CORTINA D'AMPEZZO, Italy (AP) — Olympic fans came to Cortina with heavy winter coats and gloves. Those coats were unzipped Sunday and gloves pocketed as snow melted from rooftops — signs of a warming world.
“I definitely thought we’d be wearing all the layers,” said Jay Tucker, who came from Virginia to cheer on Team USA and bought hand warmers and heated socks in preparation. “I don’t even have gloves on.”
The timing of winter, the amount of snowfall and temperatures are all less reliable and less predictable because Earth is warming at a record rate, said Shel Winkley, a Climate Central meteorologist. This poses a growing and significant challenge for organizers of winter sports; The International Olympic Committee said last week it could move up the start date for future Winter Games to January from February because of rising temperatures.
While the beginning of the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Cortina truly had a wintry feel, as the town was blanketed in heavy snow. The temperature reached about 40 degrees Fahrenheit (4.5 degrees Celsius) Sunday afternoon. It felt hotter in the sun.
This type of February “warmth” for Cortina is made at least three times more likely due to climate change, Winkley said. In the 70 years since Cortina first held the Winter Games, February temperatures there have climbed 6.4 degrees Fahrenheit (3.6 degrees Celsius), he added.
For the Milan Cortina Games, there's an added layer of complexity. It’s the most spread-out Winter Games in history, so Olympic venues are in localities with very different weather conditions. Bormio and Livigno, for example, are less than an hour apart by car, but they are separated by a high mountain pass that can divide the two places climatically.
The organizing committee is working closely with four regional and provincial public weather agencies. It has positioned weather sensors at strategic points for the competitions, including close to the ski jumping ramps, along the Alpine skiing tracks and at the biathlon shooting range.
Where automatic stations cannot collect everything of interest, the committee has observers — “scientists of the snow”— from the agencies ready to collect data, according to Matteo Pasotti, a weather specialist for the organizing committee.
The hope? Clear skies, light winds and low temperatures on race days to ensure good visibility and preserve the snow layer.
The reality: “It’s actually pretty warm out. We expected it to be a lot colder,” said Karli Poliziani, an American who lives in Milan. Poliziani was in Cortina with her father, who considered going out Sunday in just a sweatshirt.
And forecasts indicate that more days with above-average temperatures lie ahead for the Olympic competitions, Pasotti said.
Weather plays a critical role in the smooth running and safety of winter sports competitions, according to Filippo Bazzanella, head of sport services and planning for the organizing committee. High temperatures can impact the snow layer on Alpine skiing courses and visibility is essential. Humidity and high temperatures can affect the quality of the ice at indoor arenas and sliding centers, too.
Visibility and wind are the two factors most likely to cause changes to the competition schedule, Bazzanella added. Wind can be a safety issue or a fairness one, such as in the biathlon where slight variations can disrupt the athletes' precise shooting.
American alpine skier Jackie Wiles said many races this year have been challenging because of the weather.
“I feel like we’re pretty good about keeping our heads in the game because a lot of people are going to get taken out by that immediately,” she said at a team press conference last week. “Having that mindset of: it’s going to be what it’s going to be, and we still have to go out there and fight like hell regardless.”
AP Winter Olympics coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics
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Karli Poliziani, center right, poses for a photo with her father, Len, as the temperature rose in the host city, during the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/ Jennifer McDermott)
Dan Wilton, of Vancouver, Canada, left walks with his friends without jackets as temperatures rise in the host city, during the 2026 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, Sunday, Feb. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/ Jennifer McDermott)
Finland's Elian Lehto speeds down the course of an alpine ski men's downhill portion of a team combined race, at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Bormio, Italy, Monday, Feb. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Gabriele Facciotti)
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Denny Hamlin returned to victory lane at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Sunday for his first win since he lost the NASCAR championship four months ago, and first since the death of his father in a December house fire.
“I knew it took a few weeks to feel like driving,” Hamlin said after his 61st career victory. “Over the last couple weeks, I definitely regained my love of it, got refocused. These are great opportunities for us.”
Hamlin's 60th career victory was at Las Vegas last October, a win he dedicated to his father as it locked Hamlin into NASCAR's championship-deciding finale. His father was in poor health and Hamlin went into the race knowing it was probably his final chance to win a championship while Dennis Hamlin was still alive.
