Imminent sudden stratospheric warming to occur, bringing increased risk of snow over coming weeks:
A new study led by researchers at the Universities of Bristol, Exeter, and Bath helps to shed light on the winter weather we may soon have in store following a dramatic meteorological event currently unfolding high above the North Pole.
Weather forecasting models are predicting with increasing confidence that a sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) event will take place today, 5 January 2021.
The stratosphere is the layer of the atmosphere from around 10-50km above the earth's surface. SSW events are some of the most extreme of atmospheric phenomena and can see polar stratospheric temperature increase by up to 50°C over the course of a few days. Such events can bring very cold weather, which often result in snowstorms.
The infamous 2018 'Beast from the East' is a stark reminder of what an SSW can bring. The disturbance in the stratosphere can be transmitted downward and if this continues to the Earth's surface, there can be a shift in the jet stream, leading to unusually cold weather across Europe and Northern Asia. It can take a number of weeks for the signal to reach the surface, or the process may only take a few days.
The study, published in the Journal of Geophysical Research and funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC), involved the analysis of 40 observed SSW events which occurred over the last 60 years. Researchers developed a novel method for tracking the signal of an SSW downward from its onset in the stratosphere to the surface.
Additional coverage at The Washington Post and the UK Met Office.
Journal Reference:
Richard J. Hall, Daniel M. Mitchell, William J.M Seviour, et al. Tracking the stratosphere‐to‐surface impact of Sudden Stratospheric Warmings, Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres (DOI: 10.1029/2020JD033881)
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 06 2021, @09:08PM (1 child)
This is allah telling all you knuckleheads to stay the fuck home.
Covid-19!!
(Score: 2) by DECbot on Wednesday January 06 2021, @09:11PM
And here I thought it was Santa deactivating the reactor on his sleigh.
cats~$ sudo chown -R us /home/base
(Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Wednesday January 06 2021, @09:36PM (1 child)
Increased risk of snow? I didn't know that snow was considered a risk.
OK, the summary clarified that the risk is actually about extremely cold weather and snowstorms.
Anyway, I guess that there is neither much risk nor much chance of snow in the Sahara. :-)
The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
(Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 06 2021, @09:49PM
Wait... are they predicting snow in Winter?! Give these guys a prize or something.
(Score: 0, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 06 2021, @09:39PM (6 children)
Somebody had to lay the blame. Ultimately though, it's Trump's fault for causing climate change, just as he caused COVID-19.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 06 2021, @09:53PM (2 children)
The entitled alt-right victim whines again.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 06 2021, @09:57PM
What are you talking about? I'm perfectly serious!!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday January 07 2021, @06:12AM
Are all conservatives "alt-right"?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 06 2021, @09:57PM (2 children)
Okie dokie Don Jr.
go snort some more rails of the good stuff
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 06 2021, @09:59PM (1 child)
I think you misspelled "Hunter Biden."
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday January 06 2021, @11:38PM
Have another swig Ivan, office parties are no fun sober!