The U.S. Could Get More and More Super-Freezing Winters

For the eastern U.S., this winter and spring have been like a brutal revival of the Ice Ages. One strong blast of polar weather after another sent temperatures plummeting deep into the country, and as yesterday's miserable weather attests, this frigid free-for-all has life in it still.

As unusually cold as it's been, super-bitter winters might be something our grandchildren will frequently complain about. That's because the pattern in the jet stream that routed arctic air down to the East could become more common as the climate changes. Conversely, America's West might expect more of the kind of hot weather that's now causing droughts, high food prices, and a jacked-up risk of wildfires.