Why extreme cold weather events still happen in a warming world

The Conversation ^ | Jan 21, 2024 | Mathew Barlow

[MinorityRepublican]

Extremely cold Arctic air and severe winter weather swept southward into much of the U.S. in mid-January 2024, breaking daily low temperature records from Montana to Texas. Tens of millions of people were affected by dangerously cold temperatures, and heavy lake-effect snow and snow squalls have had severe effects across the Great Lakes and Northeast regions.

These severe cold events occur when the polar jet stream – the familiar jet stream of winter that runs along the boundary between Arctic and more temperate air – dips deeply southward, bringing the cold Arctic air to regions that don’t often experience it.

Surface temperatures at 7 a.m. EST on Jan. 16, 2024. Temperatures below freezing are in blue; those above freezing are in red. The jet stream is indicated by the light blue line with arrows. Image provided by Mathew Barlow/UMass Lowell, CC BY

An interesting aspect of these events is that they often occur in association with changes to another river of air even higher above the jet stream: the stratospheric polar vortex, a great stream of air moving around the North Pole in the middle of the stratosphere.

When this stratospheric vortex becomes disrupted or stretched, it can distort the jet stream as well, pushing it southward in some areas and causing cold air outbreaks.

[linMcHlp]

The planet will be OK, as long as heat rises.

[linMcHlp]

Hurricanes, cyclones, tornados, and twisters, are heat exchangers.

[Right Brother]

Uh huh. And some people are so happy they’re sad. Sometimes the light is so bright that it’s dark.

[BenLurkin]

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/blogs/tim-blair/children-just-arent-going-to-know-what-snow-is/news-story/5a16c85680b7cc94f345240a727fb09d

[TheDon]

A classic.

[Col Freeper]

Mathew Barlow confirms that:

[TheDon]

Believe!

[catnipman]

“Why extreme cold weather events still happen in a warming world”

uh, because winter happens every year?

[DannyTN]

[Hojczyk]

It is not warming…

[Berlin_Freeper]

the “butterfly effect”

[dodger]

GLOBAL WARMING and CLIMATE CHANGE!

[caww]

......”because winter happens every year”.....

Yep...here it’s 9 degrees real feel 6... Snow pack frozen of course but we didn’ get more than 3-6 inches total.

[No name given]

That’s true. Our climate changes all the time. It’s called weather.

[caww]

Jet Stream and El’ Nino

[TigersEye]

Except that the world hasn't warmed in the last 20 years.

Tony Heller of RealClimateScience.com illustrates the lie.

An Imaginary Warming Trend video 5:07

[NoLibZone]

Paid to the freed victims of slavery.

40 acres and a mule.

[NoLibZone]

Sorry

[NoLibZone]

N