A new study linking extreme winter weather in the U.S. East with a warmer Arctic has drawn fire from some global warming skeptics. Some argue the record is too short to make good conclusions, and others say that correlation is not the same as causation. How do we know if this study is accurate? Are they alternative explanations? EarthSky has an interesting article about the study and how scientists assess the credibility of each new piece of the research puzzle in the larger process of scientific discovery. You can read it here.
This becomes even more important when you consider that this February the temperature in parts of the Arctic rose 45 F above average. This was the third year in a row with anomalously high temperatures in the region. You can read more about it at https://www.climate.gov/news-features/event-tracker/february-2018-heatwave-across-far-north.
