While much of the U.S. is seeing a wicked winter, the Arctic is going through just the opposite: January saw the least amount of sea ice for that month on record, plus the region's air temperatures are way above normal. So experts are asking themselves: are these two events intertwined? La Nina, the naturally occurring (i.e., not manmade) ocean cycle, is certainly a factor in terms of the precipitation coming off the Gulf of Mexico that's colliding with the cold Arctic air.
But what's rare is the Arctic air moving so far south and in several rounds this winter.
It's well documented that the Arctic has been warming much faster than other parts of the world in recent years, and many experts tie that to manmade emissions of greenhouse gases that trap heat.
But the question of whether the Arctic warming translates into long-term weather changes over a wider area is "very cutting-edge stuff" and as yet unproven, Mark Serreze, director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center, recently told Reuters.
On its website, the center notes that "when sea ice has not formed during autumn and winter, heat from the ocean escapes and warms the atmosphere."
It goes on to theorize that "this may weaken the polar vortex and allow air to spill out of the Arctic and into mid-latitude regions in some years, bringing potentially cold winter weather to lower latitudes."
This phenomenon has become known as the "reverse Arctic Oscillation" — and is thought to undermine the "polar vortex," which traps cold air with a circular wind pattern.
"You get a warm Arctic and you get cold outbreaks in the middle latitudes," Serreze said.
Click for Full Text!
