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WINTER WEATHER

Warming shrivels future snowstorms

Nature Climate Change volume 10, pages 494–495 (2020)Cite this article

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The influence of the changing climate on individual snowstorms has been uncertain, in part due to the use of coarse model simulations. Now, research employing more detailed simulations finds fewer and smaller snowstorms as a result of warming, with a reduction in the amount and extent of extreme snowfall.

Water from snow, snow cover extent and maximum seasonal snow depth have all decreased over North America since 1960 (ref. 2). While a warmer climate is associated with both increased evaporation and a capacity for more water vapour in the atmosphere, accumulating snowfall can only occur when surface temperatures are below freezing. General circulation model (GCM)-based studies expect a greater proportion of total cold-season precipitation to fall as rain3, reducing midlatitude snowfall4. Warmer temperatures will also reduce snow season length3. One of the challenges of estimating the influence of climate change on snowstorms lies in the fact that some regions have the potential to experience increased snowfall, as enhanced atmospheric water vapour is transported to regions cold enough for snow, even in the presence of increased global temperatures5.

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Fig. 1: Snowmaking during a low snowfall season.

Melanie Stetson Freeman / Contributor / Christian Science Monitor / Getty

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  1. Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Central Michigan University, Mt. Pleasant, MI, USA

    Martin A. Baxter

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  1. Martin A. Baxter
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Correspondence to Martin A. Baxter.

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Baxter, M.A. Warming shrivels future snowstorms. Nat. Clim. Chang. 10, 494–495 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-020-0788-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-020-0788-y

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