The Polar Vortex (aka the Arctic Oscillation) has been the subject of comments in 4RG. Follow these links to see how 4RG has tracked changes in this generator of the cold weather North American has been experiencing this year.
Go to last year’s commentary on the winter of 2013 – the blog was based on articles from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the British Met Office. Here is what we wrote:
“. . . the Arctic Polar Jet Stream has gone “loopy”. Usually the jet stream is a fast flowing high atmospheric air current found between air masses of significantly different temperature. With the warming of the Arctic the temperature difference is less so the jet stream is weakening. As it weakens, it starts to meander, looping to the South. The most recent atmospheric charts of the jet stream show significant loops.” [“Loopy”=1. full of loops. 2.Slang. a. eccentric; crazy; dotty . . . ]
Speaking of “ crazy” is there anything crazier than the Southern California experience of no rain for months ending with extreme rainfall from thunderstorms that brought mudslides, impassable roads, sinkholes, flash floods, power outages . . . you name it. But according to TIME Magazine no relief from the drought conditions!
The year before we commented on the winter of 2012 in the blog “Removing the Weather Wrapping from Climate Change”.
This blog was for the benefit of people who look out the window, see snow and then say in a “I knew it all along” tone: “So I guess global warming has stopped!”
Here is a quote from that blog:
“Canadian media have been covering the story of Canada’s crazy winter of 2012. We were somewhat mystified by the title of a good Canadian Press article that read: Research suggests warmer summers could be causing colder winters. The article explained that our baffling winter was attributable to a phenomenon known as the Arctic Oscillation, a sort of La Nina of the high latitudes.”
Which takes us back to our most recent blog “What the heck is the Polar Vortex” A must read!
