Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com – @BednarChuck
An international team of climate scientists investigating a potential link between warming in the Arctic and extreme winter weather conditions in the US and UK have discovered a possible link between the two phenomena and are calling for additional analysis of the issue.
Writing in the latest edition of the Journal of Climate, researchers from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the University of Sheffield, and others report that while it is too early to definitively claim Arctic climate change is involved in extreme weather in the northern mid-latitudes, the possible link warrants further investigation.
Specifically, they are attempting to verify that the events in the Arctic played a role in the recent, persistent cold events during the UK’s extremely wet winter of 2013 and 2014, as well as similar weather conditions observed as of late along the East Coast of the US. In a statement, the authors said that their works add to the growing evidence linking the climates of both regions.
Theory is currently in the pre-consensus stage
Arctic temperatures are increasing two to three times more quickly than those in the mid-latitudes, and some climate experts suggest that higher temperatures in the northern regions contribute the weaker upper level westerly winds and a wavier jet stream.
This could have caused colder weather to stall over the eastern seaboard and the Midwestern US during recent winters, and the study authors noted that increased jet stream variability during the winter and high pressure over Greenland might have created more variability during recent winters in the UK. Further investigation into these issues could advance research into the field.
In a statement, Professor Edward Hanna from the Sheffield Department of Geography explained that the study “presents tantalizing new evidence of links between global warming, which is enhanced in high northern latitudes, and recent extreme winter weather events in the UK and further afield, as well as a timely review of much recent literature which has appeared in this important field of research. However, since the climate system is highly complex, many missing parts of the puzzle remain and much further work needs to be done.”
“We are in the pre-consensus stage of a theory that links continued warming of the Arctic with some severe weather events,” added Professor James Overland from the NOAA. “We are where other major theories such as plate tectonics and El Niño were before they were widely accepted.”
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