Extreme Cold Grips US as Jet Stream Bends Under Climate Change
Pre-Christmas forecasts call for fast-falling temperatures and possible bomb cyclone “because the jet stream is loopier than usual.”
An extreme dive by the jet stream across North America is driving the wedge of cold air deep into the heart of the US and pushing temperatures below freezing right down to the shores of the Gulf of Mexico. It’s the kind of event that could become more common as climate change accelerates.
The signs of a sudden shift in the jet stream can be seen in Thursday’s temperatures and its forecasts. The low in Montana reached minus 50F (-45.6C), according to the US Weather Prediction Center. The high of 33F in Chicago was expected to drop to minus -6F overnight. New York’s Central Park will swing from 53F on Friday afternoon to 14F within hours, while in Dallas Thursday’s high of 44F is forecast to drop to 11F. Thousands of flights have already been canceled at one of the busiest travel times of the year.