February 20, 2026
More Americans say they’ve experienced severe cold than any other weather event in the past five years, with 57% reporting they’ve been personally affected, up from 49% in February 2025. Half have been affected by severe heat. Altogether, 80% of adults have experienced at least one form of extreme weather in the past five years, whether cold, heat, or events such as droughts, hurricanes, flooding, wildfires, or tornadoes.
These findings follow a major winter storm and biting cold that has affected much of the United States this year.
Among those who experienced extreme weather events or natural disasters, two-thirds think it has been the result, at least in part, of climate change. A similar amount, 72%, felt that climate change was a contributing factor to the extreme weather they experienced this time last year.
Over the past year, 68% have received higher than usual utility bills as a result of winter storms or extreme cold. Fewer have experienced a work or school cancellation (42%), a power outage (35%), or travel disruption (30%) due to winter weather.
Read more here.
The nationwide poll was conducted February 5-8, 2026, using the AmeriSpeak® Panel, the probability-based panel of NORC at the University of Chicago. Online and telephone interviews using landlines and cell phones were conducted with 1,156 adults. The overall margin of sampling error is +/- 3.9 percentage points.
- Suggested Citation: AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. “More than half experienced extreme cold over the past five years.” (February 2026). https://apnorc.org/projects/more-than-half-experienced-extreme-cold-over-the-past-five-years/
