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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.
'Chicago Beach Keeps Locals Warm During Polar Vortex' – video new report from Voice of America. Chicago river frozen during 2019 polar vortex February 1, 2019. In the Chicago area, temperatures plummeted as low as −23 °F (−31 °C) at O'Hare International Airport on January 30, with a windchill of −52 °F (−47 °C).
The polar vortex is a whirling cone of low pressure over the poles that's strongest in the winter months due to the increased temperature contrast between the polar regions and the mid-latitudes ...
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]
" The polar vortex is defined as a mass of cold air that is tightly bound to polar regions by strong counterclockwise winds known as the polar jet stream," Thornton explained.
During the 2014 January polar vortex, more than 20 people across the country died from the cold as places like Georgia — which rarely see serious cold — dealt with lows under 10 degrees ...
The cold was caused by a southern migration of the polar vortex, likely caused by a sudden stratospheric warming event that occurred the prior month. Temperatures fell as much as 25–50 °F (14–28 °C) below average as far south as the Gulf Coast.
The 2013–14 North American winter was one of the most significant for the United States and North America as a whole, due in part to the breakdown of the polar vortex in November 2013, which allowed very cold air to travel down into the United States, leading to an extended period of very cold temperatures.