US Experience ‘Winter Heatwave’

Some of the northernmost states in America are experiencing unusually warm weather through December, despite it being officially winter time.<p> Last week saw the hottest December weather on record with temperatures 19C higher than average for Montana, Wyoming, Washington state and North Dakota according to a report in The Guardian.<p> Meanwhile Denver, Colorado is yet to have any snowfall this season, where temperatures are 30F above average.<p> The National Weather Service Prediction Centre tweeted that snow lovers will have to wait, saying “Happy first day of meteorological winter!!! Snow lovers who do not reside near the Great Lakes will have to wait a bit longer to see snowflakes, as above-average temperatures will dominate the country over the next several days due to a potent ridge of high pressure.”<p> The Associated Press has acknowledged the ‘weird weather’ much of the nation is experiencing and published an ‘explainer, with our old friend La Nina thought to be at the heart of the problems. “Meteorologists attribute the latest batch of record-shattering weather extremes to a stuck jet stream and the effects of a La Niña weather pattern from cooling waters in the equatorial Pacific,” the AP report said. Elsewhere, ‘humans are to blame’ for the world’s strongest ocean current, in Antarctica, speeding up, with warmer oceans caused by human factors pushing up global temperatures. Scientists are still unsure of the impact, however faster circulation is expected to affect marine life in areas that normally receive warmer waters according to a study published in Nature Climate Change.