Tie Between Disappearing Arctic Ice, Extreme Weather Confirmed; Link May Extend To Tornado Alley

[hatrack]

The US mainland is thousands of miles away from the Arctic circle, but that does not mean the nation is immune to the steady loss of polar sea ice. A new study suggests that despite the distance between these two regions, the impact of global climate change in the Arctic could have an unusual effect on severe storms in the US.

The results show a possible connection between atmospheric changes - brought about by a loss of Arctic sea ice - and an unexpected decrease in the number of tornadoes touching down in the US. "A relationship between Arctic sea ice and tornadoes in the US may seem unlikely," says co-author Jeff Trapp, an expert in atmospheric sciences. "But it is hard to ignore the mounting evidence in support of the connection."

Previous research has found that low Arctic sea ice has helped to promote extreme weather events in certain regions of the world. Trapp and his team wanted to figure out if this connection also extends to tornado activity, as the frequency of tornadoes in the US has been abnormally low in recent years.
The hunch appears to be well-founded. Looking at nearly three decades of historical weather and climate data, the findings reveal significant correlations between the scope of Arctic sea ice and the frequency and strength of tornado activity in the US. In particular, the results show that when Arctic sea is low in the month of July, tornado activity in the same month is also anomalously low.

To be clear, this is just a correlation. There is no definitive evidence yet that changes in weather circulation can be specifically attributed to the extent of Arctic sea ice. "... the data alone are insufficient to answer the question of whether the Arctic sea ice losses and associated lower-tropospheric temperature enhanced the atmospheric dynamics in July 1990–2015, or whether enhanced atmospheric dynamics drove larger ice losses," the study reads.

EDIT

https://www.sciencealert.com/the-loss-of-arctic-sea-ice-is-having-a-strange-effect-on-tornadoes-in-the-us

[OnlinePoker]

1. So in this case, lower sea ice is a good thing? n/t