USA Today speaks with Birkel about warm winter records
USA Today spoke with Sean Birkel, research assistant professor in the Climate Change Institute at the University of Maine, for a report on a record warm winter. This winter was the second warmest worldwide in 141 years of record keeping, showing signs of climate change, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Birkel, who also is the Maine State Climatologist, said the state as a whole saw its sixth-warmest winter on record, but that the northern part of the state had a recognizable winter. “The snow season was very good across Maine’s northern climate division, owing to numerous snowfall events and daytime high temperatures generally staying below freezing,” he said. Birkel also mentioned that a northern air pattern called the Arctic Oscillation was in an “extreme” phase this year, “reflecting a very strong polar vortex that kept cold air in high latitudes for most of the season.” That contributed to this year’s warm temperatures at lower latitudes, including the U.S. and Europe, according to the report. The Independent in Massillon, Ohio; Utica Observer-Dispatch; Telegram & Gazette in Worcester, Massachusetts; and Hillsdale Daily News carried the USA Today article.