"If you live in the eastern U.S., you are likely among the millions dealing with the aftereffects of the heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain that buried the region over the weekend. And while it may be extremely cold, new research reveals that last weekend's weather was in fact supercharged by global warming. Some of the hardest hit places saw more than two feet of snowfall, while up to an inch of ice from freezing rain shut down roads and cut power throughout the Southeast."
"It may seem paradoxical that a warming climate could mean heavier snowfalls, but hotter, albeit still below freezing, temperatures are nonetheless a recipe for more snow. That's because for every one degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) of warming, the atmosphere can hold about 7 percent more moisture. And this storm happened in an atmosphere that has become up to five degrees C (nine degrees F) warmer than it was in past decades, according to the research organization ClimaMeter, which produced the new analysis."
A warmer atmosphere holds more moisture, which can intensify winter storms. Last weekend, the eastern U.S. experienced heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain that buried the region; some places received more than two feet of snow and up to an inch of ice that shut roads and cut power across the Southeast. Warmer-but-still-below-freezing temperatures increase snowfall because each 1°C of warming allows roughly 7% more atmospheric moisture. ClimaMeter's analysis indicates the atmosphere has warmed by up to 5°C relative to past decades, amplifying this storm's precipitation by as much as 20% compared with a no-warming scenario.
Read at www.scientificamerican.com
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