Global Weirding In The Jet Streams

Climate Change is Leading to Global "Weirding," Not Just Global Warming

Ferdinand Furer, February 28, 2021 (Spectrum News 1 San Antonio)

“…[Climate change] can lead to all sorts of weird or unusual weather…The jet stream is a river of air that circles the globe. It also carries storms from west to east around the globe. The polar jet stream separates the frigid polar air from the more temperate mid-latitude air…In the Northern Hemisphere summer, the air is warmer because the Earth is tilted toward the sun. Since there is more warm air (or better stated, less cold air) closer to the North Pole, the jet stream migrates northward. The jet stream also moves in a more west-to-east fashion, called zonal flow…In summer, the jet stream tends to move more slowly, so storms also move more slowly. The speed of the jet stream is determined by the difference in temperatures between the two regions north or south of the jet stream…

click to enlarge

This is how we get extended heat waves in the summer…In the winter, when there is a build-up of frigid air in the polar regions, the jet stream migrates southward. It also moves in more of a north-to-south or south-to-north motion, called meridional flow. When the jet stream moves from north to south, it carries the cold air south. When it moves south to north, it carries the warm air poleward… Under normal conditions, because of the big difference in temperatures on either side of the jet stream, it moves faster in winter… An unstable jet stream tends to wobble or sway farther southward (or northward). When it sways farther southward, unusually cold air moves into places that are more temperate…[As a result, according to NASA scientists,] Global temperatures will continue to rise…The Southwest will get less precipitation and droughts will increase…Hurricanes may get stronger…Sea level will rise…The Arctic will become ice-free in summers by 2050.” click here for more

click to enlarge

Tweet