Drastic Arctic warm event stuns scientists, as record-breaking temperatures reach the North Pole

Arctic scientists are poring over data coming in from the vast, normally frozen region, after the North Pole’s version of a heat wave swept across the area for the past week. Not only was the region near the North Pole the warmest it has been during the month of February since at least the 1950s, but one of the northernmost land-based weather stations, known as Cape Morris Jesup, exceeded the freezing mark on an unprecedented nine separate days during the month. 

On Feb. 25, that weather station remained above freezing for about 24 hours, which is virtually unheard of during February, when there is no sunlight reaching the ground there. Arctic sea ice in the Bering Sea and to the north of Greenland actually declined during February, a time when sea ice usually expands toward its seasonal maximum in early to mid-March.  Read more…

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