Vermont Late Winter/Spring Record Books Majorly Re-Written In Recent Years

In recent years, record high upon record high has 
re-written the weather record books in Burlington, Vermont
during late winter and spring.
It almost makes me half wonder if someday March
in Vermont will look like this photo. 

 The  warmth we just experienced has contributed to a big re-write of the late winter and early spring record books. 

On the warm side of the record ledger, things are way different than they were a few years ago. 

Until 2017, the warmest it had gotten in February in Burlington, at least since the 1880s, was 62 degrees in 1981. Then, on February 23, 2017, that record was broken when the temperature reached 63 degrees.

But the warmth that year was just getting started. On February 25, 2017, the temperature soared to an incredible 72 degrees which was just insane. At the time, I thought I would never see anything close to that in my lifetime. 

Oops.

On February 21, 2018 - just one year later, it got up to 69 degrees in Burlington. It was 70 in Montpelier that day for a new record high for the month of February.  This is just two examples of how the record books for late winter and early spring are being upended. 

Starting a little over 30 years ago - a short time in the scheme of things - and accelerating in recent years, the Vermont weather record books are being very much re-written. With new record highs Tuesday and Wednesday of this week fourteen daily record highs - half of February's total, were set since 2016.  If you want to include Leap Day, the record high for the date was set in 2016.

For many decades until 1990, the earliest 70 degree reading in Burlington was March 20.  Then in 1990, an incredible early season heat wave brought temperatures to 72 degrees on March 15 and 78 on March 16.

At the time, I thought we couldn't possibly see a 70 degree reading earlier in the season. Then in 2016, it was 70 degrees on March 9. The year after that, we had the previously mentioned 72 in February, 2017.

Until 2012, the earliest 80 degree reading on record came on March 29. They in 2012, Burlington saw three consecutive days at or above 80 degrees on March 20-22.

The record book re-writing of the past 30 years or so extends into April. The earliest 90 degree reading on record was set just over 20 years ago, on April 17, 2002. Just last year, it was 88 degrees on April 13, the warmest for so early in the season. 

As climate change takes hold, record highs in Vermont - and in most other places - have been far outpacing record lows at all times of the year. 

But for some reason in Vermont, February through mid-April keeps giving us the most frequent most extreme record highs. 

It seems wild to me that the 65 degree temperature we had on Tuesday is only the third warmest February day on record.  Until a few years ago, it was almost a matter of faith that it couldn't get that warm in February.

After the chilly weather we had on Thursday, it's going to warm up again. Although we probably won't see breathtaking heat in the coming days, we have a few days in our immediate future that could threaten a couple more records for the date in early March.