A warm “blob” in the ocean is causing some weird weather throughout the world. This might sound like it comes from a storybook, but this extremely large patch of warm water is very real. The blob (a nickname given by one of the scientists who helped discover it) has caused ocean temperatures to rise 1.8 to 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit (1 to 4 degrees Celsius) warmer than usual. It’s located in the Pacific Ocean, off the shores of North America’s West Coast. The blob is approximately 1,242 miles (2,000 km) long, stretching from Mexico to Alaska. Researchers believe that the blob is the reason for the United States’ warm, dry winter. Although global warming did not cause the blob, scientists note that oddities like this will be more common with global warming.
