Arctic Weather Plunges into North America

Desperately cold weather is now gripping the Midwest and Northern Plains of the United States, as well as interior Canada. The culprit is a familiar one: the polar vortex.

A large area of low pressure and extremely cold air usually swirls over the Arctic, with strong counter-clockwise winds that trap the cold around the Pole. But disturbances in the jet stream and the intrusion of warmer mid-latitude air masses can disturb this polar vortex and make it unstable, sending Arctic air south into middle latitudes.

That has been the case in late January 2019. Forecasters are predicting that air temperatures in parts of the continental United States will drop to their lowest levels since at least 1994, with the potential to break all-time record lows for January 30 and 31. With clear skies, steady winds, and snow cover on the ground, as many as 90 million Americans could experience temperatures at or below 0 degrees Fahrenheit (-18° Celsius), according to the National Weather Service (NWS).

Read the story earth observatory story from NASA - “Arctic Weather Plunges into North America.”

Ice skaters take to Amsterdam's canals during Europe's big freeze

The freezing conditions gripping Europe have produced one unexpected upside: parts of Amsterdam’s canals have frozen over, allowing locals to ice skate on the waterways.

Europe's "big freeze" has it benefits, for some.

For the first time in about six years, part of the Prinsengracht and Keizersgracht canals froze hard enough to support the weight of dozens of sightseers, locals and ice skaters.

Footage from the canals shows people on skates criss-crossing the ice while others stroll along enjoying the novelty of walking on what is normally flowing water.

Read the story from The Guardian - “Ice skaters take to Amsterdam's canals during Europe's big freeze.”

A ‘perfect storm’: extreme winter weather, bitter cold, and climate change

World-renowned climate scientist Dr. Michael Mann explains why the bitter cold and snowy conditions gripping the US are “an example of precisely the sort of extreme winter weather we expect because of climate change.”

The US East Coast is experiencing an “old-fashioned” winter, with plenty of cold weather and some heavy snowfall in certain places. Listening to climate contrarians like President Donald Trump, you might think this constitutes the death knell for concern over human-caused climate change.

Yet, what we were witnessing play out is in fact very much consistent with our expectations of the response of weather dynamics to human-caused climate change.

Read The Climate Reality Project story - “A ‘perfect storm’: extreme winter weather, bitter cold, and climate change.”