WASHINGTON — As 2026 began, North America found itself in the grip of bone-chilling cold, marking a stark return to the harsh winter weather many had not faced in years.

“In 15 years, my pipes never froze, but this time they did,” remarked Chris Ferro, 58, who resides in Brooklyn, New York. He recounted the unusually low temperatures that swept through January and February.

Ferro, who owns several residential properties in Albany, found the persistent sub-freezing temperatures a significant obstacle, stalling his repair and renovation efforts.

Despite the challenges, Ferro expressed relief that no pipes burst, noting that this winter’s severe cold reminded him of the winters from his youth, a stark contrast to the milder winters of recent years.

According to a recent poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, approximately 60% of U.S. adults reported being personally affected by severe cold or winter storms over the past five years.

This marks an increase from a similar AP-NORC survey from February 2025, where about half of the respondents reported being impacted by extreme cold conditions.

The finding points to the growing prevalence of experiences with cold weather, or at least people’s perceptions of them, after a massive winter storm brought freezing temperatures to the East Coast and caused widespread power outages in the South.

In a warming world, people’s reactions to cold weather are subjective. Scientific research indicates the first quarter of the 21st century was unusually warm by historical standards — mostly due to human-induced climate change â€” and abnormally cold winters are happening less frequently in North America.

Because this type of extreme cold occurs less frequently, experts say Americans are experiencing it more intensely now than they did in the past and prolonged cold spells are unfamiliar to many people, especially younger Americans.

In the summer of 2024, an AP-NORC poll found that about seven in ten US adults had experienced extremely hot weather or extreme heat waves in the prior five years.

Higher electric bills, school and work cancellations, and more

The most recent survey found that just in the past year, Americans’ lives have been upended in multiple ways by cold weather.

About seven in ten Americans say that in the past year, their electricity or gas bills have been higher than usual because of winter storms or extreme cold.

About four in ten have experienced a work or school cancellation because of winter storms or extreme cold, roughly one-third have experienced a power outage, and about 3 in 10 have had a travel cancellation or delay.

Annie Braswell, 66, from Greenville, North Carolina, said January and February felt like “it hadn’t been that cold in 40 years” and that her utility bill doubled compared with normal.

She said it was a dramatic change from the weather she experienced last summer when she endured many days at or above 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 said about how she copes with the extreme temperatures.

Heat waves and extreme cold require more heating and cooling to keep temperatures inside homes and buildings comfortable, which leads to higher utility bills.

Electricity prices are rising in the US and an AP-NORC poll from October 2025 found that nearly four in ten US adults say the cost of electricity is a “major source” of stress for them.

Bill McKibben, a longtime climate activist, told The Associated Press in a separate interview that he thinks rising electricity prices will have a major political impact.

The effects of cold weather were felt across wide swathes of the country. About 6 in 10 Midwesterners, about half of Southerners, and about four in ten Northeasterners say they’ve experienced work or school cancellation as a result of winter storms or extreme cold, compared with 15% of adults who live in the West.

Linking extreme cold and climate change

Among all of the people who experienced some kind of severe weather event in the past few years – including extreme heat, extreme cold, major droughts or water shortages, hurricanes or severe tropical storms, major flooding, wildfires, tornadoes – about two-thirds believe climate change was a cause.

“I think climate change is a natural thing that happens … to some extent it’s sped up by some things,” such as pollutants released from factories and the shipping industry, said Joseph Bird, 21, a college student in Provo, Utah, who identifies as an independent.

“I think it increases the frequency of extreme weather is how I’d see it,” said Bird.

Democrats and independents who experienced any kind of severe weather event are much likelier than Republicans to see climate change as a cause.

There’s a particularly large gap between conservative Republicans — only about three in ten who experienced an extreme weather event think it was related to climate change — compared with liberal Democrats, the vast majority of whom think climate change was involved.

While rising atmospheric temperatures are a result of global warming, scientists say that extreme cold outbreaks across North America are a feature of climate change.

The Arctic polar vortex, a swirling area of low pressure and cold air that is typically trapped over the North Pole throughout the year, can stretch down and infiltrate regions further south.

Scientific research indicates such polar vortex disruptions are happening more frequently due to rapidly warming temperatures in the Arctic and shrinking Arctic sea ice.

Nearly all Americans have experienced some kind of extreme weather recently

Overall, the vast majority of US adults, 80%, have experienced some kind of severe weather event in the past five years, although they are much likelier to report experiencing extremely hot weather or extreme heat waves and extreme cold in the past five years than any other kind of major weather events, including major droughts or water shortages, hurricanes or severe tropical storms, major flooding, wildfires, tornadoes, or other severe weather events or weather disasters.

There are no meaningful partisan differences in Americans’ experiences of extreme weather, but about eight in ten Democrats who experienced any of these extreme weather events said they were the result of climate change, compared with only about four in ten Republicans.