In the United States, at least 55 people have already died as a result of the snowstorm. The storm is about to subside, but heavy snowfall can still continue in the country’s midwest.
An exceptionally large and powerful snowstorm hit the United States for Christmas, as a result of which at least 57 people have already died in 12 different states, news channel NBC (you switch to another service) tells.
Meteorologist at the Meteorological Institute Oskari Rockas tells that the winter storm afflicting the country is going to an “extraordinary series” in terms of natural phenomena.
– The northern parts of Florida have had freezing temperatures at night. This kind of thing doesn’t happen every year, Rockas describes.
The storm was caused by an exceptional low pressure
Rockas says that last week, cold air flowed from the Arctic regions through Canada to the United States.
An arctic front was born in the United States, which flowed towards the southeastern part of the country.
– There was warmer and more humid air opposite the arctic front. A very strong low pressure was able to form at the interface of the air masses, Rockas explains.
The strong low pressure, on the other hand, caused heavy snowfalls around the country.
Rockas says that the phenomenon experienced in the United States this Christmas is also called a bomb cyclone. In a bomb cyclone, the storm intensifies quickly in less than a day and is accompanied by heavy snowfall and gale force winds.
The flatness of the surface shapes helped the storm to spread
In the United States, especially in the Midwest in the Great Lakes region, we are used to freezing temperatures in winter.
This Christmas storm has also caused the most damage in the city of Buffalo, which is located on the shores of Lake Erie. In Buffalo, as a result of the snowstorm, at least 28 people have died, The New York Times (you are moving to another service) – the newspaper says.
Rockas says that the flatness of the US landforms in the central and eastern parts of the country helped the storm to spread.
– The jet streams higher in the atmosphere control the big weather. They were able to dive so deep that the arctic cold air was able to flow all the way to the south, says Rockas.
– In the United States, this is possible because there are no landforms or bodies of water preventing cold air from flowing in, if the weather conditions are favorable for it.
The storm is weakening
According to Rockas, the storm that has been strong in the United States since the end of last week is now abating.
– Temperatures are starting to rise already from today. The snow showers are also easing, as the larger low pressure is receding.
According to Rockas, heavy snowfall may still be experienced in the vicinity of the Great Lakes during today and tomorrow, but in other parts of the country extensive snowfall is already receding today.
Climate change is intensifying extreme weather phenomena
The United States experienced a strong heat wave last summer, and last September the country set an all-time heat record.
According to Rockas, climate change can also intensify winter storms, because the cold air arriving from the arctic regions collides with warm and moist air more and more often, forming strong low pressures.
– Warmer air can hold more moisture. That way, climate change can increase snowfall when there is more moisture in the air. This is how climate change has been able to affect this storm as well, when there has been enough air humidity for such a strong low pressure.
Read also: The American winter storm has already claimed the lives of dozens of people – the death toll may still rise when people are found frozen in their cars