What happens during a polar vortex?

What happens during a polar vortex?

A polar vortex is a low pressure area—a wide expanse of swirling cold air—that is parked in polar regions. During winter, the polar vortex at the North Pole expands, sending cold air southward. This happens fairly regularly and is often associated with outbreaks of cold temperatures in the United States.

What is a polar vortex simple definition?

The polar vortex is a large circulation of low pressure and cold air that forms every winter in the stratosphere above the North and South poles. The term vortex refers to the counter-clockwise flow of air that helps keep colder air close to the poles (left globe in graphic).

What is a polar vortex 2021?

A new stratospheric Polar Vortex has now emerged over the North Pole and will continue to strengthen well into the Winter of 2021/2022. It will interact with a strong easterly wind anomaly high over the tropics.

What caused this polar vortex?

Being cut off from the sun’s warmth in the Arctic makes it very much colder than the equator, which stays hot year-round. The atmosphere tries to balance that extreme temperature difference by setting the cold air in the North Pole spinning – and that’s the polar vortex.

Will there be a polar vortex in 2020?

In 2020, Arctic air brought a large swath of Western Canada temperatures in the -30 C range, with wind chill values making it feel closer to -50.

How long does a polar vortex last?

Those individual vortices can persist for more than a month. Volcanic eruptions in the tropics can lead to a stronger polar vortex during winter for as long as two years afterwards.

How do you survive a polar vortex?

The Polar Vortex Home Survival Guide

1. Wrap windows and use door stoppers.
2. Wrap pipes and water heaters.
3. Freshen up the smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.
4. Store a winter survival kit in the trunk of your car.
5. Keep your drive and walkways clear.
6. Clear the chimney.
7. Keep the gas meter clean and dry.

Is the polar vortex coming back 2021?

The Polar Vortex has just returned for the cold season 2021/2022, yet it is already facing its first stratospheric warming event. An unusually early warming event is starting over the Polar regions, with more warming forecast to follow into the late month.

What weakens the polar vortex?

— Sudden Stratospheric Warmings (SSWs) are occasions in the winter (~6 times per decade), when the polar stratosphere warms and the winds that normally flow from west to east around the pole weaken dramatically and even reverse direction, corresponding to a breakdown of the polar vortex.

Does global warming cause polar vortex?

A new study shows that increases in extreme winter weather in parts of the US are linked to accelerated warming of the Arctic. The scientists found that heating in the region ultimately disturbed the circular pattern of winds known as the polar vortex.

Where will the polar vortex hit 2021?

North Pole
The January 2021 event pushed the polar vortex from its normal position over the North Pole all the way over to Europe and Siberia, nearly pulling it apart multiple times in the process.

Will the polar vortex fix itself?

It’s not that the splitting vortex itself will touch down and cause cold weather (although that’s possible), but that it’s likely to cause changes to the jet stream that could in turn divert low-altitude Arctic air southward. It will take several weeks for the effects from the vortex to become clear on the surface.

What is the polar vortex, and how does it influence weather?

The term “vortex” refers to the counter-clockwise flow of air that helps keep the colder air near the Poles . Many times during winter in the northern hemisphere, the polar vortex will expand, sending cold air southward with the jet stream (see graphic above).

How does the polar vortex really affect us?

When the polar vortex is strong, it keeps the cold well north of our region as powerful jet stream winds blow west to east over the Arctic. However, when waves in the atmosphere trigger warming in the stratosphere , the polar vortex can become disrupted and displace cold air further south.

How is the polar vortex affecting you?

By itself, the only danger to humans is the magnitude of how cold temperatures will get when the polar vortex expands, sending Arctic air southward into areas that are not typically that cold. In short, there is no cause to be alarmed when you hear about the polar vortex, but you should be prepared for colder temperatures.

How does the polar vortex affect planet Earth?

When the polar vortex is strong, this creates strong low pressure in the Arctic region. Because of the pressure difference between the Arctic and mid-latitudes, air flows into low pressure and this confines the cold air to high latitudes closer to the Arctic.