Winter Blast

Cohen coauthored a July 2025 study that found more stretched polar vortex events linked to severe winter weather bursts in the central and eastern U.S. over the past decade.

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Cohen said part of the reason is that dramatically low sea ice in the Barents and Kara seas in the Arctic helps set up a wave pattern that ultimately causes U.S. cold bursts. A warmer Arctic is causing sea ice in that region to shrink faster than in other places, studies have found.Arctic sea ice is at a record low extent for this time of year, according to the National Snow and Ice Data Center.

Where the winter blast will strike