Last updated November 30, 2021
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Polar Vortex Breakdown and Central US Winter Storms February 2021

United States

A prolonged, historic blast of Arctic air brought extreme winter storms and shattered cold temperature records in the central US over President’s Day weekend, causing over 100 deaths and widespread power outages. There are four things to consider when squaring this extreme winter weather with climate change: a spell of cold weather doesn’t cancel out decades of warming; current cold events aren’t as cold as they would have been without climate change; rapid Arctic warming is associated with disruptive winter weather in the US; and climate change increases atmospheric moisture, which leads to heavier rain and snowfall.

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people getting gas in Texas due to power outages
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Global Warming
Air Mass Temperature Increase
Atmospheric Moisture Increase
Sea Surface Temperature Increase
Land Surface Temperature Increase
Extreme Precipitation Increase
Sea Ice Decline
Winter Storm Risk Increase
Large Scale Global Circulation Change
Arctic Amplification
Polar Vortex Breakdown and Central US Winter Storms February 2021