Then Hamlin dominated last year's title-decider at Phoenix Raceway but the wrong call on the final pit stop cost him the Cup championship that has eluded the three-time Daytona 500 winner.
What followed was an emotional rollercoaster: Hamlin, as co-owner of 23XI Racing, was part of the winning team in a federal lawsuit against NASCAR last December. Weeks later, his father was killed in a fire that destroyed the home Hamlin purchased to thank his parents for getting him into NASCAR.
He returned for the start of his 21st season and went to victory lane as an owner with Tyler Reddick when the 23XI Racing driver won the Daytona 500 and then set a NASCAR record by winning the first three races of the year.
Most of the attention went to 23XI co-owner Michael Jordan as Reddick won Daytona, Atlanta and Circuit of the Americas.
Hamlin did his part at Las Vegas to put himself back in the spotlight.
“It is just so satisfying, so gratifying. You just never know what can happen year over year if you still have it or not," said Hamlin. “I wasn’t totally locked in for the first few weeks. We’ve just been hitting our stride now. This is our bread and butter, these are the tracks that we know we can go win, and we executed. This is a team win. The team did it.”
The 45-year-old Virginia driver overcome an early speeding penalty and drove from 31st through the field in a fairly dominating win for Joe Gibbs Racing and Toyota. He led a race-high 134 laps.
Hamlin was joined by his fiancee and their three children as he collected the checkered flag, and he was sure his father was smiling somewhere.
“This is a family sport. My family obviously had so much sacrifice to help me get here,” said Hamlin. “Now that I’ve grown, generations of Hamlins following me, it’s great Mom gets to see this. I know Dad’s still saying, ‘That’s my boy.’ Hell of a day.”
Team owner Joe Gibbs' praised Hamlin's resilience.
“He’s been through a lot. Denny seems to have the ability to continue to work through things,” said Gibbs. “Has a way of just really still being very competitive. I appreciate him so much. We’re riding Denny for about 20 years. It’s been an awful good trip for us.”
Toyota has won four of the first five races.
Hendrick Motorsports teammates Chase Elliott and William Byron finished second and third in Chevrolets; JGR drivers Christopher Bell and Ty Gibbs were fourth and fifth to give JGR three cars in the top-five.
"It makes my job really easy when I can drive Toyotas that fast,” Hamlin said.
It was the third consecutive top-five finish for Gibbs, who is a central figure in a federal lawsuit filed by JGR against former competition director Chris Gabehart. The two sides are back in court in North Carolina on Monday as JGR seeks a restraining order to stop Gabehart for working for rival Spire Motorsports.
“Just don't want to be in court,” said team owner Gibbs. “But we're going to be there. I think it's important for us to follow through with this.”
Gabehart has said his time at JGR became untenable in part because of preferential treatment toward Gibbs, who is the grandson of the team owner.
JGR alleges Gabehart stole proprietary information before he left the team, and had a non-compete clause that prevents him from joining another team. Gabehart claims JGR stopped paying him in November and the role he now has with Spire is completely different from what he did for Gibbs.
Gabehart was at the track Sunday with Spire, which at Las Vegas had its trucks parked next to the JGR trucks.
The Cup Series races Sunday at Darlington Raceway in South Carolina. Joe Gibbs Racing dominated at the track last year — Hamlin won in April and Chase Briscoe in August.
AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing
Denny Hamlin (11) performs a burnout after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Sunday, March 15, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Steve Marcus)
Denny Hamlin, left, holds up the trophy with a teammate after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Sunday, March 15, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Steve Marcus)
Denny Hamlin (11) performs a burnout after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Sunday, March 15, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Steve Marcus)
Denny Hamlin poses with his trophy in Victory Lane after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at, Sunday, March 15, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Steve Marcus)
Driver Christopher Bell, foreground, and other drivers make pit stops during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway Sunday, March 15, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Steve Marcus)
Drives head into Turn 1 after a restart during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Sunday, March 15, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Steve Marcus)
Air Force A-10C fighter planes fly over Las Vegas Motor Speedway before a NASCAR Cup Series auto race Sunday, March 15, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Steve Marcus)
Drivers prepare for the green flag at the start of a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Sunday, March 15, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Steve Marcus)
Drives get the green flag at the start of a NASCAR Cup Series auto race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Sunday, March 15, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Steve Marcus)
