Olive Heffernan at New Scientist has a story on research findings which link rising temperatures to shifts in the jet stream.
Diversion brings havoc
The latest work on this, published this week, is led by climatologist Michael Mann at Pennsylvania State University. It bolsters the idea that the polar jet stream can be diverted by global warming, potentially bringing weather-related havoc to the northern hemisphere in spring and summer. This high-altitude, fast-flowing atmospheric river usually follows a set route, driven by the Earth’s rotation and by temperature differences between the equator and the poles.
But the Arctic is now warming faster than any other part of the planet, lessening this temperature gradient. This can cause the polar jet stream to get stuck in an unusual, slower-moving, more meandering pattern. When that happens, sometimes for weeks at a time, a persistent weather event such as flooding or drought is more likely.
More at the links above
See the publication at Journal reference: Scientific Reports, DOI: 10.1038/srep45242
Influence of Anthropogenic Climate Change on Planetary Wave Resonance and Extreme Weather Events