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Polar Vortex And Polar Jet Stream: What's Behind The Freezing Weather In The US?


//science-technology.news-articles.net/content/2 .. hat-s-behind-the-freezing-weather-in-the-us.html
Published in Science and Technology on Tuesday, January 7th 2025 at 7:42 GMT by IFLScience   Print publication without navigation

  • The polar vortex is a low-pressure system of cold air that swirls above Earth's poles. There's one over the South Pole in Antarctica - but for this story, we'll be focusing on the one above the North Pole. Over the North Pole, the wind flows counterclockwise in the stratosphere around 16 to 50 kilometers (10-30 miles) high.

The article from IFLScience discusses the phenomena behind the extreme cold weather experienced in the US, focusing on the polar vortex and the polar jet stream. The polar vortex is a large area of low pressure and cold air surrounding the Earth's poles, which typically keeps the cold air contained in polar regions. However, when this vortex weakens or shifts, it can allow cold Arctic air to spill southwards into North America, Europe, and Asia. This event is often linked to disruptions in the polar jet stream, a fast-moving band of air high in the atmosphere that generally flows west to east. Sudden stratospheric warming events can disrupt this jet stream, causing it to meander and sometimes buckle, allowing cold air outbreaks. These weather patterns are influenced by various factors including the strength of the polar vortex, the behavior of the jet stream, and even climate change, which might be making such events more frequent or intense.

Read the Full IFLScience Article at:
[ https://www.iflscience.com/polar-vortex-and-polar-jet-stream-whats-behind-the-freezing-weather-in-the-us-77507 ]

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