EXPLAINER: Topsy-turvy weather comes from polar vortex

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

It’s as if the world has been turned upside-down, or at least its weather. You can blame the increasingly familiar polar vortex, which has brought a taste of the Arctic to places where winter often requires no more than a jacket.

Around the North Pole, winter’s ultra-cold air is usually kept bottled up 15 to 30 miles high. That’s the polar vortex, which spins like a whirling top at the top of the planet. But occasionally something slams against the top, sending the cold air escaping from its Arctic home and heading south. It’s been happening more often, and scientists are still not completely sure why, but they suggest it’s a mix of natural random weather and human-caused climate change.

This particular polar vortex breakdown has been a whopper. Meteorologists call it one of the biggest, nastiest and longest-lasting ones they’ve seen, and they’ve been watching since at least the 1950 s. This week’s weather is part of a pattern stretching back to January.

“It’s been a major breakdown,” said Jennifer Francis, a climate scientist at the Woodwell Climate Research Center on Cape Cod. “It really is the cause of all of these crazy weather events in the Northern Hemisphere.”

https://apnews.com/article/weather-polar-vortex-explained-59002405452e61d702a9839f6eb99e6f

[NotASurfer]

1. Climate seems to be doing massive heat exchange right now

That cold air would probably stay in the Arctic except the atmosphere as a whole is warming. So now the Arctic is dumping cold air and warming up. At least, until we hirt a new equilibrium, whatever that ends up being

[ProfessorGAC]

2. They Accurately Predicted This

In mid-January, there were articles in the major papers about a wobble and compression in the vortex.
They thought it would be good luck if, within a month, it didn't fall over and pop the bubble sending cold air for thousands of miles.
Well, we didn't get the good luck, and they nailed it.
At this point, they aren't sure exactly why the wobble got excessive, but they're working on the analysis.
I have little doubt climate change is a primary causative factor.

[Klaralven]

3. During January, Central Siberia had the cold air, while eastern Canada was the hot spot.

So it had moved around the globe.

http://nsidc.org/arcticseaicenews/