The jet stream over the North Atlantic is moving northwards and increasing in speed, which could make storms affecting Ireland and The UK more powerful, according to climate research conducted at Maynooth University. Across the eastern United States, a changing jet stream could mean more extreme weather events nudging the region before the storms intensify even further as they move toward Europe.

Following a week in which Europe experienced three named winter storms in a matter of days bringing disruption and damage across The UK and Ireland, disturbed weather patterns could become more prevalent.

New research at Maynooth University’s ICARUS Climate Research Centre in Ireland, has found that the jet stream is moving northwards and increasing in speed, influencing storm activity and temperature patterns across the Northern Hemisphere.

Jet streams are fast bands of air which flow around the globe at around 6 miles above the Earth’s surface, and have a significant influence on storm activity and temperature patterns across the northern hemisphere which can impact the weather through strong winds and flooding events.

The average winter northern hemisphere jet stream position over the North Atlantic has moved northwards by up to 205 miles, and the mean winter jet-speed has increased by 8 percent to 131 miles per hour over a 141-year period, confirmed the researchers of the ICARUS Climate Research Centre at Maynooth University and the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) in the United Kingdom.

In addition to having significant influence on storm activity, the changed pattern is also affecting temperature patterns across the Northern Hemisphere, which can impact the weather through strong winds and flooding events.

The report also mentions that "long term jet stream changes are potential indicators of a changing climate, and several studies have found evidence for a poleward shift in the jet streams and storm tracks."

"Jet stream variability is, therefore, an important component of climate 'noise' and understanding the seasonal to decadal variability can help inform the study of what climate change will look like on a regional basis."

The findings also have implications for models used for climate and weather predictions.

Between 1871 and 2011 the average winter jet stream latitude over the North Atlantic moved from 44° to 47° north with a 10 mph increase in speed to 132mph, but no increases were observed over the North Pacific.