Snowplows and skidding tires were the theme of the weekend after Madison was hit with the largest snowfall of the season. The almost 10-inch-deep snow is uncharacteristic this year, amidst the warmest winter in Wisconsin’s history.

In past years, phenomena such as El Niño and La Niña helped explain the odd weather patterns, but there is no clear-cut explanation for the warm winter much of the upper Midwest is currently experiencing.

The jet stream, which typically causes cold air from the arctic to move south, is currently disorganized, allowing warmer air from the west to reach Madison, according to the chairman of UW-Madison’s atmospheric and oceanic studies department, John Young.

Young said scientists are baffled by the warm weather.

“I’m slightly mystified by this myself. It is clear the jet stream patterns are different in several places,” Young said. “The cold air has not been pooled over the continent as normal but it’s not something that is straight forward like the El Niño year four years ago.”

Although a portion of the scientific community cannot provide an explanation for the disorganized jet stream, others say the warm winter is part of a trend of increasing temperatures throughout the world.

“If you look at the general trend of things, winters are getting warmer,” said David Houghton, professor emeritus of atmospheric and oceanic sciences. “There are some of us who do say it’s likely to be part of global warming.”

The term “global warming” refers to a rise in global surface temperatures due to increased levels of greenhouse gasses.

It is generally accepted that since the industrial revolution, fossil fuel consumption and other human activities have increased the amount of greenhouse gases, which trap heat in the earth’s atmosphere.

Increases in temperature may have widespread ecological effects on plants, animals, and their habitats.

Houghton said the warmer weather caused changes in agricultural crops, lakes not freezing over and an increased insect population.

“A lot of insects typically get killed off during the winter and if they don’t it could be worse next spring,” Houghton said.

Whatever the effects caused by this warm winter and the overall trend in rising temperatures, the stakes are high, Young said.

“The bottom line I feel about things like global warming are that in our society all changes are difficult for somebody,” he said. “I don’t like to say it’s all good or all bad but in a highly refined system like ours, it is disruptive.”

The current snowfall and drop in temperature could be an indication that the rest of winter may be back to normal, or this cold system could pass by and warm temperatures could return, which Young thinks is the more likely of the two.

“I don’t consider this a switch to six weeks of winter,” Young said.