NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Ask any of the “old-timers” that have been living in Tennessee all their lives, and they’ll tell you that winters are not what they used to be.

A recent statistic shows that Nashville on average sees sixteen fewer days (usually nights) below freezing since 1970.

Memphis has had thirteen fewer, Jackson five, Knoxville eight, and Chattanooga, on the other side of Monteagle, thirty-two fewer days (or nights) below freezing.

Sam Shamburger from the Nashville office of the National Weather Service broke down some of the records for Nashville:

“Since weather records began in Nashville back in the 1870s, we average around 61 days a year with temperatures below freezing here in Nashville,” explained Shamburger. “But over the past few decades, that’s really been decreasing. We’re seeing warmer and warmer winters with time, and now we average only around 49 days a year with temperatures below freezing.”

And that’s just below 32 degrees. What about below zero?

“Believe it or not, we have not seen below zero temperatures officially at the Nashville airport since February of 1996, so 25 years ago,” Shamburger pointed out. “And before that we used to see below zero temperatures at the Nashville airport at least once every few years, and sometimes multiple times a year.”

Experts say that these are good indicators that we are seeing gradually warmer winters with time.