The winter storms hitting the US this week and forecast to happen throughout the subsequent couple of weeks, will be tied largely to the displacement of the polar vortex that occurred starting in late November, researchers inform NCS.
The polar vortex is a round present of robust winds over the Arctic that may maintain chilly air locked up in that area. Recently, although, it weakened and slid southward in direction of the midlatitudes, bringing chilly, Arctic air to closely populated areas.
This can create stormier situations, stated Andrea Lopez Lang, a meteorologist at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, as that chilly air from up north collides with comparatively hotter air.
And the weak polar vortex additionally means a wavier jet stream. These are wind currents that circulation west-to-east throughout the Northern Hemisphere. A wavy jet stream can provide folks climate whiplash, stated Judah Cohen, a meteorologist at MIT. Over the remainder of December, we are able to anticipate frequent oscillations between milder-than-average situations and frigid temperatures as storms transfer via.
However, Lopez Lang cautioned this polar vortex occasion isn’t the solely issue behind these upcoming temperature fluctuations. “It’s definitely contributing, but it’s not the whole story,” she stated.