Warm 'Blob' in Earth's Ocean is Causing Weird East Coast Weather

A warm "blob" in Earth's ocean may be linked to strange weather in the United States. Scientists have found that an unusually warm patch of surface water in the Pacific Ocean pattern may be impacting east coast snowstorms.

"In the fall of 2013 and early 2014 we started to notice a big, almost circular mass of water that just didn't cool off as much as it usually do, so by spring of 2014 it was warmer than we had ever seen it for that time of year," said Nick Bond, one of the researchers, in a news release.

The blob itself is about 1,000 miles in each direction and about 300 feet deep. About 10 months after it was discovered, it's still present off our shores. Currently, it's squished up against the coast and extending about 1,000 miles offshore from Mexico up through Alaska. The water itself is about 3.6 degrees higher than normal and will likely continue through the end of the year.

In this latest study, the researchers examined the blob's origins. They found that it related to a persistent high-pressure ridge that caused a calmer ocean during the past two winters, so less heat was lost to cold air above. The warmer temperatures we see now aren't due to more heating, but less winter cooling.

The blob, though, is just one element of a broader pattern in the Pacific Ocean.

"It's an interesting question if that's just natural variability happening or if there's something changing about how the Pacific Ocean decadal variability behaves," said Dennnis Hartmann, one of the researchers, in a news release. "I don't think we know the answer. Maybe it will go away quickly and we won't talk about it anymore, but if it persists for a third year, then we'll know something really unusual is going on."

The findings are published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.

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