In a changing climate, many of the words used to describe intensified weather are familiar: hurricane, wildfire, and drought. But there are also new and weird meteorological terms and phenomena. Here are a few:
Arctic blast
A band of strong, swirling winds called the polar vortex usually keeps very cold air trapped in the Arctic. But if the polar vortex is disrupted, that icy air can travel south and cause temperatures to plummet in an “Arctic blast.” Scientists don’t know exactly why these disruptions happen, but many believe that climate change is partly to blame.
ARkStorm
There’s no such thing as an ARkStorm—yet. It’s part of a U.S. Geological Survey research project, a made-up megastorm scenario that could do unheard-of damage, similar to historical storms but with magnitudes and frequency intensified by climate change. The intentionally biblical name is an acronym blending “atmospheric river,” k (which stands for 1,000, because ARkStorm was projected as a 1-in-1,000-year event), and “storm.”
Atmospheric river
These air currents are long, concentrated regions in the atmosphere that transport moist air from the tropics. According to NOAA, rivers in the sky can be beneficial to regional water supply but can also release heavy wind, rain, and snow. In areas experiencing drought, they can cause flash floods, mudslides, and destruction of life and property.
Bomb cyclone
Bombogenesis (a.k.a. bomb cyclone) is when a cold air mass collides with a warm air mass, such as air over warm ocean waters. The National Ocean Service says these mid-altitude cyclones intensify quickly and can result in extreme rain or snow.
Gray swan
Scientists use this phrase to describe an extreme weather event that statistically should be very rare. However, as climate change makes weather patterns more extreme and less predictable, this term is likely to be increasingly common. Or maybe it will cease to be meaningful and fall out of favor.
Firenado
Fire tornadoes are rare, occurring when wildfire heat creates its own wind system. Also called pyrogenetic tornado, fire whirl, and fire devil (experts debate the nuances of these terms), these tornado-like bursts rise from a fire, polluting the air with smoke and debris. Some can be more than 500 feet in diameter.
Flash drought
When abnormally low precipitation combines with abnormally high temperatures, wind, and radiation (such as sunlight), flash droughts can occur. They’re sudden and rapidly intensifying droughts that can cause widespread damage to agriculture and ecosystems—and they’re becoming more common as climate change destabilizes the planet’s weather patterns. In the United States, flash droughts are often connected to La Niña events, and usually occur during warm seasons in the central U.S.
Heat dome
Heat domes form when hot air gets trapped by high atmospheric pressure and creates an area of intense heat over a region. Heat domes are often created by changes in the pattern of the jetstream, a band of winds in the atmosphere that moves west to east. They can intensify when the mass of air moves over the downslopes of mountains, since this action causes air to warm even more. As climate change exacerbates droughts, drives up temperatures, and increases the size of high-pressure weather systems, heat domes are becoming more frequent, intense, and deadly.
Megadrought
Climate change is currently impacting drought all over the world. Still, historical megadroughts, a.k.a. prolonged drought lasting for decades, have been documented, including some that took place thousands of years ago.
Microburst
Microbursts are downdrafts from storms, not tornadoes, but their wind speeds can reach 100 mph, which is tornado-equivalent. They can be wet (rainy) or dry (little or no rain) when they reach the ground with a strong, short-lived burst of wind over a small surface area. They can be quite damaging. Climate change has increased rainfall in some regions, which could mean an uptick in the likelihood and magnitude of microbursts.
Omega block
Omega blocks are high-pressure systems trapped between low-pressure systems–the shape resembles the Greek letter omega. While weather systems typically move fluidly, they can sometimes get blocked when the jet stream weakens, resulting in extended periods of heat, rain, or pleasant weather. There is growing evidence that global warming can weaken the jet stream, the strong winds that help move areas of low pressure around the globe, increasing the incidence of blocked weather patterns.
Polar vortex
The National Weather Service says this large area of low pressure and cold air surrounding both of Earth’s poles is not new. Still, climate change has impacted polar vortex behavior and can cause expansion to southern latitudes. “Vortex” refers to the counterclockwise airflow that keeps colder air near the poles. It’s weaker in summer, stronger in winter, and associated with outbreaks of arctic air in the U.S.
Super fog
When smoke and moisture from damp, smoldering fires—such as swamp fires—mix with cooler, wet air, super fog can form. Thick curtains of super fog reduce visibility to less than 10 feet and cause dangerous driving conditions. Swamp fires are becoming more common and difficult to fight as climate change exacerbates droughts.
Thundersnow
Thunder and lightning are common in a heavy rainstorm, but unusual in a heavy snowstorm. That’s because there are rarely enough warm pockets of air in a snowstorm to create the conditions required for thunder and lightning. But thunder and lightning can happen during cold weather when there is the right amount of moisture and movement of air in the clouds. When snow and thunder do mix, it’s called thundersnow, and scientists say that this phenomenon may happen more often as the climate crisis makes extreme weather events more frequent.
Weather whiplash
The term weather whiplash describes the rapid swings from one extreme weather event to another. For example, a sudden shift from drought to heavy rain, or extreme cold to unseasonable warmth. Some scientists say that climate change could make weather whiplash events more frequent.
For more information, see our Extreme Weather and the Changing Climate fact sheet.