Trump cites major winter storm as evidence against climate change – scientists explain why extreme cold actually supports global warming reality

Former President Donald Trump has once again challenged established climate science, this time pointing to a massive winter storm bringing freezing temperatures and heavy snow across half the United States as supposed evidence that global warming isn’t real. In a Truth Social post about the extreme weather event, Trump wrote: “Rarely seen anything like it before. Could the Environmental Insurrectionists please explain – WHATEVER HAPPENED TO GLOBAL WARMING???”

However, climate scientists have consistently explained that severe winter storms don’t disprove global warming – they may actually be evidence of it. The confusion stems from a common misunderstanding between weather and climate. Weather refers to short-term atmospheric conditions in specific locations, while climate describes long-term patterns across the entire planet. A few days of extreme cold in one region doesn’t negate decades of global temperature data showing steady warming trends.

In fact, climate researchers have found that global warming can intensify winter storms through several mechanisms. As the Arctic warms faster than other regions, it can disrupt the polar vortex – the ring of cold air that typically stays contained around the North Pole. When this system becomes unstable, it can send frigid air plunging southward into areas unaccustomed to such extreme cold, creating the type of severe winter weather currently affecting much of the United States.

This pattern aligns with climate models predicting that global warming will lead to more frequent and intense extreme weather events – including both devastating heat waves and severe winter storms.