WASHINGTON — North Americans welcomed 2026 with harsh, bone-chilling temperatures that many residents say they haven’t felt in decades.
Chris Ferro, a 58-year-old property owner from Brooklyn, New York, described the unusual severity of this winter’s cold snap. “Pipes that never froze on me for 15 years froze,” Ferro explained, referring to the exceptionally frigid conditions he faced during January and February. The owner of multiple rental properties in Albany said consecutive days of sub-freezing weather made it impossible to complete necessary property maintenance and improvements. Despite being grateful that no pipes actually burst, Ferro noted this winter reminded him of the harsh cold from his childhood — a stark difference from the milder winters he’s grown accustomed to in recent decades.
New polling data from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research shows that approximately 60% of American adults report being directly impacted by harsh cold weather or major winter storms within the last five years. This represents a notable jump from a similar AP-NORC survey from February 2025, when roughly 50% of adults reported such impacts.
These results highlight the increasing frequency of cold weather experiences, or at least public awareness of them, following a major winter storm that delivered freezing conditions to the Eastern United States and triggered widespread electrical outages throughout Southern states.
Within our warming climate, individual responses to cold weather remain highly personal. Climate scientists note that the opening decades of this century have been remarkably warm compared to historical norms — primarily due to human activities affecting the climate — while severely cold winters have become less common across North America. Since these extreme cold events occur less regularly, researchers suggest Americans now feel their impact more acutely than in previous generations, with extended cold periods being unfamiliar territory for many people, particularly younger generations.
For comparison, an AP-NORC survey from summer 2024 revealed that roughly 70% of American adults had faced extremely hot weather or dangerous heat waves during the previous five years.
The latest polling data indicates that cold weather has disrupted American lives in numerous ways during just the past twelve months.
Approximately 70% of Americans report that their electricity or gas expenses have increased beyond normal levels due to winter storms or extreme cold during the past year. Around 40% have dealt with work or school closures caused by winter storms or extreme cold, roughly one-third have lost power, and about 30% have faced travel disruptions or delays.
Annie Braswell, a 66-year-old resident of Greenville, North Carolina, described January and February as feeling like “it hadn’t been that cold in 40 years,” with her utility costs doubling compared to typical months. She characterized this as a sharp contrast from last summer’s weather, when she endured numerous days reaching or exceeding 100°F (38°C). “I just take life one day at a time, and I realize these are things that I can’t change,” Braswell explained regarding her approach to dealing with temperature extremes.
Both heat waves and severe cold require additional heating and cooling to maintain comfortable indoor temperatures, resulting in elevated utility costs. Electricity rates continue climbing nationwide, and an AP-NORC survey from October 2025 showed that nearly 40% of American adults consider electricity costs a “major source” of financial stress. Climate activist Bill McKibben told The Associated Press in a recent interview that he expects increasing electricity prices to become a significant political issue.
Cold weather impacts have spread across broad regions of the nation. Roughly 60% of Midwest residents, approximately half of Southern residents, and about 40% of Northeastern residents report experiencing work or school cancellations due to winter storms or extreme cold, compared to just 15% of Western residents.
Among Americans who have encountered any type of severe weather event in recent years — including extreme heat, extreme cold, major droughts or water shortages, hurricanes or severe tropical storms, major flooding, wildfires, or tornadoes — approximately two-thirds believe climate change played a role.
“I think climate change is a natural thing that happens … to some extent it’s sped up by some things,” including pollutants from manufacturing facilities and shipping operations, said Joseph Bird, a 21-year-old college student from Provo, Utah, who considers himself politically independent. “I think it increases the frequency of extreme weather is how I’d see it,” Bird added.
Democrats and independents who have experienced severe weather events are significantly more likely than Republicans to attribute these events to climate change.
A particularly wide divide exists between conservative Republicans — with only about 30% of those who experienced extreme weather linking it to climate change — compared to liberal Democrats, where the vast majority connect such events to climate change.
Although increasing global temperatures result from climate change, scientists explain that extreme cold outbreaks throughout North America are actually a characteristic of our changing climate. The Arctic polar vortex, a rotating system of low pressure and frigid air normally contained above the North Pole year-round, can expand southward and affect regions much further from the Arctic. Scientific studies show these polar vortex disruptions are occurring more often due to rapidly rising Arctic temperatures and diminishing Arctic sea ice.
In total, 80% of American adults have encountered some form of severe weather event during the past five years, though they are more likely to report experiencing extremely hot weather, heat waves, and extreme cold than other major weather phenomena, including droughts, water shortages, hurricanes, tropical storms, flooding, wildfires, tornadoes, or additional severe weather disasters.
While Americans across party lines report similar rates of extreme weather experiences, about 80% of Democrats who faced these events attributed them to climate change, compared to only about 40% of Republicans.
The AP-NORC survey included 1,156 adults and was conducted February 5-8 using NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, designed to represent the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all adults is plus or minus 3.9 percentage points.
