EXAMPLES: In the winter of 2009-10, the mid-Atlantic
Exceptionally cold and snowy conditions hit
region of the U.S. had its snowiest season on
much of the Eastern U.S. in the winters of
record as one monster storm after another
2010 and 2011. During these two extreme
buried Washington D.C. and other cities,
winters, New York City recorded three of its
shutting down travel, school, and work.
top-ten snowstorms since 1869, and Philadel-
Meteorologists calculate that, historically, a
phia recorded four of its top-ten snowstorms
winter like that should only happen every 625
since 1884.5
years, but climate change seems to be shifting those odds.4
1. http://www.springerlink.com/content/0008xl84w0743102/fulltext.html#CR27 2. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17143269 3. http://www.climatecentral.org/news/warming-arctic-playing-critical-role-in-causing-cold-snowy-winters-study-sa/ 4. http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=1426 5. http://www.wunderground.com/blog/JeffMasters/comment.html?entrynum=1735 6. http://www.climatecentral.org/blogs/whats-causing-the-deadly-cold-in-europe/ 7. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=andes-extreme-cold-extracts-bitter-toll
Paradoxically, hotter temperatures can bring even harsher winter storms.* *but shorter, milder winters overall
Get involved at 350.org A project of Global warming has increased the amount of moisture in the atmosphere—since warm air holds more water than cold, the atmosphere is on average 4% wetter than during the 1970s.1 This has increased deluge and flood—and when the temperature dips below freezing, deluge and flood come as blizzard and drift. Plus, the shrinking of Arctic sea ice is bringing colder, snowier winters to the UK and other areas of Europe, North America and China. Recent scientific research on the impact of the shrinking Arctic ice sheet has shown that as less of the ocean is covered in ice, the strength of the northern jet stream that usually brings milder, wetter winter weather to Europe, is reduced.2