Photo of a massive Arctic cyclone Aug 09 2012 Where have I seen
this before, a massive long-lasting Arctic storm that looks a
lot like a hurricane? Oh right, The Day After Tomorrow. The
storm had an unusually low central pressure area. Paul A.
Newman, chief scientist for Atmospheric Sciences at NASA's
Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., estimates that
there have only been about eight storms of similar strength
during the month of August in the last 34 years of satellite
records. "It's an uncommon event, especially because it's
occurring in the summer. Polar lows are more usual in the
winter," Newman said. Arctic storms such as this one can have a
large impact on the sea ice, causing it to melt rapidly through
many mechanisms, such as tearing off large swaths of ice and
pushing them to warmer sites, churning the ice and making it
slushier, or lifting warmer waters from the depths of the Arctic
Ocean. I love The Day After Tomorrow. I know it's a cheeseball
disaster movie (which is pretty much why I l