More Cyclones Found North Of 55 Degrees Latitude

A new analysis of polar weather data shows 19 hundred cyclones operated across the top of the world from 2000 to 2010, 40 percent more than previously thought. The finding using data synthesized at the Ohio Supercomputer Center could be significant to anyone who lives north of 55 degrees latitude, an area that includes Alaska, northern Canada, Scandinavia and Russia. The cyclones leave behind warm water and air, melting sea ice in the Arctic Ocean. Ohio State University geography professor David Bromwich says the finding is also important to polar researchers seeking to understand current weather patterns and what they say about future climate change. Bromwich is senior research scientist at OSU's Byrd Polar Research Center. He amassed the weather database and consulted on the cyclone study.