'Ain't your grandfather's February': Vermont boasts record warm winter

After weathering last year’s May freeze and July flooding, Vermont has once again made climate history less than three months into 2024.

This winter – which meteorologists define as the December, January and February months – is officially Vermont’s warmest on record since the Green Mountain State started tracking temperatures in 1884. February has also been unusually warm, clocking the third warmest high and low temperatures in the state’s history.

"This ain't your grandfather's February, that's for sure," said former Burlington Free Press reporter Matt Sutkoski in a blog post on Feb. 27.

Vermont’s unusual warm spell this winter and in February can be attributed to an above average number of cloudy days and last year’s El Nino weather pattern, said NWS Burlington Meteorologist-in-Charge Gabriel Langbauer. He also pointed to climate change as a cause for yearly temperature increases.

Burlington: snow, rain and temperature

Like the rest of Vermont, Burlington has seen far less snow and precipitation and higher temperatures this February and winter than in previous years.

By Tuesday, Feb. 27, only 8.4 inches of snow had fallen in the Queen City in the month of February, down slightly from 9.7 inches the same time last year. This month’s snow deficit is even more stark when compared to the city’s average annual February snowfall, which is 17.4 inches during a leap year.

As for rain, Burlington achieved just above half an inch by Feb. 27, a dip from last year’s quantity of 1.35 inches and the annual average of 1.7 inches within the same time frame.

This winter, Burlington has not seen the temperature fall below zero. The city’s warm weather continued into February, which saw a mean average temperature of 29.9 F, over nine degrees warmer than is typical for the second month of the year. Burlington’s average lowest minimum temperature was 4 F, much warmer than the city’s normal average of -12 F. Burlington also set daily heat records this month on Feb. 10, 11, 27 and 28.

Lastly, near the end of February, Vermonters saw spurts of spring-like weather, with temperatures hitting the mid to low 60s like as is common in April and early May.

How a warm climate will impact Vermont

Should Vermonters anticipate an extra toasty spring as well?

As of now, Langbauer said he predicts “considerably above-normal temperatures” next season in Vermont. However, temperature predictions for the rest of 2024 remain “vague,” he noted.

In the short-term, Langbauer said, warmer temperatures will not impact Vermont as the devastating weather events in May and July 2023 that cost the state millions. In the long-term, however, Langbauer warned that rising temperatures could hurt Vermonters who depend financially on Vermont’s colder climate, such as ice fishermen and those in the ski and agriculture industries.

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Vermont reports 2023-2024 warmest winter, third warmest February