As Oklahoma’s temperature continues to dip down below freezing and an uncharacteristic cold settles over the state, many residents are wondering what has caused this onslaught of bone-chilling weather. The answer is simple, but hard to confront: Global warming.

Unfortunately, because of global warming, uncharacteristically warm early winter temperatures followed by sudden cold snaps may become our new normal. 

The recent cold snaps have been caused by a warping of the polar vortex. The polar vortex, usually a solid and almost ovular boundary that runs the entire length of the arctic, separating it from warmer air, has become distorted; stretching and waning in areas it shouldn’t, causing it to slip beyond the normal range into places like Canada and the central/southern United States.

“The freezing weather comes just months after much of the South experienced a brutal summer of unrelenting heat and humidity, and weeks after scientists concluded that 2023 was the planet’s hottest year on record,” said The New York Times in ‘Lingering Cold Puts Millions in the South Under Harsh Conditions’. “…Even though much of the United States is currently experiencing icier-than-normal conditions, Earth as a whole has been warmer than average this month because of unusually high temperatures in other parts of the globe.”

In summary, extreme weather may become our new normal unless strong strides are made to help slow global warming. If you’re interested in contributing to global warming research make sure to check out the organizations linked here.