BOSTON – Winter, we hardly knew ye. Again.
Thursday brings a close to climatological winter, which runs Dec. 1 through the end of February. And even though we got an extra day of it this time around thanks to a leap year, we didn’t pay the price. In fact, you could make the case that this has been the easiest pair of back-to-back winters in Boston’s recorded history.
Good for your salt and plowing budgets? Absolutely. Heating bills? Certainly helped. But it is all part of an overall trend that, rough winter or two aside, has led to much more tame cold seasons. Winter is the fastest warming season of all in New England, with December and February being the two most rapidly changing months of the year. This year was no exception, and here are all the numbers to prove it.
Let’s start with the cold, or lack thereof. In that regard, winter was essentially that one week in January coming off of MLK Day. During that week Boston had five subfreezing days, which turned out to be the only subfreezing days for the entire season. It was the first time on record there weren’t any at all during the month of February, and frankly not even close (the lowest high was 35 degrees).
The coldest temperature reached all season in Boston was 14 degrees. Which, while not Palm Beach, is not exactly punishing extreme weather. Every other year on record, dating to at least 1872, had a night colder than 14 degrees. And at Blue Hill Observatory, this was the first winter on record without a single night in the single digits.
This translated to a fairly startling lack of ice, which any ice fishing enthusiast can corroborate. The only comp for the lack of ice seen is the winter of 2001-02. That year, Lake Winnipesaukee never had ice-in. This year, the lake only had one brief day of thin ice-in before starting to clear back out. Many ponds around Boston never froze over, nor did Lake Champlain in Vermont where an annual hockey tournament was canceled, or Lake George in upstate New York.
Overall, it wasn’t the top warmest winter by average temperature in Boston. It came in at seventh place. But seven of the eight warmest winters have all occurred since 2001. It just isn’t what it used to be. And while Boston wasn’t in the top position, several locations of northern New England did see their warmest on record. The Lower 48 as a whole also had their warmest winter on record.
How about the snowfall side of the story? Well, I’m still working on the same bag of salt I got at the beginning of *last* winter, if that’s any indication. The biggest storm of the season was one that generally only impacted towns northwest of Boston back in early January. It did produce 12-18″ of snow in the jackpot zones, but only a few inches in Boston and even less south of the city.
We of course know it can still snow in March and April (and sometimes May) so the books won’t close on the season for a while yet. But if Boston fails to receive nearly 11″ of snow from mid-March onward, then it will be the first time on record the city has had back-to-back winters with less than 20″ (last season had 12.4″).
The whole recent run of winters has been very paltry in the snow department. Over the past five seasons Boston’s average is 26.1″, which is the lowest for any five-year stretch on record. It’s been over two years now since the city had a 4″ or greater snowfall, also a record.
The wildest stat of all to me is that we’ve only averaged three 2″+ snowfalls a season over the past five years. Just three days a winter that we’ve had to think about plowing or shoveling.
Does snowfall come in cycles? Certainly. There are decadal periods of boom or bust, and we were just coming out of an epic boom in the 2010s. Reversion back to the mean was inevitable and I’m not surprised at all that we’ve had a weak stretch. The 1980s were famously snowless, so it does happen. That said, the 1980s also had a lot of very cold winters. That part of the equation is walking out of the building as the climate continues to warm. Recently it’s just been mild *and* with minimal snow instead.
The wild, off the charts winter of 2014-15 was like one big going away party for extreme cold and snow. It was the last time Boston had a colder than average winter, nearly a decade ago. The last time Boston’s average winter temperature was under 32 degrees, something that used to happen 60% of the time but now hasn’t happened in the nine years since.
Do I think winter is doomed? No, we’ll still have big snowstorms and colder winters in the mix. But the general temperature trendline will continue to go up, which continues to affect how long snow sticks around for, how much ice we have to play on, and what plants and animals move in and out over time.
BOSTON (WHDH) – A pedestrian was hit and killed in Roxbury Thursday morning.
The collision occurred just before 8:20 a.m. on Tremont Street.
Police said Tremont Street was closed in both directions between Brigham Circle and Roxbury Crossing.
This is a developing news story; stay with 7NEWS on-air and online for the latest details.
(Copyright (c) 2026 Sunbeam Television. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
A 96-year-old Boston woman received the surprise of a lifetime when she discovered the French men’s national soccer team had become her neighbors at the Four Seasons Hotel in the Back Bay.
Shirley, a beloved resident of the neighborhood, said she had no idea she would end up meeting the players in town for the World Cup.
“They’re my buddies,” she said with a laugh.
Her caretaker, Samia, said Shirley has become well known around Back Bay.
