At the start of the month, we talked about the Paris climate change conference and what we're doing to prepare for global warming. Record high temperatures were set over the weekend and more highs are likely this week. But it’s another warm weather-related event that has us concerned: Last Sunday, December 6, was the first time in fall 2015 that the official temperature at Philadelphia International Airport was at or below 32º F.
This is about a month later than the average date of the first freeze, and it's the first time we've gone without a freeze through November. In fact, when looking at the period of record from 1948-2015, it's the latest the first freeze of the year has happened, beating the previous record of November 28, set in 2010, by eight days. And while weather is not climate, the date of the first freeze has been getting later over the last few decades.