If you think the weather has gone crazy in recent years some scientists say you can blame the melting of the polar ice cap.
New research ties together the massive summer ice loss over the North Pole with a weakening of the jet stream leading to changes in the weather in mid latitudes.
Take for example the record flooding in 2011, the drought of 2012, and again floods in some areas around the country in 2013.
SDPB’s Charles Michael Ray spoke with a lead researcher of the study and with a regional climatologist to ask if this pattern of extreme weather will continue.
Here is a video of Dr Jennifer Francis with more detail on her research on the impact of arctic ice loss on the jet stream.