters, with fewer extreme cold days and less snowfall, a view echoed by some outlets in 2020. Yet by late January 2026, highs were in the 20s or lower with near\u2011single-digit lows and wind chills; if not for a brief mid\u201130s lift on Feb. 2, the streak would have reached 10 days\u2014the first such stretch since 1936. The piece notes how various outlets tied the cold spell to climate change while others predicted milder winters, illustrating ongoing disagreement about how warming will affect future winters. It also highlights wide regional variability, pointing to cold snaps in places like Atlanta, Brooklyn, and New Orleans during the same period.<\/p>\n<p>&#8211; 55-character caption:<br \/>\nWashington, D.C. endures nine-day below-freezing streak<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":181,"featured_media":2563904,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/one-week-later-washington-dc-still-recovering-from-snowstorm-scaled.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[544,33651],"tags":[13784,72799,72798,69545,72087],"class_list":["post-2563903","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-free-beacon","category-the-western-journal","tag-climate-change","tag-climate-news-2","tag-cold-snap","tag-washington-dc-2","tag-winter-weather-2"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/one-week-later-washington-dc-still-recovering-from-snowstorm-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2563903","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/181"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2563903"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2563903\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2563913,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2563903\/revisions\/2563913"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2563904"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2563903"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2563903"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2563903"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}