A frigid cold spell across large parts of the United States has sparked a familiar question: if temperatures aren’t necessarily record-breaking, why does it feel so brutal? Experts point to a combination of climate context and human psychology: after decades of warmer winters, many people’s baseline expectations have shifted, making prolonged cold feel more shocking and harder to tolerate.
Weather is not only physical—it’s comparative. When communities experience a run of mild winters and warmer average temperatures, a return to sustained cold can feel “abnormal,” even if the historical record suggests similar events have occurred before. Researchers note that the first quarter of the 21st century has been unusually warm by historical standards, which shapes what people perceive as normal.
There’s also an adaptation curve. People acclimatize over time, but that process takes days to weeks. A sudden, extended cold snap can outpace the body’s ability to adjust, especially for people who spend more time indoors. The longer the cold lasts, experts say, the more tolerable it can become because expectations, routines, and even clothing choices shift.
The cold snap also intersects with modern infrastructure and lifestyle. Homes built for mild conditions may struggle with heating efficiency. Power systems can be stressed by surging demand. Municipal services—road treatment, emergency shelters, and public health—must scale quickly. And on an individual level, the cold can amplify anxiety: it disrupts travel, raises bills, and creates safety risks like hypothermia, frostbite, and accidents on icy roads.
Importantly, cold snaps do not “disprove” climate change. A warming climate can still produce bursts of extreme cold, even as average temperatures rise. What changes is the overall distribution of weather patterns, including the intensity and frequency of extremes. That’s why the lived experience of “this feels worse” can coexist with scientific data showing the world is warming.
As this event continues, the practical advice remains straightforward: protect pipes, check heating systems, dress in layers, and monitor vulnerable neighbors especially older adults, unhoused people, and those with limited heating access. But the bigger takeaway may be cultural: people experience weather through memory, expectations, and recent trends not only thermometers.
In other words, the cold snap feels harsher partly because the climate baseline has changed and so has what our brains register as “normal winter.”