There are handfuls of students who refuse to wear weather appropriate attire every winter. Shorts in the snow, flip-flops in the slush and tank tops in the gale force winds often receive judgmental glances from those who are properly clothed. This year, however, it seems like their style isn’t so crazy.

Warm winters are not uncommon in North Carolina with temperatures in January averaging at fifty degrees Fahrenheit. According to Walt Robinson, head of N.C . State’s Department of Marine, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, this winter has not broken any records. He also said despite many claims, there is no clear answer to the question of the current climate.

“If you think of predicting weather as rolling dice, you’ll realize that it is mostly a game of chance,” Robinson said. “When you throw factors like La Niña and global warming into the mix, it’s like loading those dice.”

La Niña , an ocean-atmosphere occurrence in which cooler than average sea surface temperatures sweep across the equator, is credited as an explanation for the mild temperatures this season. These cold ocean currents cause drought in the southeastern United States and in the western Pacific but are not strong enough to cause any significant changes. Florida and the rest of the Gulf Coast are much more likely to feel the effects of La Niña than the rest of the country. La Niña occurred last winter as well, but the icy conditions of that period indicate that La Niña isn’t the main cause of this winter’s weather.

“The effects on this area will be very mild,” Robinson said. “We’ll only feel about a 5 percent variability, if anything.”

Global warming is often brought up as a cause of higher than average temperatures as well but is widely disregarded in cases like this winter. The fact that areas in Alaska and northern Europe are experiencing some of their coldest conditions in history does not draw pretty conclusions to this theory.

Greg Lackmann , professor of marine, earth and atmospheric sciences, said a few seasons couldn’t totally confirm global warming is the culprit.

“The effects of global warming take tens to hundreds of years to appear,” Lackmann said. “When they finally do, the signs are minimal since the timescale is so long.”

Climate variability is widely recognized as the most probable cause for this year’s unusually mild conditions and is responsible for most abnormal weather patterns. On a much smaller scale, general variability does not mean the normally temperate conditions of North Carolina are altering themselves to fit that of a more tropical zone.

“It’s really important to bear in mind the difference between climate change and abnormal seasonal weather during a certain year or period of time,” Lackmann said. “Once the patterns, cold or hot, are established, it’s pretty difficult to get out of them midseason.”

Robinson agreed and said with the atmosphere constantly varying, predicting the weather on a given day in a given month is full of chances.

“Random natural variability is more than likely to blame so encountering snow later on is not entirely out of the question,” Robinson said.

With average daily temperatures in the 50s and 60s , spring attire is becoming a common sight around campus and many students are taking advantage of the weather. Antrone Burke, a senior in religious studies, enjoys spending his free time reading or hanging out outside.

“It’s nice to get outside for some sunshine,” Burke said. “What I really want is February weather. I’m ready for some snow.”

Robinson and Lackmann agree that while it’s difficult to be completely accurate when predicting weather in the distant future, both believe it’s safe to say winter weather could still be on the way.