After unseasonably warm weather, why does a nasty winter storm ALWAYS follow?

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I live in northern Michigan. In February, we had a week in the 50s to high 60s. Immediately following that, we had a terrible winter storm with tons of snow, 50+ mph winds and single digit temps. This happens every time we have even one day of warm weather during winter time. Why?

In: Planetary Science

2 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Storms in America go west to east (mostly). It’s warmer to the south, almost always. Low pressure systems rotate counter-clockwise. 

So as storms are approaching, warm air is rotated upwards before large storms. 

Plus weather is becoming more extreme in the swings. Weather is complex, and adding instability is not good for it.

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