Home

On:

Meteorologists with the National Weather Service are predicting that the northern polar vortex is likely to split once again later this month, into not just two, but three separate vortices that are expected to bring unseasonably cold and stormy weather to parts of Europe and North America.

The polar vortex is a low-pressure area of air that resides over both of Earth’s poles, with the vortex at each pole spinning in a counter-clockwise direction, and bordered around their edges by the jet stream. Occasionally, the Northern Hemisphere’s vortex splits into a number of separate gyres that drift south, bringing colder Arctic air along with them.
read more

On:

The polar vortex has divided into two sections, allowing warm air from the northern Pacific ocean to extend into the Arctic, while displacing cold Arctic air south along the west coast. While the resulting forecast means that the east coast will see milder temperatures in the coming weeks, it also calls for colder than average temperatures in the west, and yet more above-average warmth in the Arctic, already suffering from record-low sea ice levels.
read more

On:

A major cold snap is forecast to push south into the contiguous United States over the Christmas holidays, with regions between North Dakota and Colorado experiencing temperatures 20ºF to 40ºF below normal over Christmas Eve. Conversely, the east coast may see above-seasonal temperatures, with a forecast high of 71ºF in Washington D.C, and 62ºF in New York City on Christmas Day.

"If you’re West of the Mississippi River on Christmas Day, then you may want to ask for coal in your stocking," tweets meteorologist Ryan Maue, with weather.us. "Extreme cold arriving via Polar Express. Off the charts Arctic cold."
read more