I have been mentioning this, the wacky weather possibly caused by the under reported jet stream split. Now, here is an actual scientist reporting the same thing.
By Wynne Parry | LiveScience.com
Why Much of North America Skipped Winter
By Wynne Parry | LiveScience.com
January ranked as the fourth-warmest for the 48 U.S. states on record
since 1895. December, too, was above average, although not as
significantly. The final analysis for February is not yet in, but
weather watchers expect last month to rank above average
temperature-wise as well.
Of course, this year hasn't brought early beach weather for everyone; just ask residents of Alaska
and Europe, where a frigid cold snap is blamed for hundreds of deaths.
And the warmth has been blamed for contributing to the slew of
devastating tornadoes that hit the Midwest and southern U.S. on Friday
(March 2).
While scientists have said that global warming willcause an uptick in
extreme weather, they are hesitant to link any one event or even an
unusual season to climate change. Even so, they say, global warming may
play a role in the weird winter weather.
The jet stream
The key to understanding the unusually warm winter lies in the jet stream.
It is made up of high-altitude, westerly winds. Its polar branch, the
one important for determining winter weather, travels over the
mid-latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere in winter, according to Jeff
Masters, director of meteorology at the weather service and news site
Weather Underground.
