The blob is back, and no, I am not talking about the movies about the alien blob monsters.

I am talking about the Pacific "Blob", a large area of warmer water stretching over the North Pacific Ocean, which has the potential to cause major disruptions.

So, what is going on here? Why does this blob form and what makes it last a long time?

The main culprit is a stubborn high pressure system that hangs out across the region.

So why does that matter?

When this high pressure system hangs out and doesn't move, the winds in the region begin to decrease.

These winds are essential for upwelling, which is when cool waters rise from the depths and are able to mix and keep the temperatures down.

You know how heat domes across the US are caused by stubborn high pressure systems that lock down an area with persistent heat - this high pressure does a similar thing over the ocean.

This year, ocean temperatures across the North Pacific broke their all-time warmth records in August.

If you are wondering what the blob's specific impacts were, I have you covered.

With the blob's ocean temperatures warming, water is less efficient at mixing and ocean currents slow.

This means that nutrients are unable to spread as easily and there is less oxygen for marine life, which is obviously extremely important for parts of the oceanic food chain.

The news isn't all bad: some species actually benefit from this. Take sardines and tuna, for example.

But, salmon and cold-water plankton are unable to handle these temperatures, which greatly impacts what these animals eat and what eats these animals.

The 2015-2016 Common Murre die-off was the largest on record due to these birds not being able to eat enough cold-water forage fish. Marine mammals like whales and sea lions were exposed to toxic algae and saw food shortages as well. California fishers also saw fewer crab and more whale entanglements as whales were desperate for food.

(MORE: Weather Words: The Blob)

As if the marine life impacts of these Pacific Blobs aren't bad enough, weather across the US also gets impacted.

The warmer Pacific Ocean will lead to more moisture for storms impacting the West Coast.

But, it can lead to warmer temperatures along the West Coast.

This can lead to less of a snowpack for the West Coast mountains, which can impact tourism and also serves as a large fresh water source and a limiter of drought increases in early spring.

When a blob like this is in place, it can lead to a shift in the jet stream, which can lead to a dislodging of the polar vortex and potentially lead to a colder and wetter winter for parts of the East.

Minneapolis' 2013-2014 winter was wild, with 53 subzero temperatures and an incredible 70 inches of snowfall that winter.

We will have to see what these warm ocean temperatures do to the Central and Eastern U.S. this year.

For the lore nerds, let's give the backstory of this blob.

First observed in 2013, a stubborn area of high pressure led ocean temperatures to increase to 7 degrees above normal.

For the record, that is a huge jump for oceans, where it takes a lot of persistent heat to make temperatures increase.

In its prime, this Pacific blob stretched more than 1,000 miles wide and 300 feet deep before eventually splitting into three smaller blobs.

The next blob occurred in 2019 and brought record temperatures to the Northern Pacific.

As our planet warms, the concern is that these Pacific blobs will become more frequent.