A warming climate is producing warm extremes in all seasons, and in sharp contrast to the historical cold at the end of January, the first full week of February ushered in unseasonably warm weather. Blame it on the splitting of the polar vortex.
Europe and North America experienced cold Arctic winds, while it was relatively balmy at the North Pole. Blame it on the splitting of the Polar Vortex.
The 2017-18 winter forecast from Verisk’s Atmospheric and Environmental Research (AER) shows below-normal temperatures for the northern and eastern United States, with above-normal temperatures in the southwestern and southcentral U.S.