Snow in Texas sometimes feels like a glitch in the system. Roads freeze, grocery shelves empty and a familiar question resurfaces: If the planet is warming, why are people scraping ice off their windshields?
The answer lies in the difference between the weather, climate and the warming of the Arctic, which is reshaping winter patterns across Texas and beyond.
2025 was ranked the third-warmest year since global records began in 1850, according to the National Centers for Environmental Information, yet the early months of 2026 brought in around 9-11 isolated inches of snow in certain North Texas counties, according to the National Weather Service.
This weekend’s winter storm was caused by an Arctic air mass from Canada, which advanced farther south than normal, according to previous Shorthorn reporting. The storm brought in approximately 2 inches of sleet and snow, according to an Instagram post by the city of Arlington.
“Texas naturally sits at the crossroads of warm, moist Gulf air and cold, dry northern air, so winter temperature swings have always been common,” Yunyao Li, Earth and Environmental Sciences assistant professor, said in an email. “However, climate change may be making these roller coasters more frequent and more intense.”
Sharp temperature drops typically come with rain or snow, caused by warm and cold air masses, Li said. Winds typically blow from the west to east in the Northern Hemisphere’s mid-latitudes.
She said when large-scale atmospheric patterns shift, winds can blow from the north to south, causing cold Arctic air to spill southward and collide with warm air, leading to precipitation. The central United States is vulnerable to these patterns because it is relatively flat, so cold air can surge southward into Texas easily.
However, these events do not indicate that climate change is no longer a problem.
Li said climate change refers to long-term changes in temperatures and other climate indicators; events such as the one this weekend are short-term weather events.
“Glaciers are melting, cherry blossoms in Japan are blooming earlier, grapes in France and Australia are ripening earlier, crop growing seasons in China are starting sooner and flowering dates in places like Philadelphia are shifting,” Li said.
The effects of climate change can contribute to extreme weather patterns.
The changes in atmospheric circulation can shift climate zones, leading to areas that used to get a lot of rain drying out, Li said. A warmer atmosphere can also hold more water vapor, and warmer oceans can fuel hurricanes and typhoons.
Temperature swings are becoming more common for several reasons, she said. Shifts in atmospheric circulation bring Arctic air south, increased water vapor in the atmosphere enhances precipitation and warmer oceans influence storm development.
“Earth is an interconnected system made up of five major spheres: the atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, biosphere and geosphere. Climate change affects all of them,” Li said. “It influences agriculture, fisheries, wildlife, transportation, energy demand, infrastructure and even global economics.”
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