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A stretched polar vortex event played a significant role in the Arctic outbreak that froze Texas in February 2021, killing more than 200 people, according to a 2020 study.
Such plunges occur when the air currents that keep frigid air over the North Pole — the polar vortex — weaken, and the freezing arctic air slips south and pushes the vortex down with it.
The polar vortex is a gigantic, circular area of cold air high up in the atmosphere that typically spins over the North Pole (as its name suggests). The polar vortex is a gigantic, circular area ...
The southern pole's cyclone-like storm is roughly the size of Europe. In addition, the southern polar vortex is constantly changing shape but the cause is still unknown. [4] In 1979, NASA's Pioneer Venus observed a double vortex cyclone at the north pole. There have not been many more close-up observations of the north pole since Pioneer Venus. [5]
The term polar vortex can be used to describe two distinct phenomena; the stratospheric polar vortex, and the tropospheric polar vortex. The stratospheric and tropospheric polar vortices both rotate in the direction of the Earth's spin, but they are distinct phenomena that have different sizes, structures, seasonal cycles, and impacts on weather.
The polar vortex as captured by the Atmospheric infrared sounder. Normally, the Northern Hemisphere jet stream travels fast enough to keep the concentration of Arctic air known as the "polar vortex" stationary in the stratosphere over the North Pole.
When the polar vortex is strong, the polar jet stream locks bitterly cold, dry air in place over the Arctic. When strong, these winds essentially act as an unscalable wall that frigid air cannot ...
While the name for this phenomenon may sound intimidating to some, the polar vortex is actually a completely natural process t. Polar vortex. It's a phrase that becomes very popular has achieved ...