Is ClimateCentral wrong?

ClimateCentral.org produced a research report claiming US winters are warming faster than ever (winter warming accelerated) and winters are warming faster than any other season.  You can read the entire report by following the link.  They used the NCDC US data available in 2012 for the report.

An example page from the report.

They describe the state of Alabama as the 48th fastest warming state , when their own chart shows even the hundred year trend is cooling. (-0.25F a decade)

(since 2012 the NCDC changed the data for the US, so that figure no longer matches the data at the NCDC)

The trend now shows as -0.1F a decade.  How data gets changed.

There main claim in the report is that winter warming has accelerated, almost everywhere.

The current NCDC data shows this is not true, and summer warming is much greater than the winter trend.  The twenty year trend shows this clearly.

US summer trend

US winter trend

This  matches the NCDC data for the NH land trend, which also shows how summers are warming, but winters are in fact, cooling for the last twenty years (trend)

The thirty year trend for the US, as well as the NH land area, also shows winters are not warming as much as summers.

US winter trend

US summer trend

These are actual displays, right from the official NCDC. The thirty year trends for the NH land only also show this.

The GISS global data also clearly shows how boreal summers are warming faster than boreal winters,

GISS winter trend

30 years of data also shows the boreal (Northern Hemisphere) summer is warming faster than winter.

Basic Global warming theory says winters have to warm faster as CO2 level rise. You can see this sort of winter warming in the GISS image below, showing the trends for 1980-1998

The last 17 years shows a cooling trend for boreal winters, which matches the NCDC global land data, as well as the US data.

Looking at the last 13 years Land only data shows just how different boreal summer and boreal winter trends are. 

Summers are warming.

Looking at the Zonal mean data shows just how different the boreal winter changes are now, compared to 1980-1998

GISS zonal data for winter trend 1998-2014

GISS zonal data for winter trend 1980-1998

The US data matches this, with a clear trend of cooling winter temperatures, and warming summer temperatures.

US summer trend for last 13 years

US winter trend for last 13 years

Sources of data and images for this entry

GISS data

NCDC US data

NCDC global data 

Commentary

The new paper from MIT scientist may have the answer to why winters are cooling, rather than warming.