Baby, It's Cold Outside!

Most people only expect Global Heating to result in sweltering temperatures. They get quite perplexed (some even get snotty), when record, low winter temperatures hit Europe and the Southern US. So, how can we account for these counterintuitive changes? Although there is, as yet, no concensus (when is there ever?), a scenario supported by Judah Cohen (Atmospheric and Environmental Research) and Jennifer Francis (Woodwell Climate Research Center), seems pretty convincing (https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/feb/17/arctic-heating-winter-storms-climate-change). The scenario notes the tight, cold vortex of winter air high in the Stratosphere (the Polar vortex), spinning around the North pole. The jet stream is a fluctuating area of strong winds, generally found in lower regions of the atmosphere. It is clear that the Arctic is heating up (due to climate change), at a rate that is more than twice that of the global average. It is suggested that warming of the Arctic, elevates the jet stream so it collides with the polar vortex. This causes that spinning air mass to wobble (it can even split it on some occasions), taking its cold air into regions that are not usually exposed to it. This results in 'The Beast From the East Mark 2' in the UK and snowstorms in Texas. This seems a reasonable explanation to me (although more research is needed). The cold winters in these 'new' areas are certainly not a good reason to simple-mindedly abandon attempts to counter climate change.