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Environment & Energy

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Beringia

(5,423 posts)
Sat Feb 13, 2021, 10:53 AM Feb 2021

Unusually Cold Weather and the Polar Vortex [View all]

(It has been extremely cold here in the Midwest lately, and I saw a recent blog that tried to explain. With Global Warming, why is the winter even colder. I always grasp this type of info better with graphics. The polar vortex for dummies I guess).

https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2021/01/19/polar-vortex-winter-snow/




The Polar Vortex January 19, 2021





When the vortex is strong and stable, it keeps cold Arctic air bottled north and the Lower 48 beyond the reach of its icy grasp. But disturbances that knock the vortex off-kilter can unleash that frigid air, bringing stormy weather and increased snow chances to much of the United States and Canada, while also affecting Europe and Asia.

Signs also point to the vortex remaining unsteady and unstable for the remainder of the season. That bolsters the odds of wintry weather in the northeastern United States, and some weather models agree on this outcome.



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