Sunday, November 3, 2019

These 8 cities are saving on heating costs -- will it last?

Updated Nov. 3, 2019 7:11 AM



It has been just two months, but what a rollicking fall season it has been temperature-wise across the country. 
Temperatures in several major U.S. cities have risen and fallen during the two-month span like a deer struggling with its first steps. (Meteorological fall lasts from Sept. 1 until Nov. 30.) 
The daily high temperature was 101 F in Billings, Montana, on Sept. 4; by Tuesday, Oct. 29, the low temperature was 0 F, for a 101-degree swing in just two months. 
Denver hit a top high of 100 on Sept. 2 and a coldest daily low of 7 on Oct. 29 – a 93-degree swing—while Salt Lake City reached 100 on Sept. 1 but dropped to 17 on Oct. 29. 
There was no weather whiplash for Anchorage, Alaska, however, as the top high temperature from Sept. 1 to Oct. 29 was 69 F and the coldest low was just 26 F, a mere 43-degree swing over two months. 
So, what will November bring? Snow is expected this week across the East and Midwest, according to AccuWeather meteorologists, who believe many locations will get major impacts from a storm through the end of the week. The heaviest snow is expected to fall from near the Iowa/Illinois border northeastward through parts of northern Illinois, southern Wisconsin and northern Michigan. 
That's still to come, however. Up to now, estimated heating costs for several major U.S. cities are well below normal for this time of year, according to an AccuWeather analysis. 
Washington, D.C. (57.7% lower), Cincinnati (44.6), Philadelphia (43.5), New York City (36.8) and Boston (36.2) have experienced substantially lower estimated heating costs compared to normal for the period from Sept. 1 through Oct. 29. 
Other cities with lower-than-normal temperatures and the resulting lower estimated heating costs include Indianapolis (31.9 lower), Detroit (27.9) and Green Bay (23.9). 
Colder air has already arrived for some cities, though, as their estimated heating costs are on the rise compared to normal. Oklahoma City (58.7% higher), Salt Lake City (34.8%), and Portland, Oregon, (23.6%) are most notable for higher estimated costs. 
For Salt Lake City and Portland, in particular, that is a big change from 2018. Salt Lake City’s costs were substantially lower for the same time period last year, with estimated heating costs 28.7% below normal. And in Portland, last year’s costs were an estimated 19.8% below normal. 
The heating season typically runs from Sept. 1 until the following April. The costs of heating, including electricity, vary from year to year and from place to place, so the percentage change in your bill may vary from these percentages. 
Download the free AccuWeather app to see the forecast for your location. Keep checking back for updates on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.
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