Winter cold of eastern continental boundaries induced by warm ocean waters

Why New England winters are so chilly It is well known that the northeastern reaches of Asia and North America are far colder in the winter than western areas at similar latitudes. The generally accepted explanation is that the weather systems are influenced by elevated terrain and by the movement of prevailing atmospheric circulation over warm ocean currents. Yohai Kaspi and Tapio Schneider now show that oceans are indeed an important underlying cause for the temperature difference, but they identify a surprising mechanism for the phenomenon. Climate modelling suggests that paradoxically, the relative coldness of North America, not the warmth of Europe, arises because of the warm waters of the Gulf Stream. Warm Gulf Stream waters adjacent to the North American coast — and similarly warm ocean waters on Asia's Pacific coast — generate atmospheric waves that draw cold northern air to continental areas westward of the currents.