Tornadoes, shrinking ice and early syrup: how the hottest winter on record is affecting the US

The country saw rain in many regions instead of snow, a midwest heat patch, and ice receding from lakes and ponds

The US has just experienced its hottest ever winter, with record-breaking temperatures driving away snow and ice and causing the coldest months to feel bizarrely balmy in many parts of the country.

Swathes of the lower 48 states had a “lost” winter, with many of the coldest winter states – New York, Vermont, North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Michigan and New Hampshire – all setting new record heat levels for the season, which concluded at the end of February, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa).

Overall, the winter was 5.4F (3C) hotter than the long-term average, a huge 0.8F (0.4C) increase on the previous record set in the winter of 2015-2016. The US hasn’t had a warmer winter in 130 years of record keeping, and possibly prior to this too.

“It was quite a jump on the previous record – it wasn’t a photo finish, it was a decisive new record,” said Karin Gleason, chief of monitoring section at Noaa’s National Centers for Environmental Information.