After months of plummeting temperatures, winter storms, and climatic anomalies, it's easy to say Americans are fed up with 2012/2013's brutal winter. But according to a new study released by Yale University, that mindset may extend well beyond the realm of thick winter coats and into attitudes about global warming.
Researchers found that the percentage of Americans who believe global warming is happening dropped seven percentage points since Fall 2012, to 63%. The study concludes that this attitude shift is due in large part to personal experience relating to winter 2012/2013.
"When they experience cold weather or a big snowstorm, they think that perhaps global warming isn't happening," the authors write. "When they experience a heat wave, they are more likely to say it is happening."
This observation is perhaps bolstered by geographic idiosyncrasies: most of the decrease in belief came from the South and the Northeast, two regions most exposed to extreme temperature change and snow.
On top of that, researchers believe the unseasonably cool temperatures in March, when the survey was conducted, may have contributed to the decline.
Despite the reduction, the 63% of Americans who believe in global warming were much more sure of their convictions than those that remained unconvinced. Of the 63%, 60% were "very" or "extremely sure" of their belief, compared to just 46% for the unconvinced.
MORE ON WEATHER.COM: 10 Places to See Before They Disappear