Snow in California, sunbathing in DC - winter weirdness grips North America

Pedro Branco says that the warm weather, while nice, is an ominous sign of climate change

From 80F (26C) in Washington, DC to blizzard warnings in sunny Southern California, Thursday's weather has divided America into the haves and have-nots.

While vicious ice and snow storms have left nearly a million without power across the country, other parts of the US and Canada basked in unusually warm weather. These extremes are not an aberration, forecasters say, but part of an overall trend this winter, which has seen record-breaking highs and lows across the continent.

We talk to four people from four very different climates about how this winter weirdness is impacting them.

Washington DC: Sunbathing in February

Sunbathing with his dog in a park, Pedro Branco was enjoying - with some trepidation - an unseasonably warm February in America's capital.

With temperatures reaching over 80F on Thursday, Washington DC is having one of the five warmest winters on record in 150 years, which many, including Mr Branco, attribute to climate change.

"In the back of our minds, obviously, like, we know, it's not supposed to be this warm this time of year," he said.

He normally keeps a warm coat for the few days a year that Washington gets truly cold, but so far he has not had to wear it.

While he said he is enjoying the balmy weather, overall, he's concerned about what warming temperatures mean for the planet's future.

Last year, when he went snowboarding in January in Vermont, temperatures were -20F with windchill.

"This year, I wore a sweatshirt," he said.

Grand Rapids, Michigan: Dusting off the vintage 1950s generator

Randy Marklevitz has been living in south-western Michigan - about 20 miles (32km) south of Grand Rapids - his whole life, and he is pretty used to whatever weather winter wants to throw at him.

He said when he heard the storm was coming, he did not think too much about it. This winter has been up and down, with a big storm hitting in November, but plenty of mild days as well.

"Usually in Michigan we cry wolf a lot so most people don't take it as serious, I really didn't," he said.

The 55-year-old soybean farmer enjoys collecting and restoring vintage farm equipment made by International Harvester, so he was lucky that when the ice storm hit on Wednesday, felling trees and knocking down power lines, he had a working generator from the 1950s in his garage.

As of Thursday midday, the generator was his main source of electricity, while hundreds of thousands in the region remained without power.

A 1950s generator saved Randy Marklevitz when an ice storm left him without power

This winter has been record-breaking, in both directions, depending on the part of the state. The area that Mr Marklevitz hails from is known as a snowbelt, and often gets heavy winter storms. But this winter is even heavier than usual, with Grand Rapids getting 68in (172cm) of snow - 29in more than usual, and the most since the winter of 1951-52.

Meanwhile, Lake Michigan itself has had record-low ice cover, with just 3.5% of the great lake covered in ice, about 75% below average.

But these extremes do not bother Mr Marklevitz.

"To me, it's part of living in Michigan," he said.

Ottawa, Ontario: Putting away the ice skates

When Jackson Coghill was a student at university, he had an unusual way of getting to class: he ice skated. An Ottawa native, Mr Coghill would skate down the Rideau Canal from the downtown to Carleton University several times a week.

The canal is the largest skating rink in the world, and cuts an iconic ribbon through Canada's capital city, which is known for its bitter winters.

"It's this really beautiful, lovely place to get out during the dark winter months and get some sun and get active," he said.

In past years, the Rideau Canal has been a favourite winter pasttime for Jackson Coghill (right)

Even though he no longer commutes on the canal, most winters he likes to skate several times a week.

But not this year.

The canal skateway has yet to open for the first time in more than half a century. While there have been plenty of chilly days, it has not been consistently cold enough for the canal ice to freeze to a safe thickness.

On the bright side, the milder temps and heavy snows have made it an outstanding season for cross-country skiing, he said.

Los Angeles, California: Snow at the beach?

Kim Williams likes to be prepared - although she lives in typically sunny Los Angeles, her closet is filled with attire for all climates, from snow boots to raincoats. She even has an umbrella collection, which she said has gotten used a lot more this year than in the past.

"I've had an opportunity to use them this season more than I ever have - I've been able to use all of them, actually," she said.

While she normally dons sneakers or sandals to walk around the City of Angels, her rainboots have also become more of a go-to.

California has had a particularly rainy and cold winter, including a series of brutal storms around the holidays. Now, parts of the city of Los Angeles near the mountains are under a blizzard warning for the first time since 1989.

Ms Williams, who was born and raised here, said she has never experienced a blizzard in her hometown, but she looks forward to it.

"I love moody weather," she said. "I think it will be amazing, as long as it's short lived."

The first time she was in a blizzard was several years ago, when she attended the Sundance Film Festival in Utah.

"It was cool," she said. "But I also knew I was going to fly home"

With additional reporting from Jason Armesto