“Anyone outside, when we are walking, people come to her and want to talk to her,” Samia said.
The U.S. is out of the World Cup. Fellow co-hosts Mexico and Canada are too. So who should
The excitement around the hotel grew after the French team arrived to stay there during the tournament.
Shirley said the encounter happened unexpectedly while she was eating lunch.
“I was having lunch and they came over, and since then, it’s been wonderful to have them here,” she said.
Shirley said team representatives soon invited her to meet the players.
“And they said, ‘He would like to meet you.’ I said, ‘I’m glad to meet anybody,’” she recalled.
For this Massachusetts teenager, attending a World Cup match was more than a dream come true, it was a milestone in a journey that began when he was diagnosed with Ewing sarcoma — something that might not have happened if he hadn’t been playing soccer.
After the visit, Shirley recorded a cellphone video sharing her excitement.
“This is absolutely — I cannot tell you how unbelievably fabulous this is,” she said.
The meeting ended with a memorable gift: A jersey from French star Kylian Mbappé.
The team also made her a promise.
“[They] told me that if they win, he will sign it, and then it will be worth a lot of money,” she said, laughing.
Samia, who is from Algeria, quickly agreed. She said she was already a devoted supporter of the French squad after spending many years living in France.
“I’m so excited. I went to Philadelphia to watch the game this past weekend. So, believe me, I’m totally 100% with them. I wanted them to go back to France with a cup,” she said.
Shirley said she never expected to become a fan, but she appreciated the sense of community the tournament brought to her neighborhood.
“It’s good to see such camaraderie happening, with people here getting along. Yeah, it’s the greatest thing,” she said.
She said she still did not know why the team wanted to meet her, but she’s grateful nonetheless. Shirley remains hopeful her new friends would keep winning, and keep returning to Boston.
Local News
Boston Mayor Michelle Wu announced Wednesday that the city is suing social media companies — including Meta, TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube — over their alleged deliberate targeting of minors with addictive features.
The lawsuit, filed on behalf of Boston Public Schools in federal court in California, will be consolidated with more than 1,500 similar complaints from school districts around the country, Wu’s office said.
The lawsuit seeks to force the companies to remove addictive features and compensate the city for the mental health support needed by students. It alleges the companies designed addictive features specifically to keep young people engaged. These features include endless scrolling, frequent notifications, and personalized algorithms, city officials said.
In a statement, Wu said that these companies have evidence of the harm they are causing to children.
“Boston is taking legal action to protect children and youth and hold these companies accountable. Today, we are making it clear that social media companies must end exploitative practices and be accountable to standards of basic protection for children,” she said.
The move comes as more Massachusetts politicians look to rein in social media companies. The state’s House of Representatives passed a bill in April that would implement a phone ban in schools and prohibit children 14 and younger from using social media. Gov. Maura Healey followed that up by introducing legislation that would require social media companies to verify users’ ages and limit the ways in which minors are exposed to potentially addictive design features.
Just last week, the state Senate unveiled legislation that would require social media companies to automatically disable these types of features for minors.
BPS officials say that they have seen a “significant increase” in social media-fueled mental health needs over the past decade. They cited data from the Boston Public Health Commission that shows the impact on high school students. In 2015, just 26.7% of Boston public high school students reported “persistent sadness.” By 2021, that figure had risen to 43.9%.
The district says it has responded by “exponentially” expanding mental health resources. In 2007, there were six social workers and 48 school psychologists employed in the BPS system. The district now has 240 social workers and 105 school psychologists, officials said.
“We work hard to set our students on the best course for success through rigorous academics and whole-student supports, and the research is clear that social media has had a negative impact on students’ well-being while benefiting companies. We all need to do what is right for our students,” Superintendent Mary Skipper said in a statement.
In March, a jury in California found that Meta and YouTube are liable for intentionally designing addictive features and that executives failed to protect young users.
In May, Meta and other social media companies settled a lawsuit brought by a Kentucky school district in a bellwether case.
Get everything you need to know to start your day, delivered right to your inbox every morning.
Former Olympian pleads not guilty in reflecting pool vandalism charges
Heat advisory, beach hazards in effect as Southern California sizzles
Teen on moped hit by car after cruising through stop sign in Detroit
Flight of fancy: San Francisco moves to build private luxury airport terminal
Dallas’ digital creator economy is booming. Burnout is too.
I went to 2 famous Miami restaurants, a flashy steakhouse and a Cuban hot spot. Here’s how they compared.
Pedestrian struck and killed in Roxbury – Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News
Santa Fe Drive in Denver closed this weekend for pedestrian bridge construction
