AccuWeather.com

Global Climate Change Blog

Warm Water the Reason for Cold Winters?

Apr 4, 2011; 9:36 AM ET

Interesting study about the influence of warmer ocean water on winter temperatures.

Winters in northern Europe and over the Pacific Northwest are normally several degrees warmer on average compared to those in the Northeast U.S., eastern Canada and northeastern Asia.

Conventional explanation for one of these differences in temperature has been the fact that the Gulf Stream, which is shown in orange off the U.S. East Coast below, delivers warm water from the Gulf of Mexico all the way to northern Europe, making that region noticeably warmer in the winter compared to the Northeast U.S. and eastern Canada.

However, research from 2002 concluded that warm ocean currents can only contribute up to 10% of the warming.

So what is the reason for the big difference in winter temperatures?

According to researchers from CalTech, its the fact that the warm waters off the Northeast U.S., eastern Canada and northeast Asia coasts is actually causing these regions to run colder, which is the main reason for the temperature difference.

The researchers found that the warm water off an eastern coast will heat the air above it and lead to the formation of atmospheric waves, drawing cold air from the northern polar region. The cold air forms a plume just to the west of the warm water. In the case of the Atlantic Ocean, this means the frigid air ends up right over the northeastern United States and eastern Canada, according to Eurekalert.

Latest global sea surface temperatures.

"It's not that the warm Gulf Stream waters substantially heat up Europe," says Yohai Kaspi, a postdoctoral fellow at Caltech. "But the existence of the Gulf Stream near the U.S. coast is causing the cooling of the northeastern United States."

The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of AccuWeather, Inc. or AccuWeather.com

blogs Home >

Comments

Comments left here should adhere to the AccuWeather.com Community Guidelines. Profanity, personal attacks, and spam will not be tolerated.

More Global Climate Change

Himalayas Experiencing Rapid Climate Change

May 18, 2012; 11:02 AM ET

Average annual mean temperatures in the Himalayas increased 1.5 Celsius or 0.06 Celsius per year between 1982 and 2006, which is three times greater than the average global increase for the same time period....

Using Statistical Analysis to Predict Future North American Warming

May 16, 2012; 3:24 PM ET

Researchers from the Ohio State University are using statistical analysis to tell us with how much certainty North America may warm later this century.

April 2012 Global Surface Temperatures

May 14, 2012; 2:53 PM ET

April 2012 was tied for 4th warmest on record globally, based on combined land and ocean surface temperature anomalies

Correction brings Temperature Trend Outlier back in Line

May 8, 2012; 3:01 PM ET

A scientific group from the University of Washington has identified a problem with one of the three satellite temperature records.

Global Satellite Temperature Results for April

May 4, 2012; 2:16 PM ET

La Nina is officially done and its global cooling influence also seems to be fading.........

Warming Experiments Greatly Underestimate how Plants respond to Climate Change

May 3, 2012; 12:56 PM ET

A group of researchers compared results from controlled environmental warming experiments on plants with a massive new archive of historical observations and found.....

Major Economic Contractions needed to Reduce CO2 Concentrations to Acceptable Levels

May 1, 2012; 1:39 PM ET

Major economic sacrifices may be needed to lower CO2 concentration to acceptable levels, according to one study......

Global Mean Sea Level

Apr 30, 2012; 2:05 PM ET

Satellite data since 1993 shows that that there is no doubt that the global mean sea level is steadily rising......

The Eastern U.S. "Warming Hole" of the Late 20th Century

Apr 27, 2012; 2:38 PM ET

Increased air pollution may have delayed global warming in the eastern U.S. back in the late 20th century.

Arctic Warming

Apr 25, 2012; 1:53 PM ET

Another indication of climate change is the warming of the Arctic....

Heat Content of the Upper Oceans is Rising

Apr 24, 2012; 3:37 PM ET

The increasing heat content of the world's oceans over the past few decades is another climate change indicator.

Glaciers Retreating, Sea Level Rising

Apr 23, 2012; 1:59 PM ET

As we continue our series on climate change indicators, we will focus on glacier melt and sea level rise today.

It's Not the Sun!

Apr 20, 2012; 11:04 AM ET

Over the next week or so I am going to focus on some of the basics of climate change and specifically on climate change indicators......

Update on Arctic Sea Ice Extent and Volume

Apr 18, 2012; 2:42 PM ET

Sea ice extent in the Arctic region continues to run close to the 1979-2000 year average at this time.

March Global Surface Temperature Data Released

Apr 16, 2012; 2:52 PM ET

March 2012 was the 16th warmest March on record globally......

older Posts >

About This Blog

Global Climate Change
In the AccuWeather.com Climate Change Blog, you will find links to the latest research, commentary by experts with various points of view on all aspects of Global Warming and Global Cooling.