Recent extreme cold weather outbreaks across the mid-latitudes have been the subject of great interest to the public and debate among the scientific community, with some researchers proposing a link to the warming Artic. To learn about the latest observational and modeling studies that examine these linkages, join Judah Cohen (AER Inc./MIT) and Lantao Sun (U. Colorado, Boulder/NOAA ESRL) for this webinar.
Cohen and Sun will discuss the roles of Arctic sea ice loss and snow cover change, natural variability, El Niño-Southern Oscillation and other possible connections in causing the “Warm Arctic, Cold Continents” pattern.
Both Cohen and Sun have recently published articles on the attribution of cold winters across the Northern Hemisphere mid-latitudes. Cohen argues that the cold winters are at least partially forced by a warming Arctic, while Sun argues it is simply natural variability. The webinar will be a unique opportunity to hear scientists discuss very different causes for the same observed weather phenomenon and highlight why this topic remains controversial.