I live in Belgium, we had the second warmest winter since we started recording, and we broke the record for highest lowest temperature (it never went below -0.5 degrees Celsius).
The reason: the Jet Stream, which normally makes a wave movement, stayed in the same position for a very long time. For us that meant a constant supply of hot air and very warm weather. For England, the consequence was a lot of rain and storms. For the USA, the consequence was a constant supply of cold air and a very cold winter.
Now if the Jet Stream remains stable in a slightly different position (my country is only 300km*150km at its widest), we have a constant supply of cold air and very cold winters, like in the previous two years.
The diminishing of the wave movement of the Jet Stream seems to be caused by the lower difference in temperature between the arctic and the equator, due to the melting of the arctic ice, due to global warming.
I live in Belgium, we had the second warmest winter since we started recording, and we broke the record for highest lowest temperature (it never went below -0.5 degrees Celsius).
The reason: the Jet Stream, which normally makes a wave movement, stayed in the same position for a very long time. For us that meant a constant supply of hot air and very warm weather. For England, the consequence was a lot of rain and storms. For the USA, the consequence was a constant supply of cold air and a very cold winter.
Now if the Jet Stream remains stable in a slightly different position (my country is only 300km*150km at its widest), we have a constant supply of cold air and very cold winters, like in the previous two years.
The diminishing of the wave movement of the Jet Stream seems to be caused by the lower difference in temperature between the arctic and the equator, due to the melting of the arctic ice, due to global warming.
Source, in Dutch: http://www.demorgen.be/dm/nl/5376/Ecologie/article/detail/1823838/2014/03/20/Waarom-deze-winter-nooit-een-winter-is-geweest.dhtml