Extreme cyclone events in the Arctic:Wintertime variability and trends

• Published in: Environmental Research Letters
• Main Authors: Rinke, Annette, Maturilli, M., Graham, R.M., Matthes, H., Handorf, D., Cohen, L., Hudson, S.R., Moore, John C.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2017
• Subjects: /dk/atira/pure/person/fieldofscience2010/1/17/1; name=Geosciences; Arctic; Ny-Ålesund; North Atlantic; Ny Ålesund; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://research.ulapland.fi/fi/publications/8aa6dff0-bf95-4ecb-8190-2358f7f4b7aa; https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/aa7def

Typically 20–40 extreme cyclone events (sometimes called ‘weather bombs’) occur in the Arctic North Atlantic per winter season, with an increasing trend of 6 events/decade over 1979–2015, according to 6 hourly station data from Ny-Ålesund. This increased frequency of extreme cyclones is consistent with observed significant winter warming, indicating that the meridional heat and moisture transport they bring is a factor in rising temperatures in the region. The winter trend in extreme cyclones is dominated by a positive monthly trend of about 3–4 events/decade in November–December, due mainly to an increasing persistence of extreme cyclone events. A negative trend in January opposes this, while there is no significant trend in February. We relate the regional patterns of the trend in extreme cyclones to anomalously low sea-ice conditions in recent years, together with associated large-scale atmospheric circulation changes such as ‘blockinglike’ circulation patterns (e.g. Scandinavian blocking in December and Ural blocking during January–February).