[Snow layer in Buffalo. Photo credit: Flickr]

Due to the bomb cyclone, Canada and Northern and Midland U.S. are having the coldest winter under unprecedentedly low temperatures and intense snow storms. 

The US National Weather Service (NWS) revealed that the Montana, Buffalo, and Wyoming temperatures rapidly plunged below negative 40 degrees Celsius. 

Under this temperature, exposed skin can get frostbite in 5 minutes. 

They added that this winter could threaten the citizens’ lives. 

According to CNN, 27 death cases from the cold, storm, and car crashes on frozen roads occurred in the U.S. until December 27th, and authorities predicted that these winter-related fatalities still could increase.

In addition to this bone-chilling temperature, heavy and dense snow storms also cause the citizens to suffer.

Especially in the Buffalo area, almost 1m of snow layer was created and tied up the traffic. 

Due to this, the city’s recovery or rescue system was paralyzed, which raised the severity of the situation. 

Thousands of flights were delayed and canceled due to the influence of heavy snow on the airport. 

As a result, despite the Christmas season, hundreds of millions of people could not enjoy their holiday season.

At most, 2 million residents experienced contemporaneous blackouts on Christmas Eve. 

Due to this difficult situation, several local authorities declared weather warnings and states of emergency: they urged the citizens to stay at home. 

Mike DeWine, the governor of Ohio, noted that this climate state differs from the past Christmas season.

U.S. President Joe Biden also warned the citizens. “This is not like a snow day when you were a kid. This is serious stuff,” he said. 

NWS concerns not only humans but also animals, even the ones well-adapted to low temperatures. 

Outdoor animals like cattle or wildlife may endure this freezing temperature.

Still, they can face a lack of food and energy supply, which leads them under hazardous conditions.

So why did the weather become so violent exceptionally this winter? 

Scientists claim that the primary cause of this brutal snowfall can be related to climate change. 

It seems ironic that climate change causes colder weather.

However, two significant influences of climate change most likely triggered this bomb cyclone.

The first factor is the disruption in airflow.

The bomb cyclone is a byproduct of the polar vortex from the north pole. 

The polar vortex is a flow of air with extremely low pressure and temperature revolving and generating cold air. 

The polar vortex should be stable under normal conditions.

However, climate change can disrupt airflow. 

Due to the general temperature increase of Earth, the temperature difference between the area under the polar vortex and the south area with warm air creates a violent and uneven flow pattern. 

This change causes more severe and extensive impacts on the regions near the north pole. 

Another potential influence of climate change is increased precipitation.

As the temperature rises, clouds can hold more moisture from the atmosphere. 

Those clouds travel around the world and release more and denser snow.