Why So Cold? Climate Change May Be Part of the Answer

Niagara Falls, on the border of New York and Ontario, on Wednesday. Scientists are studying how climate change is influencing cold snaps in North America and Europe.CreditCreditAaron Lynett/Reuters





An image from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows Arctic cold in the northern hemisphere on Tuesday. Studies suggest the jet stream is weakening, causing Arctic air to dip south.CreditNOAA, via European Pressphoto Agency



“I think everyone would agree that potentially the warming Arctic could have impacts on the lower latitudes,” said Rick Thoman, climate services manager with the National Weather Service in Fairbanks, Alaska. “But the exact connection on the climate scale is an area of active research.”










The current cold snap has been in place for more than a week, and the cold air on Wednesday was moving east and colliding with a mass of warmer air from the Atlantic Ocean. That created a storm known as a “bomb cyclone.”

In a bomb cyclone, the temperature difference between the two air masses leads to a steep and rapid — meteorologists often use the term “explosive” — drop in atmospheric pressure. The air starts to move and, aided by the earth’s rotation, begins to rotate. The swirling air can bring high winds and a lot of precipitation, often in the form of snow.

That could happen this time — depending on the track of the storm, parts of the Northeast were expecting heavy snow. But one impact of the storm is even more clear: After it eventually moves off to the north and west, it should draw even more cold polar air into the eastern half of the United States, continuing the big chill.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A13 of the New York edition with the headline: To Explain All This Cold, Take a Look At the Arctic. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe