High temperatures at the North Pole

 ABOVE ZERO CELSIUS AT NORTH POLE NOVEMBER 2020

Sam Carana, via Facebook

A hot Arctic Ocean distorts the Jet Stream and hot air moves all the way up to the North Pole.

A temperature was forecast for November 12, 2020, of 2.0°C or 35.5°F at the North Pole at 1000 hPa at 15:00Z, with the jet stream crossing the Arctic Ocean (at 250 hPa). At surface level, a temperature was forecast to be 0.6°C or 33.2°F.

As it turned out, the highest temperature at the North Pole was 1.1°C or 34.1°F on November 12, 2020, at 1000 hPa at 18:00Z, as above image shows. At 15:00Z that day, a temperature of 1.9°C or 35.3°F was recorded at 1000 hPa just south of the North Pole, at 89.50° N, 1.50° E.

A further forecast for November 12, 2020, shows temperature anomalies approaching 30°C.

These high temperatures over the Arctic Ocean are caused by transfer of huge amounts of heat from the Arctic Ocean to the atmosphere, indicating severe overheating of the Arctic Ocean as a result of the ongoing movement of ocean heat at the surface of the North Atlantic to the Arctic Ocean along the Gulf Stream.

The resulting distortion of the Jet Stream can at times speed up winds that move hot air from the North Atlantic Ocean toward to Arctic Ocean, as the images illustrate.

More ocean heat can move into the Arctic Ocean for a number of reasons, including:

• At times, the Jet Stream becomes very elongated, speeding up the flow of ocean heat along the Gulf Stream all the way to the Arctic Ocean;

• Overall, winds are getting stronger, speeding up ocean currents running just below the sea surface;

• Stratification of the North Atlantic results in less heat mixing down to lower parts of the ocean; and

• Increased evaporation and rainfall further down the path of the Gulf Stream can create a colder freshwater lid at the surface of the North Atlantic near the Arctic Ocean, sealing off tranfer of heat from ocean to atmosphere and consequently moving more heat just underneath the sea surface into the Arctic Ocean.

Earlier, sea surface temperatures were as high as 16.6°C or 61.9°F north of Svalbard (on November 9, 2020).

The danger is that more heat will reach the shallow parts of the Arctic Ocean that contain huge amounts of methane in the form of hydrates and free gas in sediments at the seafloor.

From the set at:

https://www.facebook.com/SamCarana/posts/10164518636920161