Analysis of the Extremely Cold and Heavy Snowfall in North America in January 2015

Abstract With global warming and declining Arctic sea ice area in autumn observed by satellites since 1979, anomalous cold snaps in recent winters have affected large parts of North America, Europe, and East Asia. In January 2015, North America suffered extremely cold and heavy snowfall events. As revealed in this paper, the NCEP reanalysis data show that the temperature decreased significantly in January 2015 in North America, including the air temperature in the troposphere and the surface air temperature. Moreover, snow cover increased obviously in January 2015 in North America, while there was a significant negative anomaly of geopotential height. The wind formed the anomalous pattern, which favored cold currents blowing to the North American continent from the polar region, and bringing plenty of water vapor. Our results suggest that the anomalous north wind and decreasing westerly jet stream, which allowed cold and moist air to easily penetrate the North American continent from the Arctic, was one of the main reasons for the extremely cold and heavy-snow winter of 2015 in North America.

Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Letters