How spring temperatures are rising in Austin

The spring temperature in Austin has increased by an average of 3.4 degrees since 1970, per a recent Climate Central analysis.

Why it matters: Seasonal climate change discussions often focus on summer and winter, when temperatures are typically at their annual high and low extremes.

• But the "between seasons" are affected too.

What they found: Average springtime temperatures warmed by 2.2 degrees from 1970 to 2023 across nearly 230 U.S. cities analyzed by Climate Central , a nonprofit science and communications organization. The group's analysis is based on NOAA data and looks at meteorological spring, which begins March 1 and ends May 31.

• Spring has gotten notably warmer in the American Southwest, where average seasonal temperatures have risen by more than 6 degrees in some places.

Zoom in: In Austin, the average springtime temperature was about 65 in 1970. It was 70 last year.

The bottom line: Warmer springtime temperatures can lead to longer allergy seasons and changes in agricultural growing times.

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