The winter storm that hit the eastern U.S. over the weekend was no ordinary weather event. According to new research, this storm was supercharged by climate change, resulting in heavier snow, sleet, and freezing rain than similar storms in the past.
Areas across the eastern U.S. were blanketed with more than two feet of snow, while freezing rain created hazardous conditions and power outages in the Southeast. This storm was predicted to be powerful, but the impact was amplified by the warming climate. It may seem counterintuitive that a warmer atmosphere could lead to more snowfall, but the science behind it is clear.
For every degree Celsius of warming, the atmosphere can hold about 7% more moisture. With temperatures now up to five degrees Celsius warmer than in past decades, this storm had up to 20% more precipitation than it would have without human-induced climate change. This means that as the planet continues to warm, regions prone to heavy snowfall, like those affected by lake-effect snow, may experience more intense winter storms.
The implications of climate change on snowstorms are significant. Emergency planning and infrastructure standards, based on historical snowfall records, may need to be reevaluated to account for the increasing moisture in a warmer atmosphere. As Haosu Tang, a co-author of the analysis, stated, “infrastructure and emergency planning standards, historically based on past snowfall records, may no longer be sufficient.”
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