OPINION: Remember February’s dramatic cold wave? Similar events are becoming more likely.
In February, in the midst of rapidly warming global temperatures, an exceptionally severe cold wave hit large parts of North America, from Canada to Northern Mexico. It left 10 million people without power. The impact was particularly severe in Texas, which alone had more than 125 deaths associated with the event.
When you throw a rock in a pond, you see ripples – waves – expand away from the initial disturbance. While ripples on a pond are a different type of wave than dips in the jet stream, both types of waves can transmit the effects of a disturbance to faraway areas. This is causing large changes in the region’s climate, including melting sea ice and, in the late fall, increasing snow cover over Siberia.
As these downward moving waves collect at lower altitudes over North America, they create a southward dip in the jet stream, bringing cold air farther south than usual. So the upward and downward movement of atmospheric waves over long distances – like ripples moving across a pond – can link the Arctic to other regions.
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Extreme U.S. Cold Snaps—Including Texas Winter Storm—Linked To Rapid Arctic Warming, Study FindsI am a London-based reporter for Forbes covering breaking news. Previously, I have worked as a reporter for a specialist legal publication covering big data and as a freelance journalist and policy analyst covering science, tech and health. I have a master’s degree in Biological Natural Sciences and a master’s degree in the History and Philosophy of Science from the University of Cambridge. Follow me on Twitter theroberthart or email me at rhartforbes.com
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Extreme U.S. Cold Snaps—Including Texas Winter Storm—Linked To Rapid Arctic Warming, Study FindsI am a London-based reporter for Forbes covering breaking news. Previously, I have worked as a reporter for a specialist legal publication covering big data and as a freelance journalist and policy analyst covering science, tech and health. I have a master’s degree in Biological Natural Sciences and a master’s degree in the History and Philosophy of Science from the University of Cambridge. Follow me on Twitter theroberthart or email me at rhartforbes.com
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