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The Washington Post reports that the "lower 48" states of the USA are enjoying spring-like weather. It quotes a meteorologist as saying 1495 record high temperatures have been reached during the month of February (as against 10 record lows); among them:
- Magnum, Okla., hit 99 degrees [Fahrenheit, 37.2° Celsius] on Feb. 11 — tying the state record for hottest winter temperature ever recorded. Yet it occurred two weeks earlier than the record it matched from Feb. 24, 1918, set in the town of Arapaho.
- Denver hit 80 degrees [Fahrenheit, 26.7° Celsius] Feb. 10 — its warmest February temperature on record dating back to 1872.
- Norfolk hit 82 degrees [Fahrenheit, 27.8° Celsius] Feb. 12, tying its warmest February temperature on record dating back to 1874.
[Ed Note: it is actually Mangum, OK, not Magnum. The original WaPo article is incorrect.]
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Springtime for America in February
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(Score: 5, Interesting) by HiThere on Monday February 20 2017, @07:39PM
I'll try.
1) The speed of the jet stream is related to the difference in temperatures between the pole and the equator. When the temperatures get closer together, the speed of the jet stream tends to slow. The pole has been warming faster than the equator, so the jet stream has slowed.
2) When the jet stream slows, it tends to form eddies which break off and stay in one place for awhile. These can trap weather patterns causing them to move a lot more slowly. When this happens a cold snap lingers and so does a warm spell.
3) European countries are generally North of the US, so they naturally tend to be colder. (Think of Russia.) This is usually ameliorated by winds off the Atlantic which flow up the East coast of the US and then are driven across the Atlantic by the jet stream.
4) Because of 2, 3 isn't happening.
WARNING: I am not a meteorologist! This is my "general probably correct" knowledge, and it's well outside my area of expertise. But it's what I think is going on.
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