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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 is a gigantic, circular area of cold air high up in the atmosphere that typically spins over the North Pole (as its name suggests), USA Today previously reported. It's a normal ...
Beginning on January 2, 2014, sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) [dubious – discuss] led to the breakdown of the semi-permanent feature across the Arctic known as the polar vortex. Without an active upper-level vortex to keep frigid air bottled up across the Arctic, the cold air mass was forced southward as upper-level warming displaced the ...
A quick but intense blast of Arctic air will barrel into the Northeast later this week to deliver quite a cold shock to the Northeast and neighboring Canada, AccuWeather meteorologists warn. The ...
The polar vortex is a large area of low-pressure and cold air surrounding both of the Earth’s poles, according to the weather service. It always exists near the poles.
The polar vortex is not synonymous with a cold snap. In fact, the stratosphere is 10 to 30 miles above the earth’s surface and above the polar jet stream and other systems that create most ...
Major SSWs occur when the winter polar stratospheric westerlies reverse to easterlies. In minor warmings, the polar temperature gradient reverses but the circulation does not, and in final warmings, the vortex breaks down and remains easterly until the following boreal autumn". [3]
Behind the storm, an arctic blast from the polar vortex will send temperatures plunging to potentially record lows for much of the country. Behind the storm, an arctic blast from the polar vortex ...