Ars
Technica: This past August, while sea ice extent in the
Arctic reached a new record low, an unusually large cyclone
took place there. The storm was unusual in that Arctic cyclones
tend to be more common and more severe in the winter. According
to a
paper
published online in
Geophysical Research Letters, the storm was the
strongest on record for August and the 13th strongest among all
Arctic storms. Although the researchers believe the August
cyclone was a fluke weather event, the number of Arctic
cyclones appears to be increasing, according to an
article
on the NASA Earth Observatory website. The cause is as yet
unknown, but climate change may be affecting the severity of
the storms by warming the Arctic Ocean and melting the sea ice
cover.
