GREENSBORO, N.C. — Greensboro will see temperatures dip down to around 20 degrees or even into the teens Friday night. That's happened less frequently in recent years.
WFMY News 2 meteorologists said Greensboro typically averages 12 mornings below 20 degrees each year. That hasn't been the case recently. The temperature hasn't dropped below 20 since December 2020. It was the only day of that season that had temperatures in the teens.
The winter of 2019-2020 was the first in Greensboro history where the temperature did not drop below 20 degrees. Records go back to 1903.
A lot of times we think of a warming trend as meaning warmer days, but less frequent cold nights can play just as big of a part in our climate.
This is a trend seen nationwide. ClimateCentral said winter is the season most quickly warming. More than 240 places across the country have seen their average winter temperature increase since 1970.
ClimateCentral tracks about 250 locations. Eighty-four percent of those locations, including the Piedmont Triad, have seen their average winter temperatures rise by at least 2 degrees. Here in the Triad, the winter season has warmed by about 4 degrees since the 1970s.
So far, this winter has gotten off to a very warm start here in the Triad. December was the second warmest on record for Greensboro. Ten days were 69 degrees or warmer. Temperatures have gotten colder to start January, including our season's first snowfall.
On the whole, there are close to two more weeks of warmer winter days now than there were in the 1970s in the Triad. It means you're probably right if you feel like we used to have colder weather when you were growing up.
