The unusually warm winter has proven deadly in the northeast. More than a dozen people, including snowmobilers and ice fishermen, have died when they fell through thin lake ice.

The polar bear is a powerful symbol of the effects of climate change in the Arctic.  Here in New England, our symbol may soon be the sugar maple tree. 

New Hampshire Public Radio's Dan Gorenstein reports the northeastern U.S. is experiencing one of the worst droughts in decades. New, deeper wells are in demand even though they cost thousands of dollars to drill. About 40 percent of New Hampshire residents get their water from private wells. Snow might replenish some of the wells, but water doesn't permeate frozen ground.

Ice is a key player not only in the culture of the northern Northeast, but also in its unique lake ecosystems – a determinant of everything from water temperature to aquatic food chains to water quality. And according to long-term climate data, ice-out has been moving earlier and earlier.