Natural shift in Jet Stream to blame for cold snap

THE cold spell may be a direct result of a natural shift of the Jet Stream which normally brings mild weather to Irish shores, climate experts have said.

According to climatologists, an atmospheric blocking of the Jet Stream — a narrow band of fast-flowing air that normally dictates the Irish weather— has resulted in weather anomalies, bringing Arctic weather to Europe and temperature increases of up to 10C in Canada and Greenland.

Director of the Irish Climate Analysis and Research Units (ICARUS) Professor John Sweeney said that the North Atlantic Oscillation, a component of the Arctic pressure system, has gone very strongly “negative” in the past year.