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RE: Climate change and some its effects on Northern Europe
do you feel yourself more warm in finland? i think in last 30 years winters are around same , just less snow
do you feel yourself more warm in finland? i think in last 30 years winters are around same , just less snow
Thirty years ago I was just a kid. Haven't taken notes or paid much attention that long a time. Winters are highly variable. Winters 05/06 and 06/07 were really warm. I think the national winter time heat record was broken in early December 2006 when the daily maximum was about 16 C (in Salo). I remember 09/10 and 10/11 being very cold and snowy. Since then winters have been relatively warm. In the past few years, the pattern has been for December to be quite warm, followed by a really cold January and warmth in February. Much of this variability has to do with North Atlantic Oscillation which has to do with the strength of the polar vortex that is formed in the winter near the pole. The polar vortex is formed by sinking air near the pole. Air sinks near the pole in the winter because the pole does not receive any solar radiation for six months. A vortex is formed. If that vortex is well-defined, fast, and small in diameter frigid polar air masses are contained in the polar region allowing warm air masses from lower latitudes to move further towards the pole. When the polar vortex is weak, there are outbreaks of arctic air masses toward lower latitudes and that is when Europe, North America and Asia may experience winter weather much colder than average.